Looking back at the invention of television, we find that television was not invented suddenly by a certain person one day, but was the result of decades of work by many scientists and inventors.
The following are memorabilia of the invention of television:
1844, cable:
On May 24th, 1844, Samuel Morse, an American, sent a telegram from Washington, D.C. to Baltimore, Maryland in code: "What did God create?" . There is a copper wire between the two places, which is only 20 miles apart, but it has since opened a new era of modern communication.
1895, wireless telegraph:
1864, Scottish Majems Clark Maxwell put forward the theory of the existence of electromagnetic waves. 1888 German heinrich hertz proved the existence of electromagnetic waves in the laboratory, so the frequency of electromagnetic wave vibration was named "Hertz". We call it radio waves today.
Italian Giuliani Marconi made a set of devices to generate radio waves. 1895, the wireless telegraph was successfully sent out, which aroused people's great enthusiasm for the future of radio.
1906, wireless broadcasting:
1904, the British physicist J. Ambrose Fleming invented the electron tube. 1906, American De Frest improved Fleming diode into triode. On Christmas Eve that year, the operator of the ship sailing in the Atlantic received this Christmas song on the radio, which was sent by R·A· Foxton from Massachusetts, USA. Electron tubes were later replaced by transistors, which made the receiver smaller and more reliable.
By the end of 1922, there were more than 500 radio stations in the United States, and as many as 2 million home radios were sold. By 1930, more than 50 countries and regions in the world have radio stations.
1935, E·A· Armstrong invented a radio broadcast that is not disturbed by lightning-FM broadcast, which can also be used to transmit TV signals.
1925, mechanical television system:
10.2, British scientist John Logie Baird successfully carried out the experiment of transmitting and receiving TV images by using the mechanical TV set he invented, so he was called "the father of TV" by later generations. But before him, many important inventions of scientists laid the foundation for his mechanical TV system. These scientists are: Swedish scientist Bolzer Rice who discovered the chemical element selenium, British scientist joseph may who invented the photoelectric effect of selenium, German scientist Paul NiPukov who invented the mechanical scanning compass to solve the problem of image transmission, Russian professor Boris Rozin who invented the electronic picture tube, and so on. According to statistics, from 19 19 to 1925, more than 100 TV invention patent applications were filed by scientists all over the world.
During the period of 1927, Bell Telephone Laboratories in the United States transmitted TV programs between new york and Washington via cable, and broadcast the speech of then Federal Secretary of Commerce herbert hoover. 1932, British scientist Shoenberg invented the electronic television camera tube. 192 1 year, an American boy, P·T· Farnworth, who was only 15 years old, showed his teacher a sketch of his electronic TV system. Nine years later, he obtained the patent of electronic TV device. Electronic TV soon replaced mechanical TV system.
1936, TV station:
1936165438+1October 2 is an important day in the history of television development. On this day, the BBC established the world's first television station in London and officially broadcast TV programs. We usually think that this is the beginning of television. In 1930s, the former Soviet Union and the United States also had TV stations, all of which were 1939. However, the outbreak of World War II in the same year greatly hindered the development of television. After the war, the television industry quickly entered a period of prosperity. France, Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, Poland, Italy, Mexico, Cuba, Argentina, Venezuela, Canada, Dominica, Japan, Philippines and other countries set up TV stations between 1949 and 1953.
1954, color TV:
The first generation of electronic TV was black and white TV. From the 1920s to 1950s, scientists and engineers devoted themselves to the research of color TV. From 65438 to 0954, the United States officially broadcast color TV programs, becoming the first country in the world to provide color TV programs. In 1960s, Japan, Canada, France, the Federal Republic of Germany, the former Soviet Union and Britain also began to develop color TV. By 199 1, of the 69 countries and regions in the world, 150 have established TV stations, of which 142 broadcast color TV, including China.
1958, China TV:
Television in China began at 1958. On may 1 day, Beijing TV, the predecessor of CCTV, tried to broadcast TV programs. It was officially broadcast on September 2. Early TV programs were very simple, mostly news clips and documentaries. Therefore, some people call this period "the era of news documentary". There are also few TV viewers, because TV coverage is extremely low. At first, the coverage rate was only half that of Beijing. There were only 50 TVs in Beijing at that time. No one knew who the TV announcer was, and there were no TV stars in those days.
