Televisions have become and integral part in our day to day life. With newer technologies getting introduced in daily basis, it is worth to look back to the evolution of this smartie.

Televisions were once “soaps and movies only” rectangular boxes. That is not the case now. They are intelligent electronic appliance that can even give access to the internet. Moreover wireless transmission of data, direct data reading from memory sticks via USB ports, doubling up as PC monitor or as a gaming console, etc. are few among the latest applications added to this “smart box”

The global economic melt down has affected the television industry, and the television sales plummeted from £2.65bn to £2.57bn this year. Evolution of television mainly throws light into the various display technologies that reigned the industry over particular period of time. There are mainly four display technologies, and they are CRT, Plasma technology, LCD Technology and O-LED Technology.

CRT

It stands for Cathode Ray Tube, and is the most conventional technique in television industry. Do not get puzzled with the term CRT; it is the good old bulky telly we all are familiar with. This technology was introduced in 1950s and was widely embraced internationally. There are many advantages for a CRT display. The first and foremost vantage is the long life span of the telly. Compared to the modern counterparts, CRT televisions last much longer. The major issue of CRT telly is its size. “Chunky black rectangular boxes”: that is the way CRTs are popular now. They reigned the display market till 1990s. The CRT electron gun in the telly works accordingly to reproduce good video output. However with the entry of thinner and smarter flat panel displays, majority of the public bid goodbye to the CRT televisions.

Plasma Televisions

Plasma Televisions were introduced in 1960s itself, however they used to display the images in orange on the black background. The plasma technology is sophisticated, and the panel constitutes two thin glass sheets in which the plasma gas molecules are trapped in between. These noble gases (plasma molecules) emits light when electrically prompted to reproduce the images in the screen accurately.

These screens were popular in hotels, stock exchange centres, etc. due to the thin profile. After thirty years, in 1990s Fujitsu débuted the maiden full colour plasma television. From the very same day, there was no turn back for the plasma display panels. Latest trends like wireless connectivity, USB port, internet@tv, integrated freeview tuner, etc are incorporated in the plasma televisions.

Energy demands are now one of the key factors like display resolution, contrast ratio, etc. People are becoming more aware of the need for energy preservation and eco-friendly products. Hence plasma televisions are facing a tough time with severe decline in sales, as they drains of good amount of power compared to other display technologies. However the major manufacturers like Panasonic, Samsung, LG, etc. proved that there is no “turning back” for plasma display panel. They have introduced low power plasma panels recently.

LCD Televisions

It is the acronym for Liquid Crystal Display Television, and is the most popular display technology as of now. It is comparatively less power-hungry than plasma television. It is lighter too. LCD Panel consists of liquid crystal molecules sandwiched between two thin glass panes. A separate backlight system is used in LCD televisions to reproduce the images. They are transmissive in nature too.

LCD televisions outsmarted the CRT sales in 2007, and is now reigning the display industry with all its might. LCD technology has a very old legacy right from 1888. They are thinner, smarter and comes with the latest applications and functionalities. Being the major competitor of Plasma display panel, LCD television won the energy combat, and hence the mass popularity too. LCD televisions are common in the display industry from early 90s, and is still in demand.

LED Televisions

LED Televisions are actually LCD televisions with LED backlight settings. The major advantage of LED Television is the energy efficiency.  It is highly energy efficient and eco friendly compared to other display technologies. Samsung has come up with lots of LED models. Other major players are also coming forward with their LED spawns lately. This technology can be included in the “yet to gain prevalence” category.

OLED Televisions

OLED is Organic Light Emitting Diode, and is in its budding state. Although only one commercial product is released in this technology yet, the expectations about the O-LED televisions are much higher. Most of the major display makers are planning to launch OLED Televisions, that too bigger screens. It is anticipated that the O-LED technology will be full fledged by 2010, and will replace the prevailing display technologies by 2012.

The major highlight of OLED technology is its emissive nature. Since no backlight settings are needed in OLED televisions, they are able to produce brighter images with better contrast and clarity. In OLED the response of the display to the video input signal is also quite faster compared to other display technologies. This also adds to the picture quality, especially while watching fast paced videos.

Just few millimetres thick, this television is highly energy efficient, and is quite eco-friendly too. According to Jim Clark, the technology analyst at Mintel revealed that there are wide anticipations on OLED becoming the dominant display technology from 2012. It is speculated that cheaper OLED models will be available by next FIFA World Cup. He added that OLED is going to monopolise the display domain in few years.

This is a rough sketch that throws light into the changes in the trends in display domain and also the gradual evolution of the much used tellies.