This blog post takes an intriguing look at the evolution of TV technology and its social significance, from mechanical televisions to smart TVs.
About ten years ago, an animated series titled ‘Black Rubber Shoes’ aired in Korea and gained immense popularity. Set against the backdrop of an ordinary working-class family in 1970s Korea, this work depicted the daily lives and sentiments of people at the time through the eyes of a young elementary school boy named ‘Ki-young’, portraying them in a simple and warm manner. Even in Korea, this work, which dealt with a bygone era, evoked deep nostalgia and emotion in generations who hadn’t actually lived through that time. It particularly resonated globally, reminding viewers of the early industrialization they experienced during their formative years, fostering empathy that transcended generations and borders.
The elements that particularly stuck in viewers’ memories from this animation were bananas, ramen, and the television. While these three items are now common consumer goods easily purchased anywhere in the world, in 1970s Korea, they were ‘scarce items’ and ‘symbols of wealth’ that were hard to come by. Much like how imported fruits or appliances held special significance in Cold War-era Eastern Europe, early-development Southeast Asia, or parts of Latin America, these products carried symbolic value beyond being mere objects in Korean society at the time.
Back then, bananas were expensive imported fruits rarely tasted, and instant noodles were establishing themselves as a new food culture in a rapidly changing modern society. TVs, in particular, were the quintessential item revealing a household’s economic standing. Seeing scenes of neighbors crowding around the TV in the home of a so-called ‘well-off kid’ evokes a sense of alienation for Generation Y, who never experienced that era. To that extent, TV was a symbol of wealth back then, so rare that schools surveyed students about their household circumstances by asking whether they owned a TV.
But just as TVs are now so commonplace that there’s scarcely a home without one, in Korean history, TV achieved dazzling growth, development, and widespread adoption in just thirty to forty years. In this process, TV transcended being a mere electronic device to become a major medium that profoundly transformed Korean society’s culture and daily life.
Although TVs only began to be distributed in Korea in the 1960s, research and development on television had already been underway in the West much earlier. Its origins can be traced back to the Nipko disk, developed by the German inventor Paul Nipko in the 1880s. This disk was a circular metal plate with holes arranged in a spiral pattern, operating on the principle of transforming electrical signals into images. Light carrying the image of an object passed through the holes in the rotating metal plate. The light that passed through then generated electricity in a selenium photocell, restoring the image. This metal plate later made a significant contribution to the development of ‘mechanical television,’ where the conversion of light to electricity and the restoration of the electrical signal into an image occurred simultaneously. However, mechanical television had the inconvenience of requiring the Nipko disk to rotate over 600 times per minute to restore moving images. More importantly, its poor image quality led to it gradually fading into obscurity, supplanted by the later developed ‘electronic television’.
Electronic television emerged in the late 1920s and dominated most households for nearly a century until the early 2000s, relying heavily on the ‘cathode-ray tube’ (CRT) as its core technology. The CRT is a specialized vacuum tube that converts electrical signals into visible images by altering the position and intensity of an electron beam striking a fluorescent screen. People often compare the principle of the cathode ray tube to that of fireworks, and indeed, the scientific principles behind both are remarkably similar. In fireworks, heat is applied to specific atoms, causing them to absorb energy and accelerate the movement of electrons. As these heated electrons return to their original temperature, they release energy in the form of light, equivalent to the temperature difference. In a CRT, accelerated electrons transfer energy to phosphors composed of sulfide or silicate compounds. These phosphors convert the energy into light, thereby creating the image on the screen. In essence, the only difference lies in whether heat or a phosphor is the primary source of light emission. The introduction of the cathode ray tube eliminated the need for moving parts (such as the rotation of the Nipko disk) required to reproduce images, and it also enabled the display of picture quality surpassing that of existing mechanical televisions.
So when did the transition from black-and-white to color television occur? While mechanical televisions might seem ‘old-fashioned’ compared to electronic ones, designed only for black-and-white screens, the first color television was actually mechanical, not electronic. John Logie Baird, who invented mechanical television, successfully transmitted color broadcasts using mechanical television in 1928. By the 1940s in the United States, mechanical color television and electronic black-and-white television were locked in fierce competition. At that time, electronic color television was still in the research phase. However, mechanical color television would later lose its position to the subsequently developed electronic color television due to several critical flaws. The most significant of these was the ‘lack of backward compatibility’. To receive black-and-white broadcasts, mechanical color televisions required a special attachment device. In an era when color broadcasting had not yet firmly established itself, this proved a fatal flaw. People simply didn’t feel the need to give up the majority of black-and-white broadcasts or purchase expensive special equipment just to watch a small number of color programs. Furthermore, mechanical color TVs lacked sufficient production facilities. Ultimately, with the development and commercialization of color picture tubes, mechanical TVs vanished entirely.