The golden age of TV development in China was in the 1980s. With the reform and opening up and economic growth, TV finally has the opportunity to develop rapidly. 1980, there were 38 TV stations in China, and by 1990, there were 509. In 1980, there were only 0.9 people per 100 in China, but in 1990, there were 16 people per 100. 1995, there were 837 TV stations in China, and nearly 300 million people in China owned TV sets. Now about 86.2% of the population in China can watch TV. As far back as the fifties and sixties, most people couldn't see CCTV programs.
1962, satellite and television broadcasting:
When microwave technology is used for long-distance transmission, TV broadcasting is often affected by geographical and climatic conditions. Therefore, after the 1960s, all countries used communication satellites to transmit TV programs. 1July, 962 10, the United States launched the world's first communication satellite, Dianxing-1, which took transmission of television programmes to the other side of the Atlantic.
The International Satellite Communication Organization was established in 1964. On April 6th, the first international commercial synchronous satellite "International Communication Satellite 1" was launched to transmit radio and television programs between North America and Europe. Some experts pointed out that "Intelsat 1" marked the official entry of the world into the era of satellite communication.
1969 On July 20th, the American Apollo spacecraft landed on the moon. The process of landing on the moon was broadcast live by satellite, and about 723 million people in 47 countries and regions around the world watched the satellite TV broadcast.
Starting from 1984, China also started to launch satellites, or rented foreign satellites to improve TV coverage. By 1990, the first and second programs of CCTV were transmitted by domestic satellites, and the first and second programs of educational TV stations were transmitted by rented international communication satellites. In April of the same year, China also launched the "Asia-1" satellite for Asian satellites. 199265438+1October 65438+1October, the fourth program of CCTV was officially broadcast through the "Asia One" satellite, and the program can be transmitted to Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan. 1996, in addition to CCTV, there were 17 local TV programs on satellite.
Today, new inventions emerge one after another, and we have long been used to it. It is hard to imagine the shock, surprise and ecstasy brought by an invention at that time. Morse invented the telegraph, and a local newspaper wrote, "People hundreds of miles apart can talk to each other immediately. This earth-shattering event cannot be believed unless they experience it personally. " At that time, many people surrounded the office, and they promised to "be quiet, not crowded, regardless of whether they can understand it or not, just take a look and tell others that they have seen the telegram." 1858, when the Atlantic submarine cable connected the United States and Europe, a grand celebration parade broke out in new york, and many exciting scenes appeared. 1936165438+1October 2, when the BBC officially broadcast the TV program for the first time, the actors sang a TV song to celebrate the birth of TV:
This wonderful and mysterious beam,
It's about our story.
The sound and images here are sent to you from space.
Bring you surprise and freshness. ...
It is generally believed that the invention of telegraph and radio will change people's lives and the world. As Morse predicted, "In the near future, the surface of this country will be covered with' nerves', conveying what is happening everywhere at lightning speed, and the people of the whole country seem to be very close to each other."
Through the process of cable telegraph, wireless telegraph, wireless broadcasting, mechanical television system, electronic television, color television and satellite television, our predecessors' dream of "seeing with electricity" has finally come true. Not only that, TV has greatly shortened the distance between space and time, and we are really "close as neighbors".
Second, the days without TV.
Today, watching TV has become as common as eating and sleeping, so we almost forget the days without TV.
When there is no TV, we read news from radio and newspapers, and we rely on movies, magazines and other media for entertainment. Life at that time was completely different. There is not so much information to learn, not so many stars to attract our attention, not so much entertainment to make us happy, and certainly not so many TV dramas to make us feel bored or bored.
In some remote mountainous areas, there are still no televisions. I visited such a village in 199 1. There are only two TV sets in the village, but they are just for display. Because turning on the TV, people can only see the "snowflake" and can't see the image. Television signals can't reach the villages in the deep mountains yet. But people are so eager to know the outside world. The cable broadcasting repairman in the village is a young man of about 30 years old. He listened to the cable broadcast every day, wrote the news of the Gulf War on the wooden board at the entrance of the village, and revised his "Gulf War Map" according to the change of the war situation. When interviewing children in the village, I was surprised to find that they all knew about the Gulf War.
