Trends in modern television. Television: history of creation and development. History of television in Russia Describe modern television

If in the past era TV programs were structured in accordance with various parameters - age, social, interests, educational, professional, which corresponded to both the value structures of society and its stratification, then in the post-Soviet period this clear structuredness is lost and disappears.

The picture that our media represent today is amorphous, vague and often secondary. Previously, there was a clear image-model of a teenager or young person, which was the focus of the entire structure of the mass media. With the loss of a young person's identity, the image of the "ideal consumer of video culture products", which is absolutely necessary for the functioning of the technological system, also disappears. mass communication... (For example, you need to know what time modern child goes to bed to determine the time of the show "Good night, kids").

Over the past 15 years, the number of TV channels available to the population has grown: today the average urban family in Russia has the opportunity to receive eight TV channels. New genres of television programs and types of television shows have appeared on the domestic television screen - foreign films in large numbers, "soap operas", talk shows, television games, music videos, all kinds of interviews in live with interactive communication.

Unlike other types of daily activities (reading books, shopping, playing sports, etc.), the consumption of media and in particular TV in a boom mass culture is total in nature. The power of its impact, which is not possessed by other media. No other information medium (mass media) in the country - neither radio, nor periodicals, not to mention cinema or the Internet - has created and reproduces today a contingent of its consumers with such consistency, on such a scale and with such a positive (according to the opinion of the overwhelming majority of consumers themselves) effect. Of the huge number of leisure activities that you can choose today, the most common is TV. The ease and free access to TV, the absence of the need to make any efforts and go to additional costs (for the purchase of newspapers, magazines, videotapes, selection of books, etc.), as well as the availability and clarity of the television language increase the attractiveness of the TV. And also a significant factor is the highest degree of trust in television of all existing mass media. 92% of Russian citizens watch TV every day (on average 3.5 hours), 55% trust it as an information channel, 56% consider it the most important personally for them as a source of information about the world, 58% watch it with interest and pleasure (another 29% - without special feelings).

The older part of the TV audience, somewhat more often than the average, is guided in viewing by domestic crime series and crime chronicles (although such guidelines today unite the entire Russian TV audience). The younger part (in many respects, rather, adolescent by the type of orientation and self-determination), with a slightly greater interest, is looking for game situations on the screen, especially those related to physical risk or an intellectual test, sensations and scandals (looking, one might say, games-achievements and games- violations), as well as programs on “male” and “female” interests, corresponding images of gender and age identity. A characteristic feature of our country is that the audience in our country is bipolar. One part lives with nostalgia for the old Soviet television, the other remembers little about Soviet television and lives with the realities of today.

Today you can enjoy the diversity and openness of our television. As for the content of television broadcast from the point of view of viewers' preferences, it is precisely in these preferences, the level of popularity and consumption of individual TV genres that the peculiarities of domestic television viewing, the specificity of our television and television audience, most clearly manifest themselves. For example, the Russian television audience lacks a serious interest in sports programs, sitcoms are not successful. Although; this is all rather controversial, since, of course, in our time the streets are not empty during the broadcast of figure skating or hockey.

We do not know by heart the names of all athletes. Although the international success of Alina Kabaeva influenced the level of interest in rhythmic gymnastics. This name is now familiar to almost everyone. The names of the first figure skaters (Evgeni Plushenko, Averbukh and Lobachev), hockey players (Pavel Bure is the country's most coveted bachelor) are also promoted on modern television, increasing the audience's interest in a particular sport and in sports in general. And it's not worth talking about football - almost the entire male part of our country, both the older and younger generation, is still obsessed with it. The study showed that about 20% of the audience watches sports programs regularly. Sports programs gather around them a predominantly male audience (71% of their regular viewers are men), quite young - from 25 to 40 years old, and with higher education... This audience is the most attractive to advertisers. At the same time, it is the most difficult to achieve, since they watch little TV. Sports on the television screen will bring this audience into maximum number... The structure of preferences for broadcasting sports on television is as follows: football, hockey, figure skating, gymnastics, boxing, swimming, athletics.

