Television Displays: Past, Present, and Future -- Part 1

TV was in its infancy while I was in mine. Our family got our first set when I was four years old. There really weren't any choices back then. The screen was much smaller than the computer monitor I'm sitting in front of right now. The display however was quite a different story. Back then a TV was a piece of furniture -- a great big console made of solid wood, the center of attention in the "parlor." Our family, neighbors, friends, and friends of friends gathered to stare at this electronic idol, which offered program choices of the 15-minute news or a test pattern. Soon, Milton Berle and Saturday night wrestling were added to "our favorites" on the line-up. Of course, all were shown in black and white.

Ideas and concepts always predate the reality of a "flesh and bones" product. In this two-part article we'll take a look at how TVs and TV displays have changed over the years, and why they changed. Also, what are your choices today and what decisions are you faced with in design and installation?

TV was a twinkling in an inventor's eye as early as the late nineteenth century. Even a color TV system was a concept in 1904. What took so long for Aunt Tillie to get one in her house? Let's call it the evolution of video technology. What took so long for all of Aunt Tillie's relatives, neighbors, and friends to get a TV? Let's call that a revolution in manufacturing and design which brought prices down and choices up. The marketplace, which is you the consumer, drove the course and direction of these realities.

TV technology is not an entity unto itself. It is quite interdependent with many other types of technology. For example, the changes in the TV remote were dependent on the invention of the transistor, the computer chip, and infrared technology. Both the size and price of a basic remote control came down. Now it's a rarity to see a TV without a remote control system. Channel surfing is a daily sport in most connected homes.

TV displays began as large consoles with small screens, followed by larger screens (relatively speaking) on table-top models, then larger screens in consoles -- with or without cabinet doors, then back to table-top models, but this time tucked into "entertainment units." All used cathode ray tubes. Then the technology of liquid crystal display (LCD) and plasma caused another revolution in television as we knew it. The TV's profile slimmed down to a shadow of its former self. This opened up a whole new avenue for the consumer and his/her choices in the placement of these wonderful new video displays. They could be hung on the wall like a fine piece of art. You could purchase the optional stand to rest on a table or the floor. Articulating arms and various other mounting options became available based on designers' ideas and consumer demands. If you were a pioneer in ownership of this new technology, your prize possession was a badge of honor. As plasmas and LCDs became more popular, two kinds of consumers emerged in the marketplace -- those who wanted the screen in full view and those who didn't. The question became "What do we do with the TV?"

In part two of this article I will explore the answer. We'll take a look at TV display options that have become available to the consumer through cabinet makers, furniture manufacturers, AV installers, and designers.