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Mirror of the soul: the history of TV from the “box” to intelligence


The idea of ​​making friends with the Internet and TV arose in the late 1980s, but it took about ten years to create a working device. In 1996, Steve Perlman, an Apple native who developed most of Macintosh's early multimedia technologies, including QuickTime, introduced the world's first commercial device that turns the TV into an Internet-optimized display.

Ten years later, Hewlett-Packard created the SLC3760N MediaSmart TV. The $ 2199 device could display photos and videos streamed over the network without an additional digital media adapter. MediaSmart TV became the first full-fledged smart TV.

Today, almost all TVs on the market can be called smart. They are able to connect to the Internet, download applications and streaming video, update software. In fact, TVs have reached the future, anticipated by the science fiction writers of the 20th century, and in places surpassed it. But before becoming a media processor, the television receiver went through a thorny path.

Stage 1: smart TV from the 1990s



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In the novel “451 degrees Fahrenheit,” humanity longing for “light entertainment” spent time watching “television walls” and miniature hand-held screens. Actually, before the advent of the Internet, conventional TVs received a signal only from an antenna or another audio or video source (for example, a VCR).

In 1995, when the global network used by at least 40 million people who could go to 23.5 thousand. Sites, Steve Perlman with the two co-founders of the company founded WebTV Networks. The startup was based on a simple idea: “repackage” the Internet so that it was adapted for TV. In practice, this meant the ability to surf the Internet on TV using the remote control and not be dependent on a computer.


In 1996, the company introduced WebTV in partnership with Philips and Sony . With this device, you can view websites optimized for the TV. Its cost was approximately $ 400. WebTV could open web pages, download news, broadcast television programs, and stream Dolby RMF music.

From the first day of the existence of this device, the company faced two fundamental problems:

  • low speed (the device was equipped with a 56 kbps modem, 112 MHz processor and 8 MB of RAM);
  • most pages on the Internet have not been optimized for WebTV.

The solution to the first problem was to help the rapid growth of IT-technologies and the development of communication channels, but the solution to the second completely depended on the popularity of the device. Perlman believed that the more users WebTV will have, the more often web developers will pay attention to a new audience.

Having examined the potential of the idea, in 1997 Microsoft laid out $ 425 million for WebTV Networks. A year later, the set-top box had 250 thousand users, and by December 1999 it already had 900 thousand. But even such an audience was not enough to fundamentally change the situation with adaptation - the developers were in no hurry to create special television versions of their sites.

By 2001, the problem of WebTV software was aggravated - it was hopelessly behind the capabilities of the Netscape Navigator and Internet Explorer browsers. Microsoft did not want to part with a promising idea and tried to revive the project. The platform changed its name to MSN TV and began to spread among MSN subscribers .


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In 2004, Microsoft made a final attempt to save the legacy of WebTV by releasing MSN TV 2 with significantly improved features. In fact, it was already a full-fledged computer with Internet Explorer on board.

However, the TVs themselves already hammered the nails into the coffin - their screens by that time were hopelessly behind the capabilities of desktop PC displays. Surprisingly, MSN TV 2 lasted until 2013: the project was closed seven years after the advent of this Smart TV.

Stage 2: the first Smart TV



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Web TV set-top box has become a pioneer, remaining the only platform in its class throughout its existence. However, some companies embraced the individual ideas laid down by the founders in the project.

Ghost Web TV can be found on Microsoft's Xbox consoles. Part of the original development team has helped implement web browsing on TV on the Xbox (2001), the Xbox 360 (2005), and the Xbox One (2013).

Ignoring the demand for the service would be a mistake for the business, and already in 2006 HP introduced the 37-inch Mediasmart SL3760 LCD TV equipped with a special digital media adapter on the rear side.

The native resolution of the TV is 1366x768. It could display photos, albums and videos, broadcast music and radio, work through Ethernet 10/100 and an 802.11a / b / g network. The drawback of Mediasmart was its design - it was necessary to connect cables, including HDMI, from one part of the TV to the other (adapter).


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Two years later, Samsung joined the smart race by introducing the Pavv Bordeaux TV 750. A Korean-made TV could show news, weather, stock prices and show videos on YouTube. Users could also connect PCs and flash drives to the TV.

Stage 3: smart home, mirrors and windows


In the 2010s, the idea of ​​turning a TV into more than just a display swept the minds of manufacturers. For example, they suggested making the TV an access point for the provision of medical services that could display medical reports, collect and display data from biomedical sensors, remind you of medication, and monitor the patient’s dietary habits.

In reality, new technologies have brought new challenges. It turned out that the manufacturer of smart TVs can remotely deprive the user of all the entertainment if they notice a violation of global corporate standards.

Among the most controversial technologies of the new generation Smart TV is the system of automatic recognition of content. Companies such as Inscape have begun to use the visual fingerprinting method to recognize the content that is being played from the TV to form personalized recommendations for the video and to select relevant ads. Moreover, this process is not always transparent and with the consent of the user.

Smart devices have overgrown with new features, but, unfortunately, users do not pay enough attention to security. Hacking a Smart TV is easier than a regular PC. Through the TV you can collectpersonal data (especially if the model is equipped with a built-in camera with a face recognition system and a microphone) or gain access to the local network at home.


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It cannot be said that the new features of Smart TV carry potential threats. There are also positive projects. Some of them are especially in demand in the conditions of global quarantine. So, EyePlus proposed using a 46-inch high-definition TV to simulate windows with different views - for example, the Golden Gate Bridge, the Grand Canyon, Niagara Falls, the beach or space.

EyePlus is also equipped with optical sensors, with which it tracks the location of the viewer and the direction of his gaze. Thanks to this, it changes the scale, viewing angle and panorama of the landscape. The result looks like it is outside of your window, which provides additional interactivity.


A similar project is being developed by Clear View Innovations. Here, on the back there is a window that functions like a television. Window TV is a translucent HD display integrated in a fixed window panel. The company is also known for other developments: mirrors with built-in TV panels and waterproof televisions for use in the bathroom.

Back in 2012, Samsung showed its variation of SmartWindow at CES, a transparent touch screen on which you can change the “window view” with the touch of a hand. A smart TV in the "electronic blinds" mode adjusts the intensity of the light entering the room up to complete dimming. You can also use it as a mirror.

Post-Step: Future



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In 2019, the market introduced a 75-inch modular display The Window , consisting of a dozen microLED-tiles. This TV can be adapted to all areas of the house - from the small kitchen to the long wall of the bedroom. At the same time, video content is scaled from the size of one tile to the entire surface of the video wall. The only factor restraining the mass demand for this device is its price: for the TV of the future, you will have to pay from $ 16 thousand to $ 300 thousand.

Interestingly, the MicroLED technology itself, which is now prophesied to become the basis of all TVs of the future, was developed back in 2000. MicroLED technology is in many ways similar to the already known OLED. The difference is that the pixels on the substrate are not organic LEDs, but miniature (1/10 of the hair thickness) gallium nitride diodes - each diode works as a separate pixel. Thanks to this, televisions have a brightness of 1600 nits, can reflect the perfect black color, make a high response and significantly reduce power consumption.

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Smart TVs are becoming more technologically advanced and affordable. They adapted to display high-definition video from streaming platforms, for games and social networks, to connect third-party devices, voice assistants and to control the whole house. Probably soon TVs will be able to replace windows, mirrors, a nanny, a nurse, and, possibly, friends - the technology of an incredible future is gradually ceasing to be just conceptual ideas and very expensive projects for exhibitions, moving into the category of serial commercial projects.

I wonder what Bradbury would say about this.

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