A Brief history of TV in the UK and abroad.

Television in the UK began transmitting in 1936 via a system called the VHF Band I, which was an experimental radio frequency first used by the BBC. By 1964, analogue terrestrial television had begun transmitting which allowed radio waves to be transmitted and received by antennas or aerials. This method was free to the consumers and was able to transmit up to six broadcast channels although in the end only five were used. Due to providers such as freeview, freesat, BT vision, virgin and Sky TV, analogue television is currently being replaced by digital terrestrial television and should be completed by 2012.

In 1936, the television industry saw the arrival of the RCA’s iconoscope camera which used a video camera tube that would convert a video image into an electrical signal. By 1946, RCA had created the TK-10 which was commonly used as an outdoors camera for roles such as news reporting. The evolution of cameras and quality have now ended up with studio HD cameras being used more commonly to the demand of high definition television. These days, transmitting an image is achieved by the provider sending a signal to a satellite before the images are converted into signals that are received by the satellite dishes of the consumers. Cable television is transmitted by radio frequency signals underground through optical fibers or coaxial cables.

Worldwide television is broadcast in three different standards. The UK (and most of Europe) use PAL which transmits with 25 frames per second. SECAM is the format used by France, Russia and part of Africa while NTSC is used by North America and part of South America. NTSC uses 30 frames per second and has a video scale size of 4:3. This can sometimes look odd when converted to PAL as we use a scale of 16:9. Other differences between the three systems is that the colour depths are different therefore giving a different result.

Below are the technological advances in television history and how they changed the way TV was consumed:

• 1936 - RCA's iconoscope camera developed: was the first camera to be able transmit video signals to consumer.

• 1946 - RCA's TK-10 studio camera developed: was widely used as a Field camera.

• 1950 - The Vidicon camera tube invented making smaller cameras possible.

• 1953 - The first colour television invented (RCA TK-40) making television viewable as we would see things.

• 1965 - Philips design the ‘Plumbicon pick up video camera tube’ making picture quality cleaner. This lead to higher quality in later years.

• 1970’s - hand held cameras developed progressing with smaller cameras and home movie cameras.

• 1980’s - cameras with on board recorders developed meaning the usually separated lens and tube pre-amps with the rest of the electronics were now combined.

• 1990’s - HDTV invented (today’s media is now surrounded by HD quality).

• 1998 - Sky television imported to UK (300+ channels with much more non British programming being shown).

• 2002 - Freeview invented pushing new free channels to consumers (the first of similar providers to follow such as freesat).

• 2011 - digital switch over - This will change how people will have to consume television.