Television facts for kids

Old portable television

Telegram television (also known as a TV) is a machine with a screen. Televisions receive broadcasting signals and change them into pictures and sound. The word "television" comes from the words tele (Greek for far away) and vision (sight).

Sometimes a television can look like a box. Older TVs had a large cathode ray tube in a large wooden frame and sat on the floor like furniture. Newer TVs are much lighter and flatter.

A TV can show pictures from many television networks. Computers and mobile devices also can be used for watching television programs.

The television was invented in the 1920s but the equipment was expensive and the pictures were poor. By the 1950s, these problems had been fixed and TVs became widespread.

At first, all televisions used an antenna (or aerial). This would pick up television programmes from broadcasting stations. A TV station could be many miles or kilometers away, and still be received. TVs can also show movies from VCD and DVD players or VCRs. Cable TV and Satellite television can provide more programs at once than broadcast can. Video game consoles connect to most modern TVs. Some computers can also use a TV as a computer monitor.

All TVs have screens where the picture is viewed. Before the 1950s these were usually "black and white", which made everything look grey, but all modern TVs show colors. Most 20th century screens also had rounded corners. That is because television screens were cathode ray tubes. These are like heavy glass jars with one side bulging out to form the screen.

Today flat panel displays are the usual kind. These are usually flat rectangles with straight edges. This long rectangle looks more like the shape of a movie theatre screen. This is called widescreen. If a widescreen set was 30 cm tall, it would be 53 cm wide. For this to work best, TV shows also need to be made in widescreen. Widescreen sets can still be any size, but they have the same widescreen shape.

The early 21st century is also when digital television transmission became more common than analog television.

Related pages

• Broadcasting
• Television network
• Media studies
• Kamishibai

Images for kids

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  Flat-screen televisions for sale at a consumer electronics store in 2008.

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  Baird in 1925 with his televisor equipment and dummies "James" and "Stooky Bill" (right).

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  Vladimir Zworykin demonstrates electronic television (1929)

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  Ad for the beginning of experimental television broadcasting in New York City by RCA in 1939

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  Samsung LED TV

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  A modern high gain UHF Yagi television antenna. It has 17 directors, and one reflector (made of 4 rods) shaped as a corner reflector.

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  Coaxial cable is used to carry cable television signals into cathode ray tube and flat panel television sets.

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  RCA 630-TS, the first mass-produced television set, which sold in 1946–1947

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  A 14-inch cathode ray tube showing its deflection coils and electron guns

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  The Christie Mirage 5000, a 2001 DLP projector.

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  A generic LCD TV, with speakers on either side of the screen.

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  OLED TV

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  Television was still in its experimental phase in 1928, but the medium's potential to sell goods was already predicted.

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  American family watching television, circa 1958

See also

In Spanish: Televisión para niños