Few inventions have had as much effect on contemporary American society as television. Before 1947 the number of U.S. homes with television sets could be measured in the thousands. By the late 1990s, 98 percent of U.S. homes had at least one television set, and those sets were on for an average of more than seven hours a day. The typical American spends (depending on the survey and the time of year) from two-and-a-half to almost five hours a day watching television. It is significant not only that this time is being spent with television but that it is not being spent engaging in other activities, such as reading or going out or socializing. I believe you will find the following content rather interesting. It spans the time period from 1872 and the stroboscopic disc thru the introduction of 3D television in 2010 with an extensive television program history which will bring pleasant memories of days gone by. Enjoy… Bill Fuelling The History of Film, Television & Video by: High-Tech Productions 1872 - 1877 A series of photographs can be viewed by stroboscopic disc. 1884 George Eastman invents flexible photographic film. 1887 Thomas Edison patents motion picture camera. 1888 Edison attempts to record picture photos onto a wax cylinder. 1891 - 1895 Dickson shoots numerous 15 second motion picturesusing Edison's kineograph, his motion picture camera. 1895 First public demonstration of motion pictures displayed in France. 1897 Development of the Cathode Ray Tube by Ferdinand Braun. 1907 Use of cathode ray tube to produce television images. 1923 Patent for the iconoscope, the forerunner of the picture tube. 1927 Talking films begin with Al Jolson in "The Jazz Singer". Early 1930s RCA conducts black and white broadcasting experiments. 1936 First television broadcast made available in London. 1938 Initial proposal for color TV broadcast made by George Valensi. 1945 There were fewer than 7,000 working TV sets in the country and only nine stations on the air; three in New York, two each in Chicago and Los Angeles, and one each in Philadelphia and Schenectady, N.Y. RCA that same month holds its first public demonstration of a new TV camera offering a sharper image than those then in use. Near the end of October, Gimbel's Department Store in Philadelphia holds the first large-scale TV demonstration. More than 25,000 people come over three weeks for a chance to watch NBC programs from New York and local shows sent out by Philco's Philadelphia station. 1946 The Blue Network, part of NBC, officially becomes theABC network. A 1941 FCC ruling required RCA to divest itself of one of its two networks; NBC Blue was sold in 1943 to Edward Noble for $8 million, and becomes ABC in 1945. NBC and Gillette stage what's billed as the first "television sports extravaganza" -- the Joe Louis-Billy Conn heavyweight fight at Yankee Stadium -- in June. The fight is a viewing success with an estimated audience of 150,000 watching 5,000 sets. For every TV set tuned into the fight, there are, on average, 30 people watching, many seeing an event on TV for the first time. In October, the Television Broadcasters Association declares "television is ready to proceed on an expanded basis," and that the new industry is "well on the way to becoming one of the most important in the nation." 1947 "Howdy Doody," a children's series, premieres live on NBC in December as a one-hour Saturday program. Symbolic of the first generation nurtured on TV, the show remains on the air until 1960. In May, live theater equivalent to the Broadway stage comes to TV on a regular, commercially sponsored basis with the premiere of "Kraft Television Theatre." In March, FCC postpones final decisions on Color TV but reaffirms a go-ahead on existing standards. NBC debuts "Meet the Press," a kind of made-for-TV news conference. It goes on to become the oldest series on network TV. 1948 "The Ed Sullivan Show" (originally "Toast of the Town") makes its debut in June. Sponsored by Lincoln-Mercury, the show becomes one of TV's longest-running and most successful variety series. The show airs on CBS into 1971, spurring the advancement of scores of show business careers. Advertisers accept the medium: Throughout the year, 933 sponsors buy TV time, a rise of 515% over 1947. By the fall, FCC has issued 108 licenses for new stations, with hundreds more applications pending across the nation. The earliest cable systems are born in remote areas of Pennsylvania and Oregon. Known then as Community Antenna Television, its function was simply to bring TV signals into communities where off-air reception was either non-existent or poor because of interfering mountains or distance. B.F. Goodrich sponsors the new TV series of radio comedy team George Burns and Gracie Allen. Milton Berle makes his TV debut in September as the master of ceremonies on"The Texaco Star Theater," which runs until 1956. By November, Mr. Berle is so popular the show earns the highest rating yet -- 86.7% of all TV households. 