Name: ___________________________________________Grade & Section: _________________

Subject: Media Arts 9 Teacher: _____________ __________________ Score: ______________

Lesson : Quarter 3 Week 1 LAS 1

Activity Title : The Evolution of Television
Learning Target : Identify two technological developments that paved the way for the evolution of
television.
Reference(s) : https://2012books.lardbucket.org/books/mass-communication-media-and-
culture/s12-01-the-evolution-of-television.html
LAS Writer : Ritchie A. Aboltivo

The Origins of Television

Two key technological developments in the late 1800s played a vital role in the evolution of television:
the cathode ray tube and the scanning disk. The cathode ray tube, invented by German physicist
Karl Ferdinand Braun in 1897, was the forerunner of the television picture tube. It had a florescent
screen that emitted a visible light (in the form of images) when struck by a beam of electrons. The
scanning disk, invented by German inventor Paul Nipkow, was a large, flat metal disk that could be
used as a rotating camera. It served as the foundation for experiments on the transmission of visual
images for several decades. Out of the cathode ray tube and the scanning disk, two types of primitive
television systems evolved: mechanical systems and electronic systems. Mechanical television
systems had several technical disadvantages: low resolution caused fuzzy images, and the use of a
spinning disk limited the number of new pictures that could be seen per second, resulting in
excessive flickering. By 1939, all mechanical television broadcasts in the United States had been
replaced by electronic broadcasts.
Color Technology
Early televisions were expensive, and the technology was slow to catch on because
development was delayed during World War II. Color technology was delayed even further because
early color systems were incompatible with black-and-white television sets. Following the war,
television rapidly replaced radio as the new mass medium. During the “golden age” of television in the
1950s, television moved away from radio formats and developed new types of shows, including the
magazine-style variety show and the television spectacular. Since 1960, several key technological
developments have taken place in the television industry. Color television gained popularity in the late
1960s and began to replace black-and-white television in the 1970s. Cable television, initially
developed in the 1940s to cater to viewers in rural areas, switched its focus from local to national
television, offering an extensive number of channels. In 2009, the traditional analog system, which
had been in place for 60 years, was replaced with digital television, giving viewers a higher-quality
picture and freeing up frequency space. As of 2010, nearly half of American viewers have high-
definition television, which offers a crystal-clear picture in wide-screen to provide a cinematic
experience at home.
Activity: Please respond to the following writing prompts. Each response should be a minimum of
one paragraph.
1. Prior to World War II, television was in the early stages of development. How did these changes
make postwar television superior to its predecessor? This space is
2. Compare the television you use now with the television from your childhood. for the QR
Code
How have television sets changed in your lifetime?