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TVThe TV is a widely used telecommunication medium for sending (broadcasting) and receiving moving images, either monochromatic ("black and white") or color, usually accompanied by sound. " TV " may also refer specifically to a TV set, TV programming or TV transmission. Commercially available since the late 1930s, the TV set has become a common communications receiver in homes, businesses and institutions, particularly as a source of entertainment and news. Since the 1970s, recordings on video cassettes, and later, digital media such as DVDs, have resulted in the TV frequently being used for viewing recorded as well as broadcast material. A standard TV set comprises multiple internal electronic circuits, including those for tuning and decoding broadcast signals. A display device which lacks these internal circuits is therefore properly called a monitor, rather than a TV . A TV set may be designed to handle other than traditional broadcast or recorded signals and formats, such as closed-circuit TV (CCTV), digital TV (DTV) and high-definition TV (HDTV).
History of the TVIn its early stages of development, TV included only those devices employing a combination of optical, mechanical and electronic technologies to capture, transmit and display a visual image. By the late 1920s, however, those employing only optical and electronic technologies were being explored. All modern TV systems rely on the latter, however the knowledge gained from the work on mechanical-dependent TV systems was crucial in the development of fully electronic TV .In 1884 Paul Gottlieb Nipkow, a 20-year old university student in Germany patented the first electromechanical TV system which employed a scanning disk, a spinning disk with a series of holes spiraling toward the center, for "rasterization", the process of converting a visual image into a stream of electrical pulses. The holes were spaced at equal angular intervals such that in a single rotation the disk would allow light to pass through each hole and onto a light-sensitive selenium sensor which produced the electrical pulses. As an image was focused on the rotating disk, each hole captured a horizontal "slice" of the whole image. Nipkow's TV design would not be practical until advances in amplifier tube technology became available in 1907. Even then the device was only useful for transmitting still halftone images - those represented by equally spaced dots of varying size - over telegraph or telephone lines. Later designs would use a rotating mirror-drum scanner to capture the image and a cathode ray tube (CRT) as a display device, but moving images were still not possible, due to the poor sensitivity of the selenium sensors. Scottish inventor John Logie Baird demonstrated the transmission of moving silhouette images in London in 1925, and of moving, monochromatic images in 1926. Baird's scanning disk produced an image of 30 lines resolution, barely enough to discern a human face, from a double spiral of lenses. By 1927, Russian inventor Leon Theremin developed a mirror drum-based TV system which used interlacing to achieve an image resolution of 100 lines. Also in 1927, Herbert E Ives of Bell Labs transmitted moving images from a 50-aperture disk producing 16 frames per minute over a cable from Washington DC to New York City, and via radio from Whippany, New Jersey. Ives used viewing screens as large as 24 by 30 inches (60 by 75 centimeter). His subjects included Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover. In 1928, Philo Farnsworth made the world's first working TV system with electronic scanning of both the pickup and display devices, which he first demonstrated to news media on 1928-09-01, televising a motion picture film.
TV ContentTV ProgrammingGetting TV programming shown to the public can happen in many different ways. After production the next step is to market and deliver the product to whatever markets are open to using it. This typically happens on two levels: Original Run or First Run – a producer creates a TV program of one or multiple episodes and shows it on a TV station or TV network which has either paid for the production itself or to which a license has been granted by the producers to do the same. Syndication – this is the terminology rather broadly used to describe secondary TV programming usages (beyond original run). It includes secondary runs in the country of first issue, but also international TV usage which may or may not be managed by the originating producer. In many cases other companies, TV stations or individuals are engaged to do the syndication work, in other words to sell the product into the markets they are allowed to sell into by contract from the copyright holders, in most cases the producers. First run TV programming is increasing on subscription services outside the U.S., but few domestically produced TV programs are syndicated on domestic FTA elsewhere. This practice is increasing however, generally on digital-only FTA channels, or with subscriber-only first run material appearing on FTA. Unlike the U.S., repeat FTA screenings of a FTA network program almost only occur on that TV network. Also, Affiliates rarely buy or produce non-network TV programming that is not centred around local events.
TV FundingAround the globe, broadcast TV is financed by either government, advertising, licensing (a form of tax), subscription or any combination of these. To protect revenues, subscription TV channels are usually encrypted to ensure that only subscription payers receive the decryption codes to see the signal. Non-encrypted TV channels are known as Free to Air or FTA.
TV AdvertisingTV Advertising attempts to influence people's behaviour and beliefs and TV is therefore a powerful and attractive medium for advertisers to use. TV stations sell air time to advertisers in order to fund their TV programming.
