The Love Boat and its latest revival might lend credence to the moniker "idiot box," but trash TV notwithstanding, television was a smart invention. And developers were hitting milestones long before they learned how to show you every pore on Dan Rather's nose. 1926
Scottish electrical engineer John Logie Baird gives the first demonstration of a workable television system to the public, using mechanical scanning technology.
1927
California inventor Philo Farnsworth is the first to be granted a US patent for an all-electronic television system.
1929
The world's first television station is built in London; programs are experimental.
1934
The United States creates the Federal Communications Commission to regulate all matters of broadcasting and telecommunications in the country.
1936
The British Broadcasting Corp. (BBC) starts regular TV broadcasting.
1939
The National Broadcasting Co. (NBC) introduces television to the American public at the World's Fair in New York City, with a live broadcast of the opening address by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
1950
The FCC adopts a color television standard developed by the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS). However, this standard is incompatible with existing black-and-white TV sets, prompting regulators to reverse their ruling three years later.
1953
The FCC drops the CBS standard in favor of a system developed by the Radio Corporation of America (RCA). Named after the National Television System Committee, an FCC body that proposed the standard, NTSC is used to this day in North America and Japan.
Later in the year, NBC -- at that time an RCA subsidiary -- airs its first color broadcast, a program starring Kukla, Fran, and Ollie and the Boston Pops.
1954
CBS and NBC begin regular color broadcasts, even though only one in 100 US households owns a color TV set.
1966
Europe is divided over which TV standard to adopt. The United Kingdom, West Germany, and others choose PAL (Phase Alternation Line); France and the USSR select Secam (Système Electronique Couleur Avec Mémoire).
1968
Japanese television network NHK begins development of a new television standard, which later becomes High Definition Television, or HDTV.
1983
Japan's NHK network presents HDTV technology at a conference in Montreux, Switzerland.
1986
The United States and Europe veto a Japanese proposal to make Japanese HDTV the worldwide standard.
1987
European consumer electronics companies present new, upscale TV standard D2 MAC (Multiplexed Analog Components; the D indicates digital sound transmission), which is intended to be a precursor to analog European HDTV.
In November, the FCC creates the Advisory Committee on Advanced Television Service to come up with a common standard for digital television in the United States.
1989
Japan is the first country to begin regular broadcasting of HDTV programs. The standard chosen is NHK's analog Hi-Vision format.
1993
At a meeting of engineers from 18 countries, MPEG-2 (for Moving Picture Experts Group) is agreed upon as worldwide standard for digital television pictures. However, for broadcasting these pictures and for sound encoding, each region goes its own way -- leading to the usual incompatibilities among the United States, Europe, and Japan.
Europeans drop D2 MAC and officially declare Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB) to be their digital TV system of choice.
1994
Digital satellite TV service DirecTV is launched.
1996
WebTV is the first company to marry the Internet with television sets.
On 26 December, the FCC approves the standard for Advanced TV, which includes HDTV and multichannel Standard Digital Television (SDTV).
1997
Microsoft buys WebTV for US$425 million in cash and stock.
1998
Twenty-two so-called early-builder stations in the top 10 US markets are scheduled to begin first digital TV broadcasts on 1 November.
1999
By 1 May, network affiliates in the top 10 markets -- representing 30 percent of US households -- are required by the FCC to be on the air with digital TV programs. The same goes for network affiliates in the top 30 markets -- representing 53 percent of the country -- by 1 November.
2002
1 May is the final date for all remaining commercial stations to have digital TV facilities in operation.
2006
If all goes according to plan, analog TV ceases. By now, better have your old TV sets updated to the digital age with set-top boxes, or buy a new television.
The FCC plans to auction off frequencies formerly used for analog broadcasting, hoping to net $6 billion.
Sources:
TV history timeline by the German Consumer Electronics Association (in German)
National Association of Broadcasters homepage
Technical and historical digital TV information
History of Advanced TV in the United States
