However since the tuners are complicated to manfacture, it was phased out recently.
Japan will phase out 31st March 2012. That is in about 2 weeks. There is this ancient clock you know? It's spooky it has nearly aligned with the television phaseout
Do you know any lore about old inventions?
Reply to the thread.
- Color television was invented by a guy who had electric motors at a farm home in America.
No colour television was first demonstrated by John Logie Baird in the 1920s in England.
He demonstrated the world's first colour transmission on 3 July 1928,
takao21106:
- Color television was invented by a guy who had electric motors at a farm home in America.
You don't mention it - but are you speaking of Philo T. Farnsworth? His story is a lot more fascinating and complex than you give credit for; its a classic story of the independent inventor getting ripped off by larger business interests (see Preston Tucker for a similar story).
takao21106:
However since the tuners are complicated to manfacture, it was phased out recently.
No, they aren't; analog television broadcasting was phased out likely due to lobbying by interests tied to consumer TV manufacturers wanting to have a ready market for "new and improved" digital TVs, HDTVs, etc (I wonder if something will come down the pipe to "force" 3D TVs to be adopted?). What didn't make sense about the whole thing is the fact that many people already got the TV digitally via cable or satellite, and that a switch could have happened anyway without governmental fiat - just in a natural way. However, this probably wasn't satisfactory to the people selling TVs, as there are a ton of analog TVs out there; they wanted to be able to sell new TVs to all these folks (or at least converter boxes).
I've personally opted out of television; if I for some reason have a need to watch a TV program (rare these days) - I watch it online (ah - there's the thing - not 3D TV - but IP TV being "forced" - give it 5 years).
takao21106:
Japan will phase out 31st March 2012. That is in about 2 weeks. There is this ancient clock you know? It's spooky it has nearly aligned with the television phaseout
Are you speaking of the Mayan calendar? Thinking that the end of calendar period is somehow "spooky" is daft at best (do you get chills down your spine when our current calendar flips to the new year, like something strange is going happen? If you do, I'd argue for some self-examination of your knowledge, rationale, and beliefs); the fact that a switchover is taking place at the same time, at best, is merely a coincidence.
takao21106:
Do you know any lore about old inventions?
Well - I've already mentioned Preston Tucker.
There's a ton of interesting stories and history behind nearly every invention (not too long back I read the wonderful book "Thunderstruck" by Erik Larson, which covers the early Marconi era of radio, and how the invention and inventor intertwined with a murder - see http://www.amazon.com/Thunderstruck-Erik-Larson/dp/1400080673).
I personally have found the whole history behind computer technology, robotics, artificial intelligence, and virtual reality to be utterly fascinating; equally fascinating is that of the steam engine and the industrial revolution. Something else to keep in mind when researching these topics is that the effects on society and how society has reacted can be just as fascinating as the technical and other direct aspects of the inventions (sometime more so!)...
Grumpy_Mike:
- Color television was invented by a guy who had electric motors at a farm home in America.
No colour television was first demonstrated by John Logie Baird in the 1920s in England.
John Logie Baird - WikipediaHe demonstrated the world's first colour transmission on 3 July 1928,
That would likely be mechanical-based; Farnsworth was working on an all-electronic TV transmission system at this time:
Really - the OP wasn't clear what exactly he meant (or who)...
Like many inventions (telegraph, telephone, light bulb, etc) - there were a ton of people working in all areas, so it ultimately becomes difficult to say who was really "first" on anything.
and that a switch could have happened anyway without governmental fiat
No the government want to sell off most of the spectrum that used to be occupied by analogue TV. I know, I was involved in lobbying our government (UK) and went to give them a demonstration and got very drunk on free Champagne as it went on into the night. So it's my fault! 
Like many inventions (telegraph, telephone, light bulb, etc) - there were a ton of people working in all areas, so it ultimately becomes difficult to say who was really "first" on anything.
What you mean to say is that a lot of Americans claim to have invented stuff that was made years before in Europe.