Although at the moment a sports product for domestic television is not profitable, the entire world experience shows that a sports competition with its unpredictable drama can attract a large number of viewers. Sports broadcasting is currently one of the most technically sophisticated television technologies. The usual shooting with five cameras remained only in tennis competitions. The most difficult races are the Formula One championship, which involves not only shooting from the side or from above, as is customary at the Paris - Dakar races. For example, a picture from a camera mounted in the helmet of the famous racer A. Senna allowed viewers to empathize in the last seconds of the great athlete's life. Such a method of lighting brings the TV product to a level that creates a complete illusion of its own participation - before our eyes not only the dizzying pace of the race, but also all the parameters of the car's movement, including the speed and engine speed. At the moment, domestic sports, in particular, the most beloved football and hockey, are still devoid of one of the most important components that attract TV viewers - stars. Moreover, the stars are real. But stars will not emerge without the active participation of television. It is television, actively showing sports, forming a positive mythology of Russian sports, "nurturing" domestic stars, that can turn sports into a promising format for domestic television broadcasting. Television itself can successfully raise this interest. Sport, especially sport on a television screen, is more than just sport - it is an ideology, a national idea that is so lacking in modern Russia.

Status educational programs in our country over the past 30 years shows a downward trend, public preferences have changed over the years, moving from educational programs and news to entertainment, especially those that were previously unavailable for political or economic reasons. As a result, today there is an oversaturation of these products, a significant part of which is addressed directly to young people. In recent years, this slowly maturing trend has become particularly clear.

Information function

The purpose of all mass media is to satisfy the information needs of a person, society, and the state. This also applies to television, which differs only in that it is able to disseminate information more fully, faster, more reliably and emotionally more intensely than radio or print media. Speaking about the information function of television, it is probably necessary to confine ourselves to a narrow and specific interpretation of the very concept of "information". The regular receipt by people of economic, political, social and cultural information in the modern world has become the norm. Hence the fact that information programs are reference points the broadcasting schedule of any TV company, and all other programs are located in the intervals between news releases. Special consideration is required for the accentuated appeal of television information to events deviating from the norm: armed conflicts, catastrophes, natural disasters, etc. This phenomenon can be explained by the pursuit of sensational materials for the sake of increasing viewers' interest, raising the rating and, accordingly, the profitability of the broadcasting company. However, while recognizing this factor, something else should be noted. For any system - from technical device to the biological organism and human society, information about deviations from the norm is important. The machine informs about this by turning on the corresponding indicator, the living organism - by the pain sensation. The desire to reflect non-normative phenomena in the life of society can be considered such an "indicator", a "painful sensation" of society. This informative function is performed by television news broadcasts. This is a worldwide practice that does not allow the substitution of information by agitation. Another thing is to find the necessary tonality for reporting disasters and wars. The world standard, tested for decades: the release of news, despite the abundance of bad news, should not leave the audience in a mood of depression and despair. Everything is good in moderation. For operational coverage of events of this kind, about which, of course, nothing is known in advance, three conditions are necessary: ​​professionalism of the staff, technical equipment of the TV company and a high level of organization.

Cultural and educational function

Any TV show introduces a person to culture to some extent. Even news programs demonstrate to the viewer the participants in the events, the presenters, their communication style, degree of literacy, etc. All this influences the viewers' attitudes both directly and as a negative example. To a greater extent, the presenters of the programs are perceived as a reference. This fact, by the way, was and remains a cause for alarm among television critics, since the emergence of many television channels of different levels, in turn, gave rise to an abundance of uncultured and insufficiently literate presenters. Naturally, the cultural and educational function of TV is performed by broadcasting any cultural events: performances, concerts, films and television films. Speaking about introducing the audience to art through television, one cannot, of course, fail to note a certain "inferiority" of such an acquaintance with excellent, however, it should be admitted: for a huge number of people this is almost the only opportunity to get acquainted with certain works of art. In cultural and educational programs there is very often an element of didactics and edification. The task of the authors is to make it unobtrusive, extremely delicate.

