The Influence of Television

As a society, we take television for granted. It's easy to 'vege' out against the screen after a hards day work but did you know that on average viewing time for television can mount up to four hours per person? This got me thinking just how did television become so dominant in society and why was it invented?

Television was a development from radio. It was set up by the government as a means to communicate with the army. The idea that a spinning disc would project still images on screen was slowly developed into the twentieth century. Baird developed this technology and in 1925, the first television was showcased at Selfridges in London. This era soon developed into what was known as the 'Mechanical Television Era' where the still image, minuscule screen television was developed into the basics of an electronic television. This meant that still images were developed into 40 lines where pictures could start moving. Televisions didn't go on general sale in this format until 1946 after disruptions such as World War Two hindered technological advances.



From the broadcast of the Queen's coronation.



Television soon took the nation by storm. Although it was a quality product to own and it was released during times of economic hardship, the television allowed access to current affairs and entertained those who were lucky enough to own one. Events such as the Queen's coronation were watched by the whole nation and it was also broadcasted in colour, a rarity during its time in the mid twentieth century.

Technological advancements became more frequent towards the end of the twentieth century:  where digital became more efficient than analogue frequencies and satellite become more developed than terrestrial broadcasting. Soon after networks such as Sky were created, changes to the quality of the actual screen soon came into place such as High Definition and Third Dimensional TV. On demand services also came into place and now access to television can come from computers, phones, public places, ipads, iphones, in fact, a large proportion of electronic devices are now capable of broadcasting television programmes.

Television has become a pinnacle in the nations life. From watching 24 hour news coverage or reality shows, all the way to period dramas and blockbuster films, it is clear that the development of television comes from both technological as well as commercial purposes. Many networks seek to make a profit but one broadcaster in particular have different aims. The BBC is now regarded as one of the most powerful broadcasters world wide whilst its website is considered as the best in the world. It was founded in October 1922. It is funded through taxation and the TV licence which must be paid by all adults who own a television or radio. The money acquired through this pays for programmes which under the Royal Charter aims to 'inform, educate and entertain'. The money also pays for other parts of the BBC such as the radio, Internet and on demand services along with the red button services on the television.

The BBC has values which is stands for such as educating the nation, enhancing its communication of current affairs, bringing the UK to the world and vice verse. It also stands for stimulating creativity, enhancing the counties exposure to technological advances and finally representing the UK, its nations, regions and communities. It is so significant because it represents the  nation in terms of media and is so easily recognisable across the developing world.

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Acknowledgements as of 14/5/12

History of television.ppt

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_television

http://www.tvhistory.tv/

http://www.tvhistory.btinternet.co.uk/html/landmark.html.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/historyofthebbc/index.shtml

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Why_was_television_made

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