Thus, the cathode ray tube, having defeated the Nippon Disk, enjoyed global popularity for over a century. However, its existence came under threat in the early 2000s with the emergence of flat-panel display TVs. Flat-panel displays refer to video display devices that are thinner and lighter than conventional TVs or computer monitors, with LCD and PDP being the most commonly used types. LCD TVs utilize liquid crystals, whose molecular arrangement changes in response to electrical signals, enabling them to exhibit specific directionality. The basic operating principle involves arranging components in this order: a polarizing filter, a color filter, the panel (a plate with liquid crystals arranged in a regular, dense pattern), and a backlight. Light is then emitted from the backlight toward the panel. As the light passes through each liquid crystal, it refracts in different patterns. This refracted light then passes through the polarizing filter and color filter, converting into pixels with distinct colors and brightness levels. PDP TVs are products that emit light using plasma (gas discharge). Plasma is a substance electrically neutral, formed when a gas is heated to extremely high temperatures or separated into electrons and atomic nuclei by electrical discharge. The operating principle of a PDP TV involves injecting neon and argon gas between two thin glass plates, inducing discharge between electrodes mounted above and below, and then using the ultraviolet light generated there to cause self-luminescence, thereby reproducing the screen image. These two types of TVs, LCD and PDP, have displaced CRT TVs and now dominate most of the TV market.
Thus far, I’ve focused on the ‘hardware’ of TVs and explained them in great detail, yet defining exactly what a TV is remains a truly difficult problem. In fact, we unconsciously define a TV as “a large machine placed in the living room that allows us to watch images,” and this is why I, too, focused on the hardware to explain how this machine called a TV has been constructed over time and what principles it operates on. However, as the saying goes, “There is no more TV,” and as computers and smartphones now easily handle the roles traditionally performed by TVs, we need to reconsider what TV actually is. First, the dictionary definition of TV is: “an electrical communication method that transmits the optical image of an object via radio waves and reproduces it on a receiving device. Or, the device that receives this image.” If we focus on the “electrical communication method” rather than the “receiving device,” then this definition alone already places DMB or broadcasts viewed on computers within the category of TV. Then, if the TV hardware itself performs functions beyond merely reproducing images—such as internet access or phone calls—should these functions also be included within the category of TV? A prime example related to this is the smart TV, which refers to a TV that allows users to freely switch between three screens—TV, mobile phone, and PC—to watch videos. While not yet widely adopted, many currently view it as simply a TV with added phone and PC functions. However, if the distinctions between computers, TVs, and other electronics become completely meaningless in the near future, the TV of that time will no longer be a mere image reproducer. Instead, it will be a device that displays the information users desire across various fields like broadcasting, communication, the internet, and gaming.
It’s often said that TV is no longer a “idiot box.” Indeed, with the introduction of advanced technology, TVs are undergoing remarkable functional evolution. Once derided as a “idiot box” for unilaterally feeding viewers only sensational information, TVs are now transforming into “smart boxes” through convergence with communications and the internet. Viewers are also evolving from passive spectators who merely stare blankly at the screen to active users who utilize TV to obtain desired information across diverse fields like health and education. TV content is also becoming increasingly personalized, allowing users to freely select programs matching their tastes and, further, receive customized information tailored specifically for them. Furthermore, TVs incorporating artificial intelligence have recently emerged, offering features that recognize viewers’ voices or actions and respond accordingly. While technological advancements have been developed over a long period, functional growth is relatively recent. Therefore, it is worth anticipating how TV will be developed to enhance people’s quality of life in the future.
Thus, TV has transcended its role as a mere video receiver, becoming central to information and communication technology and an indispensable part of modern life. As future TVs continue to advance, we must also adapt our lives and ways of thinking to these changes. Looking back at TV’s history reveals just how rapid and diverse its pace of development has been. TV, still evolving today, may well drive another wave of innovation through new functions and roles we haven’t yet imagined. Amidst this tide of change, it will be fascinating to observe how TV becomes even more deeply integrated into our lives.