Integrative function

All media support the normal functioning of the society to which they are affected. A certain community of people who make up the audience of television media is formed from the fact that a certain number of people consciously watch this or that program. The task of television is to develop this sense of belonging of everyone to everyone. Strengthening common values ​​for the audience (for universal, national, and other value systems), as well as countering destructive tendencies in relation to society, should be the dominant feature of TV, like any other media. And in this sense, the fulfillment of the integrative function of TV becomes much more complicated where the composition of the viewer audience is complex: in the national, confessional terms. It is also necessary to take into account the interests of various social and age groups.

Socio-pedagogical or managerial function

The fulfillment of this function presupposes direct involvement in one or another system of influencing the population, in promoting a certain way of life with an appropriate set of political, moral and spiritual values. The degree of this involvement and the measure of the impact of TV on the audience in terms of performing this function depend on the system in which the given television media operates. If the system means the state, then it depends on the nature of the given state, the degree of its democracy, etc. However, even in the most democratic states, television in a significant part of its programs serves as a conductor of state policy. So, the slogan of the BBC, for example, is the words: “Inform. To teach. Entertain". Politics is always primary in relation to the propaganda that serves it. However, there is nothing immoral in the fact of cooperation of television (or a single journalist) with the state: if this state is not immoral. Most obviously, the management function of TV can be implemented in information and other socio-political programs. They talk about TV as a means of people's control over the actions of the authorities (in the language of television terminology - the audience behind the system). This attitude towards the media in general and TV in particular is especially strong among the population of the post-Soviet states. People are waiting for the reaction of the authorities to critical speeches concerning certain phenomena of life, due to the inertia inherited from the Soviet system, while the media is just a way to convey information about these phenomena to their audience.

The further depends not on the media, which falls out of the chain, where only the authorities and the people remain. So, the ideal of impartiality and independence is doomed to remain only an ideal. The one who pays is the one who calls the tune. The managerial function of television (like any other media) does not necessarily operate in the "state - media - people" scheme. The television mass media can be controlled by certain party, financial-oligarchic, regional, etc. groupings.

Organizational function

The organizing function of TV arises when television itself becomes the initiator of a particular public action. An example of this function can be, say, many hours of telethons for charitable purposes. It should be clearly distinguished from the management function, where television is more of a tool.

Educational function

The educational function of TV is understood as the broadcasting of educational cycles to help people receiving this or that education (for example, didactic programs for language learners, for those entering universities, etc.).

Recreational function

Recreation is rest, relaxation, recuperation.

So, theoretically, it is generally accepted that the main functions and tasks of television are: informing the population about events in the country and the world (information function); education of the population, popularization of knowledge and dissemination of culture (cultural and educational); organization of leisure and providing rest, emotional relaxation, entertainment (leisure and entertainment, recreational); education of civic convictions and views of the population (educational); rallying society, mobilizing the population to solve state problems (the function of social integration and political mobilization). One way or another, television performs all these tasks in any society, hierarchy is important. So, the main functions of Soviet TV were: informational, educational (ideological), cultural and educational. Entertainment, which they preferred to call the function of organizing the leisure of the population, was present as an additional, not basic one.

Finishing the second chapter of the work, we can conclude that today we have a different television, another generation has grown, but the hierarchy of functions remains the same. The main tasks of television in the minds of people are still informing, enlightening and educating the population. The entertainment function, as before, is considered (in any case, declared) as an additional, not basic

For many people, TV has become that "sworn friend" that devours most of their energy and free time. It is very easy to calculate what part of life is being eaten by the "box".

Eight hours - that's a third of your life - goes to sleep. Another third goes to work. Let's say that of the remainder, a person spends four hours watching television. This makes up one-sixth of your life. What remains? There is still one sixth part - four hours - that is needed for food, transport, shower and other household chores. What if more than four hours a day are devoted to television? Count for yourself.

You can, of course, justify yourself, say that television gives you the opportunity to rest, relax, have fun. That this is the easiest and most harmless way to spend your free time. But let's see if it is so harmless.

The longer your attention is absorbed by the TV screen, the less your own thoughts arise, the lower your mental activity. If you watch serials, shows, advertisements for a long time, then your own thoughts almost do not arise.

