THIS Was The Most Powerful Home Device In 1961
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 26 ส.ค. 2024
- 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
![fellow fellow - PROUD feat. INK WARUNTORN [STRING QUARTET]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/BQrVkMPTdHE/mqdefault.jpg)
My dad had four remote controls.... his four children.
Haha
😂
Ahahaha why do dads do this? Mine would ask us to fetch his remote which was always an arms length away from him
@@BanglaBish to let you know, who is in control😁
No, don't ask me now "control of what"?🤣
@@marion7661control of what
So sad to watch the past😢 it makes me want to go back
It would be terrible
You can't. The past is over and gone. Work for a better and peaceful future
If there’s anything I’ve learned watching these videos, it’s that we ARE living in the past.
In 2050, they’ll watch the unveiling of the iPhone and get nostalgic.
We’re here in 2023 getting nostalgic about a TV set with a remote.
History doesn’t repeat, but it does rhyme. And life largely just goes on the same. It’s true that we are living in a historic time with historic challenges.
But older generations fought fascism, fixed the ozone, and transitioned away from lead products. We can do this 😊
you need 1.21 jiggawatts of power to do it
@@charliekowittmusicid rather go planet shopping.
I remember that era of remotes.
(Myself, I was once an actual "TV Remote Control", too! I would run back and forth to the set to do my parents "bidding" as to channel and volume!) I also ran the pliers because - like most of the neighbors sets, too - the plastic channel selector knob was broken and long missing. Dad would do the "fine tuning" by stomping on the floor while sitting in "his chair", and hollering. At times, I would also play with fiddling around with the "Rabbit Ears" and aluminum foil because Chet Huntley and David Brinkley would have misshapen heads.
I remember wondering what made the remotes work (my Grandmother had a new TV like the one in this video) and how I put the unit up to my ear and pressed a button. There were little tuning forks attached to the remote's buttons, which would strike them. They were ULTRA ultrasonic tones, and I'm pretty sure they were so incredibly LOUD that they loosened my teeth and made my eyeballs vibrate in my head - such a weird and painful experience.
As I got older and every other family in town finally got a Color TV, I would sit in a chair out in front of the house with a sign that read "25 Cents to See the Last Black & White TV in Town!" My Dad was so impressed with that little trick, he did not buy a Color TV until I moved out and got married. He gave my their nice, used Black & White as a wedding present. (Child Abuse at its finest, eh?)
What a wonderful walk down memory lane with you. :)
Your dad had a good sense of humor! Yes, we kids were the remote controls in our family, too. You don't miss what you don't know. My husband remembers when the first family on his block had color television. The dad loved sports, and he let the neighborhood kids come over to watch the games.
My mother assigned me that job. She couldn't figure out when to use vertical hold instead of horizontal hold. Jeez, all of the terms that we don't use anymore that were so sophisticated back then. LOL
It was much the same in my family, except my parents hardly ever watched TV. I only remember my mother watching twice. Once when the Beatles were on Ed Sullivan, and one episode of The Munsters, for some reason. Usually our TV was a device to keep the kids occupied in the living room while the adults talked in the kitchen.
My oldest sister monopolized the TV and we all watched pretty much what she wanted most nights. Luckily I thought she had good taste in TV shows. Whoever sat closest to the TV was the remote control in our house.
You should think about writing, you are very good! I feel like I can picture that moment In time myself… and I was born in 1994!
In our house us kids were both the remote and antenna turners
The "OFF" button never really turned the TV off. The tube amplifiers stayed on, cooking, 24 hrs a day. They could, and did, catch fire at any time!
I never knew that. I just assumed they went cold and dark.
Which specific sets did that? I have never restored or worked on a tube TV that kept plate voltage to the tubes when is was turned off. I have seen some with a standby switch or knob that kept plate voltage to certain tubes, but those were specific models and not the norm.