That would likely be mechanical-based;
Yes but it was colour TV was it not. It is just that because someone else came up with a different way of doing things doesn't mean he invented it. He just invented a different way of doing the same thing as was already invented.
Grumpy_Mike:
No the government want to sell off most of the spectrum that used to be occupied by analogue TV. I know, I was involved in lobbying our government (UK) and went to give them a demonstration and got very drunk on free Champagne as it went on into the night. So it's my fault!
Whatever the true reason, there was no real reason to force a switch that would have occurred over time naturally, other than likely due to greed by some party or another.
Grumpy_Mike:
What you mean to say is that a lot of Americans claim to have invented stuff that was made years before in Europe.
Now you're just trying to bait an argument, aren't you? 
Grumpy_Mike:
Yes but it was colour TV was it not. It is just that because someone else came up with a different way of doing things doesn't mean he invented it. He just invented a different way of doing the same thing as was already invented.
Alright, I'll concede that "color TV" was invented by Baird first, but mechanically scanned TV was ultimately a dead end (well, at least until TI's mechanical mirror arrays were developed); the speed and resolution just couldn't be done (though I will say that some of the later mechanically scanned systems that used faceted mirror wheels and such came real close to decent resolutions and framerates). Farnsworth's system (which was ultimately "stolen" and popularized by RCA et al) was the first -completely electronic- color TV system; more or less what we know as "television" today.
/also, when are you Brits going to drop those extra U's, anyhow?
/also, when are you Brits going to drop those extra U's, anyhow? smiley-wink
Now look who is looking to start an argument.
there was no real reason to force a switch that would have occurred over time naturally,
Well without analogue switch off there was no space to squeeze more than 6 multiplexes in the terrestrial spectrum at least in the UK. Even so the DTT signals were transmitted at one millionth of the power of the analogue video signal to prevent interference. Analogue switch off is not yet completed in the UK but when it is the spectrum will be freed up for better DTT reception by allowing more transmitting power and more roaming internet access.
In the UK we had an old 405 line TV system, this was only turned off about 20 years after it became technically superseded. That sort of time scale is too slow to make any real use of the advantages that digital TV would bring.
Yes I admit there were commercial considerations as well but what I think helped swing it was me explaining to a group of MPs that they could have a whole full size screen Parliament channel when we turned off the analogue signal.
In Canada, Analog TV is not phase out. Digital TV is mostly in the major centers. ( Toronto, Montreal, Vancover, Ottawa... ) Digital TV just start last September. But the analog TV did stay. Mostly in the Rural area and Cottage country. So when I was at the cottage ( In Belleville, ON area ), the TV signal was still there. Those TV company desided to keep the analog format. Most folks can not have access new TV with digital converter and digital converter in a rural area. In a bigger city, well it is digital TV. Good thing have a have a converter. But my converter is "un-stable". I will have to buy a new one. To get a lot more channels, I am building an antenna base on Fractals - Anything Goes. My design will have 4 of them, just like a multi-bay bow tie design. That was interresting reading BTW.
Grumpy_Mike:
What you mean to say is that a lot of Americans claim to have invented stuff that was made years before in Europe.
And many westerners "invented" stuff that the Chinese had been using for centuries
Super Glue (cyanoacrylate) was tested in the 40's by Harry Coover at Kodak as a potential material for making gun sites, but was rejected because it was too sticky. A few years later he was supervising a team looking for a material for plane canopies and again rejected it, but this time realized that it could be used as a glue.
I can't find it now, but many years ago I read an interview with either Coover or Fred Joyner who said they struggled in the lab because everything was sticking together. This went on for weeks before anyone had the idea it might make a good glue.
Cyanoacrylate - WikipediaMicrowave ovens were discovered by accident in WWII when Percy Spencer noticed his chocolate bar was melted. The first food intentionally cooked with microwaves? popcorn.
Microwave oven - WikipediaSteve Turner
Super Glue (cyanoacrylate) was tested in the 40's by Harry Coover at Kodak as a potential material for making gun sites,
Most of the gun sites I've seen were made of concrete and steel.
Perhaps you mean "sights"?
That's sound very wired!