But don't think that this is relaxation and rest. Despite the fact that your mind does not generate its own thoughts, it is involved in the mental activity of a television show, “thinks” its thoughts. He continuously absorbs thoughts and images coming off the TV screen. At the same time, he goes into a passive state of increased impressionability, which is akin to hypnosis. This is what makes television a powerful mind manipulation tool.

Corporations pay billions of dollars to impose their products on the consumer in a state of unconscious receptivity. And at the same time they always remain in profit, at the expense of the consumer, of course. The owners of finance capital and transnational corporations pay even more to make the thoughts of the “masters of the world” the thoughts of TV viewers in this state of unconscious heightened impressionability, and they, as a rule, succeed.

Usually, television puts a person below the level of thoughts, like alcohol or drugs. In addition, it creates a strong, painful attachment. Almost every "normal" person can remember how he switched channels for a long time, not because he found something interesting, but because there was nothing interesting. The person "got hooked", was, as it were, hypnotized, plunged into a kind of trance. His own mental activity is paralyzed, his mind is numb, and his attention is completely captured by the images passing on the screen. And the more meaningless the action, the stronger the hypnotic effect.

Of course, the TV itself is not to blame for anything. You can create programs that will give useful knowledge about our wonderful world, help people change their lives for the better, open their hearts, and even be able to awaken thought. In this sense, television has enormous potential, which humanity has not yet touched. But, to our great grief, television channels are controlled by people interested in putting a person to sleep, making him unconscious, and thus covertly controlling the behavior and thoughts of masses of people.

Such programs and advertisements are especially harmful, in which images change every two to three seconds or more often. Watching such programs leads to the development of attention deficit disorder. Millions of children all over the world suffer from this mental disorder. Short periods of time, during which attention is drawn to rapidly changing images, make perception superficial, do not make it possible to comprehend the pictures flickering on the screen.

On television, one gets a general and superficial impression, which quickly fades from consciousness.

I looked at tourists walking through the most beautiful places, and immediately forgot about it. But if you went by yourself, with difficulties, experiencing the opening beauties, if they went through the feelings, they will stay with you forever, become a part of you, make your perception of the world richer and brighter, and life - more joyful. The picture on the TV screen is bright, but it is dead, lifeless.

Material for the creative formation and development of a person can only be that which has passed through the senses. And this is, first of all, the influence of nature, or the direct influence of other people, that is, the living, real world. The picture on the screen is flat, dead, does not carry impulses that develop creativity in a person. Here the images are ready, they are simply consumed. And a person learns to be a consumer of images, and not a creative person.

TV is a symbol of a society of consumption and manipulation.

His moving pictures capture only the surface layers of the mind. And even then the mind often does not have time to process the incoming information with a quick change of images or because perception is quickly dulled due to a large information overload. Therefore, after a day or two, nothing remains of these impressions. They are superseded by others, and so on ad infinitum. And time is irretrievably lost and a person rushes to death, not having time to think about the meaning of life.

There is another danger as well.

"Living" emotionally the life of the hero of a film or TV series, you, imperceptibly for yourself, load a lot into your subconscious. And someday you will manifest other people's models of behavior, other people's principles and ideas in life, thinking that this is your choice and your desire, and not inspired from the outside. If these are aggressive, vicious behaviors, they ruin your life.

To our common grief, TV poison is appealing.

Television is that Trojan horse, which we ourselves drag into our home and allow our enemies, enslavers to invisibly penetrate our consciousness and suppress its resistance. The army is powerless against information weapons. The fifth column operates in every consciousness. Neither tanks nor aircraft can do anything here. The weapon of the last war is no longer suitable in the information war.

Watching and listening, in the end, gets boring, it becomes boring. A person starts switching channels, looking for something new, without knowing what. Living someone else's life in primitive TV shows is painful. But when your life is sadly monotonous or full of suffering, bright pictures attract like a drug. But, like any drug, it is required in more and more large quantities... So days and years go by so senselessly.

A normal person needs action, creative work, work. And television takes a person into a fictional illusory world, interferes with his full-blooded life in the real world, and stops his development. Reality is replaced by an illusion, a product of someone else's, often very poor imagination. This is a voluntary emigration to the virtual world. There it is good for those who are for real life died. But development to divine perfection is possible only in the real world.