There is no TV in this village, but it keeps in touch with the outside world through cable radio and newspapers. Unfortunately, all the news was blocked by this repairman. I think if people have the opportunity to watch TV, they all want to see the news with their own eyes and choose when they need to, instead of others choosing for themselves. But when you can't see the news, it's good to be told the news.
I've also seen enclosed huts without TV. 1992 I have been to such a cottage. I can't believe my eyes. Life in the hut is very primitive, without TV, radio and newspapers. Some children saw us muttering "They are Americans", "Americans are enemies" and "Kick them out of the stockade". We left here in the rocks. "Americans are enemies" was still the slogan of the Cold War in 1950s. Sino-American relations have already entered a new era, but they know nothing about it. In the same year, I met a middle school student wearing a walkman in Shanghai. He told me that he was going to study in America. Children in the same country at the same time have such different understandings of the United States.
1May, 1996, I went to a village in the mountainous area of Hebei Province to interview a 17-year-old vocational and technical school student. He is on holiday at home. Our party followed him to the field. The empty Shan Ye, barren land and the faint sound of guns in the distance made me feel another world. But when I got back to his house, the TV was on, and I suddenly felt that I was still in the original world. We are familiar with talking about Kan Kan's Jing Yidan, Xiang and Ni Ping on TV. There are pictures of singers from Hong Kong and Taiwan on the wall at home ... TV connects us. The boy told us that he especially likes watching CCTV news programs, "Military World" and "A Quarter of National Defense" by Hebei Satellite TV.
If the TV coverage rate is 86.2%, there are still about 24% people in China, which means at least 300 million people are still living without TV. Without television, there would be no rapid dissemination of information, no influence of new ideas, and no opportunities for education, economy, cooperation and exchange. For teenagers, TV is an important channel to understand the outside world. It is difficult for us to measure the great influence of television on life. In modern society, whether you can put yourself in a wider world can make people have a completely different fate.
No matter how many shortcomings TV has, we can't live without TV any more unless we find a better medium than TV.
Third, the future of television.
In this section, we will describe the technical development of TV in the future. Some of these technologies are being tested, while others are mature.
◆ Cable TV
Sometimes we also call it cable TV. It evolved from the antenna system and is a relatively independent TV transmission network. Scientists began to study cable TV, mainly to solve the problem of TV reception in mountainous and remote areas. In these areas, including high-rise buildings in cities, there are always "snowflakes" or "vertical and horizontal roads" on TV screens, which makes people unable to see the images clearly. The solution to this problem is to use a better receiving antenna to receive wireless TV signals, and then connect them with our TV sets in a wired way to form a TV network. In 1950s and 1960s, cable TV experiments were conducted abroad. After the launch of synchronous communication satellite in 1970s, cable TV can transmit TV programs via satellite, which greatly increases the number of transmitted programs. In order to watch these TV programs, families who have no reception problems also apply to join the cable TV network. In the mid-1980s, China began to try cable TV. By the time of 1992, we were not quite able to accept this kind of cable TV. That year's Beijing audience survey showed that nearly 40% of the audience said they were unwilling or unwilling to spend an extra 5,000 6 yuan per month to watch cable TV. But today, we have seen that many families are willing to join the cable TV network if conditions permit. By the end of 1996, the users of cable TV network had reached 50 million, of course, in order to watch more and better TV programs.
◆ Teletext
Teletext is a new technology developed in 1970s, which is the most mature in Europe. At first, teletext was developed so that those who could not hear could watch TV. Researchers imagine using the gap between TV scans to transmit text and graphic data so that listeners can understand TV programs smoothly. In other words, behind a set of programs broadcast on TV, another set of programs is also broadcast. If there is a decoding chip for teletext, you can see this group of programs. Receiving teletext requires special receiving equipment.
Like the development of cable TV, the development of teletext has gradually deviated from its original intention. It can really solve the problem of losing audience when watching TV, but more importantly, it greatly expands the picture content and service scope by using this technology. Teletext provides news, entertainment news, sports results, weather forecast, stock market, travel service, shopping information, program preview, traffic information, etc. Viewers can watch teletext, just like reading newspapers and magazines, and they can freely choose which "page" to watch. The unit of teletext is also "page". There are about 300 pages of teletext in Britain and Germany, and about 900 pages in the Netherlands and Italy.