1949 By January, number of TV stations grows to 98 in 58 market areas. A special broadcast in January inaugurates East-Midwest TV linkage. Included in the broadcast is a one-hour sampler with the networks displaying their best: Arthur Godfrey for CBS, Ted Steele for DuPont, Milton Berle and Harry Richman for NBC, and for ABC a mystery show called "Stand By for Crime." The event moves Chicago Tribune to report: "The end of dull sustaining filler on television screens appears to be in sight." FCC adopts the Fairness Doctrine, making broadcasters responsible for seeking out and presenting all sides of an issue when covering controversy. (Earlier in the Communications Act of 1934 broadcasters were required to give "equal air time" to candidates running in elections.) U.S. Dept. of Commerce confirms TV's selling power when it reports in May: "Television's combination of moving pictures, sound and immediacy produces an impact that extends television as an advertising medium into the realm of personal sales solicitation." Betty Furness starts pitching refrigerators and appliances in TV spots for Westinghouse, launching a relationship that lasts more than 11 years and makes her one of the first stars created for commercial TV. 1950 In January, Arthur Godfrey and Faye Emerson are named most pleasing personalities in Look's TV awards show on CBS. National sponsors exit radio for TV at record rates, moving Varietyto describe the exodus as "the greatest exhibition of mass hysteria in biz annals." 1951 "Omnibus," one of commercial TV's most honored cultural series, debuts. Hosted byAlistair Cooke, the program takes in $5.5 million in advertising revenues during five years on the air, against $8.5 million in costs. "I Love Lucy," a half-hour filmed TV sitcom, is born. The show, unlike the live TV productions typical of the time, ranks No. 1 in the nation for four of its first six full seasons. It is sponsored by Philip Morris. CBS broadcasts the first color program on June 21, but only 25 receivers can accommodate mechanical color. Viewers of 12 million existing sets see only a blank screen. "Hallmark Hall of Fame" series launches in December with "Amahl and the Night Visitors." 1952 National Association of Radio & Television Broadcasters ratifies a new Television Code establishing guidelines for content and addressing the concerns of social critics. Nearly half the code is devoted to advertising. In response to protests about program content, a House subcommittee investigates "offensive" and "immoral" TV programs and touches on wide range of topics -- from beer spots to dramas depicting suicide. Bob Hope takes his comedy from radio to TV when "The Bob Hope Show" debuts in October. Borden's Elsie the Cowbeats out actor Van Johnson and U.S. Sen. Robert Taft in recognition polls as one of America's most familiar faces. NBC's "Today" show, first and longest-running early-morning network show, bows with host Dave Garroway and chimpanzee sidekick J. Fred Muggs. By year's end, the number of TV households grows to 20 million, up 33% from previous year. U.S. advertisers spend a record $288 million on TV time, an increase of 38.8% from 1951. 1953 Color broadcasting officially arrives in the U.S. on Dec. 17, when FCC approves modified version of an RCA system. 1954 "Captain Kangaroo" the first network kids show, begins on CBS. The Hamm's bear is introduced in a TV spot that initially runs as a sequel to a 1953 Hamm's commercial that featured beavers beating on tom-toms. The first color commercial televised in a local show was commissioned in March by Castro Decorators, New York, in a contract with WNBT. It was first telecast on Aug. 6. 1954 NBC launches "The Tonight Show," featuring comedian Steve Allen, on Sept. 27. For nearly four decades -- until CBS' "Late Show With David Letterman" enters the scene in 1993 -- the show dominates late night. In April, groundwork is laid for the Television Advertising Bureau. For the first time, television is the leading medium for national advertising. 1955 Immensely popular daytime radio show "Queen For A Day" shifts to TV in January. Between radio and TV, the show had a run of nearly 20 years, although widely criticized as an exploitation of human misery, wrapped in commercial plugs. At the peak of popularity, NBC increased the show's length from 30 to 45 minutes to gain time to sell at the premium ad rate of $4,000 per minute.