THIS Was The Most Powerful Home Device In 1961

That's my opinion. It gave homeowners power over what they did with their time in front of the TV. It terrified advertisers. The invention of the television remote control represented a huge shift in how people interacted with their televisions, giving them much greater control over their viewing experiences.

Before the remote control, changing channels or adjusting the volume required getting up and manually interacting with the television set. This meant that few people did it and the result is that most viewers watched a single channel for long periods even if they weren't fully engaged with the programming.

With the introduction of the remote control, viewers could easily switch between channels, adjust the volume and access other features like color and brightness controls without leaving their seats.

Over time the remote control has also evolved to control other devices, like DVD players, home theater systems and certain types of lighting giving people even more control over their home environments.

The first commercial television remote control, known as the "Lazy Bones," was developed by Zenith Radio Corporation in 1950. However, it was connected to the television by a wire, which people found to be a tripping hazard.

Zenith created the first wireless TV remote, the "Flash-Matic" in 1955. It worked by shining a beam of light onto photo cells in the corners of the television screen which would interpret the signals and change the channel or volume accordingly.

Following this Zenith, improved on the design in 1956 with the "Space Command" remote, which was the first to use ultrasonic technology. The remote would emit high-frequency sounds, beyond the range of human hearing, to control the TV. This remote didn't require batteries, which was a major selling point at the time.

The TV remote control shown in this 1961 video was based on the Zenith technology, specifically the ultrasonic technology used in the "Space Command" remote. It had no wires and didn't need batteries. Instead it had small aluminum rods inside that were lightweight and would resonate at certain frequencies when struck by a small hammer connected to the buttons on the remote. There were different rods for each function (such as volume up, volume down, channel up, channel down, etc.).

When you pressed a button, the hammer would strike the rod and cause it to emit an ultrasonic sound, which is a high-frequency sound beyond the range of human hearing. The TV had a microphone that would pick up these sounds and interpret them as commands. The TV had a set of tunable resonant circuits, one for each remote function.

When the sound from a rod resonated with a circuit in the TV, it would interpret the command and carry it out (changing the volume, changing the channel, etc.).

While this system worked fairly well, it had some quirks. For instance, certain other sounds could accidentally trigger the TV, such as the jingling of dog tags or the clinking of certain types of glassware. It wasn't until infrared technology became more prevalent in the 1980s that these issues were largely resolved.

The ability for viewers to change channels or fast-forward through commercials using their TV remotes is a concern for advertisers. This practice is often referred to as "ad-skipping" or "zapping," and it can significantly impact the effectiveness of advertising campaigns.

The concern became particularly pronounced with the advent of Digital Video Recorders (DVRs) and Video On Demand (VOD) services, which allow users to record shows and then watch them later, often with the ability to fast-forward through commercials.

Advertises obviously didn't like the remote control and the power it gave viewers to shut off the commercials. In response, they developed several strategies.

Some advertisers turned to product placement or integrated advertising, where products were woven into the storyline of a show. This method makes it impossible for viewers to skip the advertisement without missing part of the content.

Advertisers also created more engaging commercials that viewers might want to watch rather than skip.

Advertisers also created shorter ads that were less likely to be skipped. An example of this was the rise of "bumper ads," which were typically six seconds long.

With the rise of internet-connected "smart TVs" and streaming services, advertisers garnered data about viewing habits, which they used to target their ads more effectively.

I would like to thank those who place their advertising on my video. Google Smart TV. TV remote. Shop 4k TV. TV C. Wi-Fi TV. Spectrum URC1160. Google TV remote. Remote Google TV. Google android TV remote. XFINITY voice remote.
David Hoffman Filmmaker

Видео THIS Was The Most Powerful Home Device In 1961 канала David Hoffman