@@guyintenn Can't tell you the model #, except that it was a fancy RCA w/ remote. I can, however, point to the house in Port Washington where a fire started with nobody home but was put out w/o too much damage to the house. Sometime in 1962
This is still the case today and is such a waste of energy and $$. It's true of any remote-controlled appliance. When I had my house I actually installed a convenient separate light switch to the outlet so that we could easily turn off/on the power instead of making the power company any wealthier. I had the tv and satellite dish hooked up to it. Added bonus, you can't be spied on through your smart tv if it isn't powered. I would do it in my apartment, but the walls are concrete so I just use the power strip to turn things off. There's also the factor of lightning strikes to consider that can cause power surges through equipment. I've already had my TV LEDs burned out once.
Instant-on with 50s-70s era TVs were not fully on. They kept the filaments of the tubes on (unless you activate the hidden "vacation switch"). The high voltage would be off until the TV is engaged into the awake position. ....however. Anything electrical & plugged in can cause a fire under the right circumstances. A resistance fire, caused by say a loose connection somewhere, called a "glowing fault" because the loose connection will start generating heat, will not cause a fuse to melt open, will not throw a circuit breaker, and will not trigger GFCIs or AFCIs. Every wire nut, every screw terminal, in your entire house can potentially burn the entire place down with no technology to save you from it if it happens (even today in 2023!).
Thanks! So much fun! Thank you, David Hoffman Filmmaker!
Thank you so much Lucie. I am pleased that you enjoyed it.
David Hoffman Filmmaker
Thank you for your service ,love all your content 🦾🦾
I was so happy when they FINALLY came out with remote control! It was a drag having to get up every time you wanted to turn the volume up or down or change the channel. Along with getting up to fiddle with the rabbit ears antenna, watching TV in the family den used to an aerobic exercise... lol.
I remember when remotes came out. I was so happy I didn't have to get up everytime I changed the channels. Oh, the small things in life make such a difference. Now we take it for granted because it's a norm.
@@Bob-zl4cb No, I don't care about push buttons.
Regarding remotes: When there are little kids changing channels every 10 mins, it gets crazy.
I remember my affluent aunt had one. It was ultrasonic back then and were later replaced by infrared remotes. When you pressed a button, each button would strike an aluminum rod of a specific length to generate the inaudible high frequency tone picked up by the TV.
Sometimes you could fool these sound-based systems by jiggling your keys on a keychain just right. When I was little my brother realized that the TV remote (infrared) and stereo remote (also infrared) overlapped in some frequencies just right to where if you knew which buttons to press on the TV remote, it would tell the stereo to increase the volume (both devices had to be on for this trick to work). Then one day my mom came home, turned on the TV and the radio (already set with the volume cranked up to 11) blew out the speakers like the scene out of Back to the Future. And that was the end of the remote-equipped stereo system.
@@sgath92 LOL! 😄
Makes me think of the commercials my mom saw. Thank you David
Wish i had been there! Thank you for sharing david!
I was 5 years old in 1961 and we still had black and white tv for a few more years, but I don’t remember a remote like this ever lol. Once we had a color console, we had a box with a big dial on it that turned the antenna on the roof to the direction of the station we were trying to watch. We could hear and even feel a little that big antenna turning up there like gears grinding and it was slow, very slow lol. Still no remote though!
I remember our first remote being wired. I still have a Jerrold cable box and remote.
This was neat David I recall seeing this before but can't remember where. on one of the original episodes of the Flintstones TV series from the early 1960's Fred said to Wilma, I just got a new remote control for the TV set now a guy doesn't have to get out of his chair what will they think of next? Wilma replies something to make a guy get out of his chair, I hope.
I remember the remote for my grandparents television when I was little. It was a zenith and had no channel numbers just on/off channel up/down and volume. The red zapper “button” at the top was like the one in this commercial
AMAZING! I want to go back to 1961.
I love how the demonstrator woman was getting a little flushed and more excited the more she caressed it. Noice
STEPPING IN TO HIT THE LIKES BUTTON 🎉 FUN STUFF DAVE👏👏💕
Amazing video. I was born in 82.
Growing up we had a black and white TV until, in the 60s, my parents decided to get a color TV in order to get a better picture. Part of the purchase was getting a new outdoor antenna. It came before the color TV and the picture was so much better with that antenna, my parents said they wouldn't of bought the color TV if they knew replacing the antenna would of improved the picture so much.