TV in the United StatesSince inception in the U.S. in 1940, TV commercials have become one of the most effective, persuasive, and popular method of selling products of many sorts, especially consumer goods. U.S. TV advertising rates are determined primarily by Nielsen Ratings. The time of the day and popularity of the TV channel determine how much a TV commercial can cost. For example, the highly popular American Idol can cost approximately $750,000 for a thirty second block of commercial time; while the same amount of TV time for the World Cup and the Super Bowl can cost several million dollars.In recent years, the paid TV program or infomercial has become common, usually in lengths of 30 minutes or one hour. Some drug companies and other businesses have even created "news" items for TV broadcast, known in the industry as video news releases, paying program directors to use them. Some TV programs also weave advertisements into their shows, a practice begun in film and known as product placement. For example, a character could be drinking a certain kind of soda, going to a particular chain restaurant, or driving a certain make of car. (This is sometimes very subtle, where TV shows have vehicles provided by manufacturers for low cost, rather than wrangling them.) Sometimes a specific brand or trade mark, or music from a certain artist or group, is used. (This excludes guest appearances by artists, who perform on the show.)
TV in the United KingdomThe TV regulator oversees TV advertising in the United Kingdom. Its restrictions have applied since the early days of commercially funded TV . Despite this, an early TV mogul, Lew Grade, likened the TV broadcasting licence as a being a "licence to print money". Restrictions mean that the big three national commercial TV> channels, ITV, Channel 4, and Five can show an average of only seven minutes of advertising per hour (eight minutes in the peak period). Other TV broadcasters must average no more than nine minutes (twelve in the peak). This means that many imported TV shows from the US have un-natural breaks where the UK company has edited out the breaks intended for US advertising. Advertisements must not be inserted in the course of any TV broadcast of a news or current affairs program of less than half an hour scheduled duration, or in a TV documentary of less than half an hour scheduled duration, or in a TV program for children of less than half an hour scheduled duration. Nor may advertisements be carried in a TV program designed and broadcast for reception in schools or in any religious service or other devotional program, or during a formal Royal ceremony or occasion. There also must be clear demarcations in time between the TV programs and the TVadvertisements.The BBC, being strictly non-commercial is not allowed to show advertisements on TV in the UK, although it has many advertising-funded TV channels abroad. The majority of its budget comes from TV licencing (see below) and the sale of content to other TV broadcasters.
Taxation or TV LicenseTV services in some countries may be funded by a TV licence, a form of taxation which means advertising plays a lesser role or no role at all. For example, some TV channels may carry no advertising at all and some very little.
The two main BBC TV channels are watched by almost 90 percent of the population each week and overall have 27 per cent share of total viewing. This in spite of the fact that 85% of homes are multichannel, with 42% of these having access to 200 free to air TV channels via satellite and another 43% having access to 30 or more TV channels via Freeview. The TV licence that funds the seven advertising-free BBC TV channels costs less than £136 a year (about US$270) irrespective of the number of TV sets owned. When the same sporting event has been presented on both BBC and commercial TV channels, the BBC always attracts the lion's share of the audience, indicating viewers prefer to watch TV uninterrupted by advertising. The Australian TV Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) carries no TV advertising (except for the ABC shop) as it is banned under law ABC Act 1983. The ABC receives its funding from the Australian Government every three years. In the 2006/07 Federal Budget the ABC received Au$822.67 Million this covers most of the ABC funding commitments and as with the BBC also funds radio channels, transmitters and the ABC web sites. The ABC also receives funds from its many ABC Shops in Australia.
TV SubscriptionSome TV channels are partly funded from subscriptions and therefore the signals are encrypted before broadcast to ensure that only paying subscribers have access to the decryption codes. Most TV subscription services are also funded by TV advertising.
TV GenresTV genres include a broad range of programming types that entertain, inform, and educate viewers. The most expensive TV entertainment genres to produce are usually dramas. However, other TV genres, such as historical Western genres, may also have high production costs.Popular entertainment TV genres include action-oriented shows such as police, crime, detective dramas, horror or thriller shows. As well, there are also other variants of the drama TV genre, such as medical TV dramas and daytime TV soap operas. Science fiction shows can fall into either the drama or action category, depending on whether they emphasize philosophical questions or high adventure. Comedy is a popular TV genre which includes situation comedy (sitcom) and animated shows for the adult demographic such as South Park. The least expensive forms of TV entertainment programming are game shows, talk shows, variety shows, and reality TV . Game shows show contestants answering questions and solving puzzles to win prizes. Talk shows feature interviews with film, TV and music celebrities and public figures. TV variety shows feature a range of musical performers and other entertainers such as comedians and magicians introduced by a host or Master of Ceremonies. There is some crossover between some TV talk shows and variety shows, because leading talk shows often feature performances by bands, singers, comedians, and other performers in between the interview segments. Reality TV shows "regular" people (i.e., not actors) who are facing unusual challenges or experiences, ranging from arrest by police officers (COPS) to weight loss (The Biggest Loser). A variant version of TV reality shows depicts celebrities doing mundane activities such as going about their everyday life (The Osbournes) or doing manual labour (Simple Life). |
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