With the help of television, it has become easy to control a person:

• Television controls where a person is looking: He looks where the camera is directed.

• It also governs what a person sees. He sees on the screen only what the director or presenter wants to show. With the help of editing and computer effects, the picture can be changed the way the channel owners need it. For example, snatching a very old person or an unsuccessful slogan out of the mass of demonstrators, and even editing the picture with computer methods, they caricature opposition speeches. Choosing the "right moment" to disperse the youth protesting against the policy of the "golden billion", the antiglobalists' actions are presented as outrages of hooligans. A lot of such techniques have been developed.

• It teaches the brain to consume ready-made images and weaned it off mental labor: Television creates ready-made images that are loaded directly into the mind without any thought. People receive information, which is often misinformation, means of manipulation, violence against consciousness. An excess of information reduces the emotional background of life. People do not rejoice and do not have fun, do not sing and do not communicate. They just watch and listen as others do it. Reactions to moving pictures on the screen, such as football, are purely reflexive, like a cat to a small moving object.

1. Never watch TV programs randomly, choose in advance the program you want to watch.
2. Look away from the screen regularly so that it does not completely overwhelm your vision.
3. Do not make the sound louder than necessary, so that the TV does not deafen you even at the hearing level.
4. During commercials, turn off the sound and do not look at the screen.
5. If you are used to watching TV news programs or reading about the news in a newspaper, try to view the information offered to you from different angles.

The media have always influenced the mass consciousness. With the increase in the number of various media, the emergence of new ones, their influence becomes more and more extensive and diversified. In conditions modern development Russia, when printed mass media and the Internet are not available to all groups of the population and regions, television remains the most mass media communications.

Today the viewer often becomes a hostage of television programs. It is enough to remember any interactive television show to confirm this. If viewers devote so much time to television entertainment, accordingly, everything that they watch has an impact on them. We strive to copy the mannerisms and gestures of the heroes of the TV series, we try to wear the same clothes as the heroes of TV programs, have a haircut or put on the same makeup as they will advise us in a fashion show in style.

It is also worth noting that in modern society, television advertising is an important and widespread part of television. This can be a video in an ad unit, an ad break, a crawl text, a TV ad, a virtual ad, etc. Advertising creates a virtual world, a performance in which fictional images live. People know this, but still obey the laws of advertising.

Television is not only films, news, TV shows and advertisements, but also a powerful tool for agitation and propaganda. The sensitivity of the human psyche to the suggestion of information has made television a tool for disseminating messages that affect public consciousness. Therefore, today the role of television cannot be underestimated, because today information has become an instrument of power.

In the aggregate, the audience of television is millions, a small, most often family, group of people usually gathers at the screen, and the viewing takes place, as a rule, at home. This is a very important circumstance. If newspapers, magazines, books were originally intended to be read alone, moreover, in a variety of conditions (including on the road and even at work), if listening to radio broadcasts can also take place in a variety of conditions and mainly individually, then television (related in terms of its audiovisual characteristics, cinema and theater - forms of art that have long been established as collective performances) requires the ability to address simultaneously both a million audience and a small group of people, contact with which should take place at a high level of trust. At the same time, this does not exclude broadcasts from large halls with large groups viewers, when the nature of communication with the audience turns out to be different, close in type to the "rally of millions".

The mass audience turns to television mainly in their free time, most often in the evening after a working day or on rest days, which requires journalists to be able to combine information richness with high level fun, with the ability to "fit" programs into the hours of rest and preparation for the next working day. The "compulsion" of TV programs, i.e. the inability for the viewer to change the viewing time of programs, their order, structure and tempo requires a particularly careful approach to programming.

Thus, the role of television in the modern world is enormous.

It informs us about the latest events in the world, entertains us, develops, but at the same time has a great impact on our psyche, both positive and negative.

Based on the above, we will identify the main functions of television.

1) Information function(the main function of television, which is the ability to satisfy the information needs of an individual, society, and the state. Of course, compared to its predecessors, television is a more predominant type of media, since it disseminates information more fully, faster, more reliable and more emotional. in the modern world, television has a serious competitor - the Internet, television is still in demand among people.