Love all your videos, such an amazing archive
I remember being the remote , those were the days any breakthrough was a big deal.
That's the 60s they like to have it easy to find the remote control in the TV compartment lol like cabinet they did also to the record player. That television is retro not, you will have collectors trying to restore it to work again, or make it into a fish tank. Lol thanks for another video Mr David Hoffman 😊🙏🎞️🎥
I would watch TV laying on a throw rug in front of the set so I was obviously the deaignated channel switcher in our house most of the time 😂😂😂
My wife still does that.
David Hoffman filmmaker
A dream come true.
I never realized how remote control could impact the TV industry, especially advertising on TV. I always thought that it was just an added convenience for the viewer. Oh, how I LOVE technology!
I am 100% convinced that technology will solve ALL of mankind's problems eventually.
@@GregoryTheGr8ster I hate to be the one to burst your bubble. I don't see where technology can put an end to world hunger or homelessness or prevent another confrontation between two country that could lead to war.
I remember these ads, my family had a black and white RCA Victor console, but eventually got a colour model. It was really something.🖤🇨🇦
@@tamarrajames3590 Upgrading from B&W to color (oops, I mean "colour" 😜) was huge!
@@drewpall2598 Yes, yes, yes--technology can make all of those undesirables obsolete. Technology and human ingenuity FTW!
she lovingly caressed that television
I grew up in the 80s and 90s and we didn't actually have a remote control until around 1990. We had a color RCA tv with knobs that I think lasted us from the time I was 4 until I was 12. When we got cable we had a box with a knob you had to turn. We finally got a digital one and we could change channels with a remote but not control power or volume. We also had a Realistic VCR and it had a jack like a headphone jack where you could connect a remote but we didn't have it. We didn't get a complete remote control TV until around 1993 when the old tv died.
I am just barely considered a millennial but can remember well having to get up to control the TV
I am sure if one of your friends or neighbors had one of these when they came out you would have been extremely envious.
We had a black and white TV with a remote control (on a cable) in the 70's and friends came over just to look and have a turn. Channel up down, volume and on/off only lol.
The narrator reminds me of William Daniels.
GREAT VIDEO! HOPE A MILLION OR MORE SEE THIS. :)
This was the start of people becoming obese,no longer the need to get up and change the channel. Soon people no longer ate at the table,because eat in front of the TV,after that there's no time to cook real food,so it's processed TV dinners...and we know how the rest of the story goes.
I remember in the 80’s. The vcrs with wood grain.that came with a remote.that was attached by a cord.
Everyone needs to read the fascinating facts about previous remotes and this remote in the description box. I loved the commercial for this remote though. Thanks!
your descriptions are always so thorough and informative,i sometimes skip the video😅.
View when you have the chance please. Unfortunately TH-cam does not count reading my description as of any value in terms of advertising which is how I make a living at this.
David Hoffman filmmaker
@@DavidHoffmanFilmmaker Absolutely !
I remember our first color tv in 1964. 😊
That announcers voice sounds very familiar.
"Colah". I love it.
The kid was usually the remote 😂
that must have been nice I don't remember a remote coming into my family till about the '80s
I got an early remote controlled set as a parts set. The Up/Down Channel selector had a big clunky motor drive that moved the detent tuner a step at a time. IIRC the Volume, Brightness, etc. controls were double, once for the regular on set controls, and repeated (with driving motors) on a second board. Everything had a mechanical driver.
Early VCRs were also mechanical marvels. By the end, like remote controls, everything that could be made electronic was; the parts and weight reduction was astounding.
Ah, the good old days, when technology was a piece of furniture.
My first guess was birth control packet. Kinda disappointed it was a remote control 😂
I notice New York accents more in these older films. "RCA Victah"; "Ahmchair convenience", etc. Can't even watch the Wizard of Oz now without hearing things like "It's a twistah!" But I do love those regional accents.
We had an old floor tv with a remote that had a wire. There was also a door on the front that hid all the knobs.
Don't remember the brand but I recall a remote that was wired to the television, elder brother had one circa 1965, b&w set and the channel selector on the set physically rotated like a Gatlin gun.