China CCTV officially started broadcasting teletext programs on June 28th, 1994+065438. At present, CCTV 1, Channel 3, Beijing TV Station, Jiangsu TV Station and radio and television information centers in Zhejiang, Sichuan, Shandong, Guangdong, Liaoning, Jilin and other places have started broadcasting. At present, we don't know much about teletext, one of the reasons is that we haven't produced a better teletext receiver, which makes it difficult to popularize teletext. However, according to experts' prediction, teletext has great potential in the future, because it greatly expands the functions of the existing TV.
◆ HDTV
In the 1970s, the Japanese, who always liked to be ahead in technology, began to predict the development direction of TV. What's the next step for TV? They think that TV should look clearer and more delicate. To put it in technical terms, it is best to have a higher resolution, just as we feel when we look at the real thing. They believe that their high-definition technology will represent the development direction of television all over the world.
In the 1990s, Japan successfully developed HDTV, and Japanese people began to enjoy high-quality TV, trying to push it to the world market and make it a worldwide standard. Out of pure interest, European countries and other countries rejected the promotion of Japan and began to develop their own HDTV. But this rejection gave Americans and Europeans a chance to reflect. They are thinking, when watching TV, is the picture quality more important or the content of TV programs more important? When the image quality reaches a certain standard, is it necessary to use high technology to develop the image quality?
There is a lot of controversy about HDTV. Negroponte, a professor at MIT Media Lab, put forward a typical view. He said: "When watching TV, do you complain about the resolution of the image, the shape of the screen or the quality of the picture?" Probably not. If you have any complaints, you must be dissatisfied with the content of the program. For example, you will complain that there are 57 channels to watch, but there is nothing to see. "Therefore, Negroponte believes that it is a wrong decision to upgrade TV if it is only for the refinement of images, not for the artistry of programs. Based on this consideration, he pointed out in his book "Digital Survival": "HDTV is a joke".
So, where is the future of TV? Negroponte proposed that the future of TV is to research and develop digital TV. Of course, Japan has invested a lot of money in developing HDTV, and it is very difficult to give it up. However, in 1993, Europe decided to abandon the plan of developing HDTV with analog technology to welcome the arrival of the digital age.
◆ Digital TV
What is digital TV? From the appearance, the digital TV screen is bigger, the image is clearer, the sound quality is higher, and it is extremely thin, which is equivalent to one tenth of the current TV, and can be hung on the wall. The working principle of digital TV is completely different from that of the previous TV. From the production of programs to the sending and receiving of information, TV equipment needs to be completely replaced. So, is this big price just to get a bigger and clearer screen? Negroponte explained, of course not. He suggested: "The key to understanding TV in the future is to stop treating TV as TV." The most important feature of TV in the future is that TV will be integrated with computer technology, or digital TV will be computerized TV, that is, "computer is TV".
Since TV is a computer, digital TV has the dual functions of TV and computer. With digital TV, you can watch TV, videos and movies, and you can also use computers, the Internet, VoIP, e-mail, computer games, home shopping and so on. Negroponte described this new type of TV in "Digital Survival": there is evening news at six o'clock every day, but TV can be transmitted to you when you need it; Television can also be specially edited for you. You can get any news you like. If you want to enjoy a ball game, you can choose any position in the audience to enjoy it; Most TV programs don't need us to remember their broadcast time. We can download them to the computer when we want to read them, just like reading newspapers or books, we can browse at will, and we can adjust the order of viewing, which is not limited by time and date ... In the past, TV was only a one-way communication between TV stations and viewers, while digital TV was an interactive communication, and viewers could enjoy many comprehensive information and entertainment services.
How far is digital TV from us? 1On April 4th, 997, the Federal Communications Commission of the United States issued free digital TV broadcasting licenses to four major TV companies (ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX). By 2006, all parts of the United States will cancel the old TV system, which means that the current 270 million TV sets in the United States will become garbage in eight years. It is still unknown when digital TV will be popularized in China. Some experts suggest that it takes a period of transition, that is, a receiving device can receive both old TV system signals and digital TV signals. Some experts have also raised the issue of "money". Indeed, the development of digital TV needs a lot of money. This ongoing revolution is both an opportunity and a challenge for us.
The future of television has not been decided, and it is still a controversial issue.