The video explores the history of video technology, from its early beginnings to the present day. It starts with the invention of the first fax machine by Alexander Bain in 1843, which used a scanning system to transmit images. The video then moves on to the development of television, including the invention of the Nipkow disk by Paul Nipkow in 1884, which used a spinning disk with a spiral of holes to scan images.
The video also covers the development of cathode-ray tubes (CRTs) and the first color TV systems, including the use of spinning color wheels and triniscope monitors. It also explains how CRTs work, including the use of electron beams and phosphors to create images.
The video then moves on to the development of video cameras and the first video tape recorders (VTRs), which were introduced in the 1950s. It explains how the first VTRs were large and expensive, but paved the way for the development of home video recording systems like VHS and Betamax.
The video concludes by noting that video technology has come a long way since its early beginnings, and that it is now possible for people to make high-quality videos using digital cameras and editing software. The video also mentions the impact of video technology on society, including the ability for people to share their lives with others through video.
The video is sponsored by B&H Photo, a camera store in New York City, and the host recommends several products from the store, including a gimbal and a Sony camera.
Here are the key facts extracted from the text:
1. Alexander Bain invented the first ever fax machine in 1843, which used a transmitter and receiver with synchronized pendulums.
2. Bain's invention involved a metal sheet with a non-conducting ink that would conduct electricity when a metal pointer touched it.
3. The conducting signal was sent to the receiver, which applied it to paper with a chemical that turned dark when electricity flowed through it, reproducing the image.
4. Paul Nipkow patented the Nipkow disk in 1884, a big disc with a spiral of holes that scanned images.
5. The Nipkow disk used a light behind it to scan a subject, and the reflected light was picked up by light sensors, creating an electrical signal.
6. The electrical signal was transmitted to a receiver, which used a synchronized Nipkow disk to recreate the image.
7. The first-ever broadcast television image was created using the Nipkow disk technique and was broadcast for a few hours a day for several years.
8. Mechanical TV was phased out by 1939 and replaced by all-electric TV, specifically the cathode-ray tube.
9. The cathode-ray tube used an electron gun to fire electrons at a phosphor-coated screen, creating a black-and-white image.
10. The number of lines scanned by the electron beam was 525 every thirtieth of a second, but this was achieved by scanning every other line each sixtieth of a second, a process called interlacing.
11. Color TV was developed using a spinning color wheel, but this was not backwards compatible with black-and-white TVs.
12. The triniscope, a three-cathode-ray-tube system, was also developed for color TV, but it had a large cabinet size.
13. The ultimate solution for color TV was to use red, green, and blue phosphors for each pixel, with three electron guns to determine their relative brightness.
14. The image orthicon tube was used to create television images, using a photoelectric substance to release electrons in proportion to the light that hit them.
15. The electrons were collimated by magnetic fields and sent straight back to a target, which was scanned by an electron beam to create an electrical signal.
16. The electrical signal was amplified in the tube and used to determine how bright each part of the image should be.
17. Video cameras existed for a couple of decades before video tape, and live broadcasting was the primary method of transmitting video.
18. In the US, TV programs were produced in New York and transmitted to the West Coast via a coaxial cable, but this introduced problems with time zones.
19. To time-delay programming, TV networks would film a TV screen with a cinema camera and then broadcast the film as if it were live.
20. By 1954, TV networks were using more film than all the film studios in Hollywood combined to time-delay their programming.
21. The first workable video tape recorder was invented in 1956, using two-inch magnetic tape with video heads spinning at 14,000 RPM.
22. The video tape recorder was the size of a large desk and cost a fortune, but it revolutionized the way video was recorded and stored.
23. The development of video tape led to the miniaturization of tape recorders, eventually replacing film as the primary method of recording and storing images.
24. By 2012, digital video had surpassed film as the primary method of shooting top-grossing movies.