TELEVISION Essay

Television is shortly termed T.V. The word television has its roots in Greek and Latin, where tele means "Far" and Visio means "sight". Television has various slang like telly, the small screen, and idiot box. It has become an important part of our lives now. It is important for both social and educational life. It is also a source of communication just like computers and newspapers. Television helps you connect with the outside world. It is mainly used for advertising, sports, watching news, and entertainment. Television became common after World War 2, especially in the United Kingdom. In the mid of 20th century, televisions were used as weapons to alter public opinions. Color television was first introduced in mid of the 1960s in the United States. After 2010, televisions got shifted from Standard-definition Television (SDTV) to High-definition Television (HDTV). There are different formats of HDTV such as 720p, 360p, 1020p. The Internet has popularized television even more. People stream shows on Television through the internet on platforms like Netflix, Prime Video, etc., and India is one of the largest television markets. Currently, 66 percent of Indian household owns a television.

Earlier Cathode ray tubes were used which are now shifted to LCD, LED, and OLED; as these are energy efficient. OLED is the most updated one, and it is believed that in the near future LEDs will be replaced by OLED.

History of Televisions

Mechanical:

Facsimile television was introduced from 1843 to 1846 by Alexander Bain. A facsimile transmission system was a method of mechanical scanning of images. 1909 was the year when Georges Rignoux and A. Fournier first demonstrated the live transmission of images in Paris. Boris Rosing and Vladimir Zworykin used mechanical mirror drums to transmit, but they were not able to produce moving images as Selenium ions were very laggy and there was not enough sensitivity. Edouard Belin through his belinograph sent the first image via radio waves in 1921. Scottish inventor John Logie Baird and Nipkow Disk, on January 25 1926 demonstrated transmission of the face. This demonstration is considered the first public demonstration of television.

Electronic:

In 1897 J.J Thomson performed three well-known experiments, it was to deflect cathode rays. Deflection of cathode rays is the fundamental working of Cathode Ray tubes. Initially, cathode ray tubes were invented by Ferdinand Braun, so it is also called Braun Tube. Beams of electrons generated in a vacuum are known as cathode rays. These rays have nearly the speed of light. There was a flicker problem with the mechanical systems of television, which could be avoided with cathode rays. Cathode rays work under an electronic or magnetic field and a picture can be produced on a glass screen by coating the inside of the tube with a phosphorescent material. Different experiments were being done on televisions, and Vladimir Zworykin was doing experiments too with cathode rays tubes to create and show images. He created an electronic camera tube when he was as working in Westing House electric in 1923. But the image produced from the electronic camera tube had low contrast and definition and the light was dim too. Zworykin's experiments never went ahead from the laboratory stage.

The world's first 625-line television was developed by the Soviet Union in the year 1944. It became official in 1946, and it was first displayed in the city of Moscow. If we see the initial television, they were large and bulky because they used to contain cathode tubes and analog circuits. But the modern-day televisions are very thin and are easy to carry, and they give an aesthetic look.

Color:

Scientists started trying to produce color images as soon as the black and white televisions were built. Initially, color images were formed using three monochrome images. The first color television was claimed by Hovannes Adamian. Its patent number was 197183, and it was patented by Germany on 31 March 1908. The world's first color transmission was demonstrated by Scottish inventor John Logie Baird. The world's first color broadcast was on 4^th February 1938, and it was done by him only. Nipkow disk was used in this demonstration. It has three spirals of 30 aperture, and one spiral for each primary color in sequence.

Importance and Advantages of Television:

• It's a great source of information and it kills our boredom.
• Television makes us aware of the news around the world. Not only does it show us the current world, but it also tells us about our ancient civilizations.
• It is one of the cheapest modes of entertainment. It gives us entertainment at a very minimalistic rate. It can be a good friend to people who live alone and does not like to go out often.
• Channels like Nat Geo, Discovery, and History TV enhance our knowledge on topics like nature, and animals. Shows like Science of Stupid make us aware of physics that is used in our day-to-day life.
• It also increases Intelligence Quotient. We learn new facts and information through quiz shows. We can solve our daily life problems by learning tricks from Television shows. People often learn skills like cooking through TV.
• Television is a great platform to advertise. People can sell their ideas to the general public and earn a living.
• Not all people can attend music concerts, so Television makes it easy for them as they can watch it sitting at home.
• Comedy shows that are broadcasted on television act as laughter therapy.
• There are a few shows which motivate people. So, TV also acts as a motivational speaker. Motivational shows encourage people to push their limits.
• Bhajan is also available on television. People who could not afford to go and attend poojas can watch it on television.
• It is called Door darshan in Hindi because it makes us possible to see distant objects.
• Children can learn through animated shows and movies in a fun way avoiding boredom.

Disadvantages of Television

• Few companies broadcast inappropriate content to attract an audience and to earn money. Few shows are for adult audiences only but there are no ways in television to separate mature audiences from children. When one show is aired, it is aired for all, and as a result, young audiences are vulnerable to mature content.
• There are few shows which can make you addicted. When you are sad, and you watch something, it releases dopamine, which change your mood and makes you happy. This creates an urge to watch it again, and through this process you get addicted. And addiction to television, the internet, and mobile phones totally destroy your social life.
• It can be used to spread fake news also. Political parties can pay a few channels so that they speak in their favor. Politicians use it to manipulate the general audience as minds of younger audiences are mouldable and they may form false opinions, and once they reach a certain age they cannot be changed back. Shows often spread fake news and misplaced facts to earn ratings. Television can also affect social harmony by provoking one religion against another.
• Watching too much television affects our health too. It reduces our eyes' capabilities. Watching monitors regularly can force us to wear spectacles. If we just sit in one place and do not do any physical exercise it may affect our Body Mass Index (BMI). It can make us obese, which will eventually lead to different diseases like heart attack etc.

Why limiting screen time is important?

The younger generation is continuously glued to gadgets so it has become important to reduce that. Watching too much television affects both our mental and physical health. If a person watches too many shows, nothing in real life interests them. Television takes time of playing and interacting from the lives of children. To grow socially one must have social interactions. Limiting television time also teaches them time management. Time management will help in the long run of life.

Conclusion

Like all the other elements present in nature, television has advantages and disadvantages. People should note that the device isn't good or bad, it is just a device. And devices should act like servants, we shall not allow them to be our master. People who use it in a good manner call it a great invention of science, but people who do not use it in a good way and get caught in the vicious cycle, call it a bad invention. Everyone has remotes in their hands, and now it depends on them what channel do they want to see.