People want to be aware recent developments occurring in the country, the world, this necessary condition full participation in modern life, and television copes with this function. People get operational information from all over the world. Information can be from a wide variety of areas: politics, military events, medicine, culture, sports and much more. Each sphere finds its admirers.)

• 2) Cultural and educational function (Any television program in one way or another introduces the viewer to culture. Even in news releases, the very appearance of the people shown, their manner of communication, the degree of literacy affect the viewer's attitudes. So, it has to do with culture or its absence any TV show, but there are programs and special channels on television that were specially created to familiarize the audience with the achievements of science and culture.)
• 3) Integrative function (All mass media, primarily television, by their nature are capable of supporting the normal functioning of the society to which their influence extends. The very fact of regular viewing of the program by different people already testifies to their certain community. The larger and more diverse the community the broadcasting is directed to, the more carefully programs should be drawn up so that not a single part of the audience is discriminated against.In addition to national and religious characteristics, attention is paid to social (including class), socio-psychological, age differences of people.)
• 4) Socio-pedagogical function (management function) (Assumes the direct involvement of television in the system of administrative influence on the population, in the promotion of a certain way of life with an appropriate set of political and spiritual and moral values, the formation of opinions and motivation to action come from the government. The degree of this involvement and the impact depends on the nature of the state.

This function is close to the management and integrative function)

• 5) Organizational function (Organization of any joint actions of masses of people. This can disseminate information about changing the route of the bus or the organization of various fairs, holidays)
• 6) Educational function (Educational programs are broadcasted, as a rule, on a channel specially designated for this purpose. They are distinguished by consistency, periodicity)
• 7) Recreational function (Recreation - rest, restoration of human strength expended in the process of labor. This can include various films, serials, and other programs that are easily perceived, do not require mental abilities and allow a person to restore lost strength)

The history of mankind contains a whole series of remarkable discoveries and inventions. Television - that is, the transmission of sound and images over great distances, are rightfully included in this list.

What are the physical processes underlying the transmission and reproduction of television images? To whom do we owe the birth of the television?

How television was born

Scientists have worked on the creation of far-sightedness different countries for many decades. But TV was invented by Russian scientists: B. L. Rosing, V. K. Zvorykin and Grigory Ogloblinsky.

The first steps that brought the world closer to transmitting an image over a distance were decomposition of the image into separate elements with the help of the disk of the German engineer Paul Nipkow, as well as the discovery of the photoelectric effect by the German scientist Heinrich Hertz. The first televisions based on the Nipkow disk were mechanical.

In 1895, humanity was enriched by two great inventions - radio and cinema. This was the impetus for the search for a way to transmit images over a distance.

... The era of electronic television began in 1911, when the Russian engineer Boris Rosing received a patent for the transmission of images over a distance using a cathode-ray tube designed by him.

The transmitted image consisted of four white stripes on a black background.

In 1925, Rosing's student Vladimir Zvorykin demonstrates a full-fledged electronic television set by him.

But further research and production of television receivers required a lot of money. The famous American entrepreneur of Russian origin David Sornov was able to appreciate this great invention. He invested the necessary amount to continue the work.

In 1929, together with the engineer Grigory Ogloblinsky, Zvorykin created the first transmitting tube - the iconoscope.

And in 1936, in the laboratory of V. Zvorykin, the first electronic TV set on lamps got a start in life. It was a massive wooden box with a 5 "(12.7) cm screen. Regular television broadcasting in Russia began in 1939.

Gradually, tube models were replaced by semiconductor ones, and then just one microcircuit began to replace the entire electronic filling of the TV

Very briefly about the main stages of the work of television

In a modern television system, 3 stages can be distinguished, each of which performs its own task:

• converting an image of an object into a series of electrical impulses called a video signal (image signal);
• video signal transmission to the place of its reception;
• converting the received electrical signals into an optical image.

How the camcorder works

The production of television programs begins with the operation of the transmitting television camera. Consider the device and the principle of operation of such a device, developed by Vladimir Zvorykin back in 1931.

The main part of the camera (iconoscope) is a light-sensitive, mosaic target. It is on it that the image created by the lens is projected. The target is covered with a mosaic of several million isolated cesium-coated silver grains.

The principle of operation of the iconoscope is based on the phenomenon of external photoelectric effect.- knocking out electrons from a substance under the influence of incident light. The light falling on the screen knocks out electrons from these grains, the amount of which depends on the brightness of the light flux at a given point on the screen. Thus, an electrical image invisible to the eye appears on the screen.

There is also an electron gun in the tube. It creates an electron beam, which 25 times in 1 second manages to "run around" the mosaic screen, reading this image and creating in electrical circuit a current called an image signal.

V modern cameras the image is recorded not on a light-sensitive film, but on a digital matrix consisting of millions of light-sensitive cells - pixels. Light striking the cells generates an electrical signal. Moreover, its value is proportional to the intensity of the light beam.

To obtain a color image, pixels are covered with red, blue and green light filters. As a result, the matrix captures three images - red, blue and green. Their superposition gives us color image, photographed object.

How the video signal reaches the TV

The received video signal has low frequency and cannot spread over considerable distances. That's why as the carrier frequency is used high frequency em waves, modulated (changed) by a video signal. They spread over the air at a speed of 300,000 km / sec.

Television operates on waves of the meter and decimeter range, which can only propagate within the line of sight, that is, they cannot bend around the globe. Therefore, to expand the broadcasting area use high TV towers with transmitting antennas, So, the Ostankino TV tower has a height of 540 meters.

With the development of satellite and cable TV the practical significance of TV towers is gradually decreasing.

Satellite TV is provided by a number of satellites located above the equator. The ground station transmits its signals to the satellite, which relays them to the ground, covering a fairly wide area. The network of such satellites allows television broadcasting to cover the entire territory of the Earth.

Cable TV provides one receiving antenna, from which television signals are transmitted to individual consumers via a special cable.

How does TV work

So, in 1936, in the laboratory of V. Zvorykin, the first electronic TV with a cathode ray tube (kinescope). Of course, since then it has undergone many changes, but still consider how the image is reproduced on a TV with a cathode ray tube.

It is in this glass bulb that the transformation of an invisible electronic signal into a visible image takes place. An electron gun is located in its narrow part, and on the opposite side there is a screen, the inner surface of which is covered with a phosphor. The cannon shoots electrons at this coating. The number of electrons is controlled by the video signal received by the receiving device. Electrons hitting the phosphor cause it to glow. The brightness of the glow depends on the number of electrons hitting a given point. The collection of points of different luminosity and create a picture. The electron beam shoots the screen from left to right, line by line, gradually going down, 625 lines in total. All this is happening at a tremendous speed. In 1 second, the electron beam manages to draw 25 static pictures, which we perceive as a moving image.

Color television appeared in 1954. To create the entire gamut of colors, it took 3 guns - red, blue and green. The screen was accordingly provided with three phosphor layers of the respective colors. The shelling of a red phosphor from a red gun creates a red image, from a blue one - a blue one, etc. Their superposition creates all the variety of colors corresponding to the transmitted image.

Why TVs "lost weight"

The described television sets with an EL tube are our recent past. They were replaced by more elegant, flat liquid crystal and plasma models... In LCD TVs, the screen is a thin matrix with a huge density of luminous elements (pixels), allowing you to get an image of good clarity.

Pixels plasma TV consist of microlamps filled with 3 types of gases. Their glow creates a color picture.

Digital and analog television

Until recently, the main television format was analog. However, television has always responded quickly to new technologies. Therefore, in recent years, video technology has moved to digital format. It provides a more stable and high quality picture and clearer sound. Appeared the ability to broadcast a huge number of TV channels at the same time.

Full transition to new format will be implemented by 2018. In the meantime, you can use special set-top boxes for old TVs and enjoy digital television services.

The television audience is the largest in the world. After all, this is not only a way to entertain yourself, but also an opportunity to enrich your horizons without leaving your home. Of particular importance in this regard is Internet television, which allows users to choose a package of channels according to their interests and watch past television programs.

If this message is useful to you, it's good to see you.