Remember in Early 2000's (Maybe late 90's) where commercials where aired at a volume 150-200% of the program volume.... That was when Premium TV's started putting Automatic Sound Regulation on them....
How many of us grew up effectively being the remote control? "Hey, get up and switch it to channel 4!" ... I don't think we got our first color tv until about 1970, and our first remote was maybe about 1974 or 1975.
Us kids were the remote in the 60's and 70's
Guy has a cool Boston accent!
When TV was furniture!
Very cool! 😊
I still love RCA.
No pause? Oh no!
I'm on a budget. Do they have a black and white version?
I find it entertaining that they have color and tint controls on the remote--something that realistically shouldn't be touched by most people. They certainly shouldn't be touched by someone like me who has color deficiency, as everyone else is going to be annoyed that the picture is far too red.
I think this footage was used in the Bible Reloaded intro
How much was that in 1961?
I was six, but it was more than our family could afford.
Why were TV screens rounded and not square/rectangular like today?
I think that RCA was in New Jersey, and you can hear the dropped-R accent. In any case, as far as national advertising I'm surprised they didn't get a narrator with a standard, transatlantic accent.
Or maybe in New York
If we had only recognized then how this ordinary looking piece of furniture could destroy the world.
YEP, THE MOST DANGEROUS TOOL, PROPAGANDA, INDOCTRINATION OF MANKIND. WE WERE INNOCENT AND THEY SCREWED US OVER. LITTLE DID WE KNOW, BECAUSE WE COULDN'T FATHOM SUCH EVIL. TC BLESSINGS
Aldous Huxley knew in 1932. Brave New World.
George Orwell knew in 1947.
1984.
So did The Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy
Television, the Drug of the Nation.
Pretty sweet.
That remote control is a P H A T B O I
Not one word of the screen size
Remote controls will never catch on!
How did they do that!?
Were there little motors inside the TV cabinet?
At least for the tuner, yes it used physical motors to rotate the internal tuning knob.
Mom didn't get a color TV until the black and white one gave up the ghost. Not going to get a new TV when the old one worked just fine.😅
what is the metal thing right next to the tv?
A Turkish teapot.
Love to know the price had to be very expensive.
1961 probably the peak of the American dream era.
Just a few years later Kennedy would be assassinated we would get into the Vietnam war race riots etc.
That was only 1961 in history so long but short. To have like that back in day you had to have some money and know someone to. My Father didn't see a Tv until he came back from Korea I think'? 54 , 55 he said. I didn't come to be until the early to mid sixties. I remember still growing up with black,& white kinda though my memories? I know both grandparents had those furniture type TVs i think we had when I was itty bitty for a brief period in life had an old one it was black and white from 50s I believe. Not sure. It was brief. The tv went out. It was in a large cabinet I know that for sure and it was old and probably from family. But it went out and my parent's took the tv part out and kept the rest. My mind is a little fuzzy on when my parent's got a color tv. I think grandparents had color tv console? Not sure on mom's side. I definitely remember being one of the remotes when older. Not sure when we about Tv remotes'? 😮
Why did the woman have the remote control?
Back then it was wishful thinking
They couldn’t pause live TV? Slackers.
This was just after the development of the ICBM, and therefore after the DoD abandoned its efforts at remote-controlled long-range cruise missile delivery - guess who was involved! A predecessor technology was to control retired WW2 planes used as drones in collection of cloud material after nuclear detonations. They had radio-control, namely, multiplexing, encoding (Hedy Lamarr invented frequency-hopping spread-spectrum during the war to help the effort - she was an electrical engineer in her spare time), attentuation, backscatter and multipath (RADAR...which led to the microwave oven, same inventors). The consumer, as usual, benefited. Note this is a radio control - it uses radio waves - versus modern remote controls that use an infrared LED to transmit an optical signal (lightwaves). It would transmit using an antenna, clearly internal, and possibly omnidirectional.
(You don't have to control an ICBM: you aim it at the start and use ballistic trajectory to do the rest. The warhead will make small corrections during flight and particularly in the terminal kill phase. Armageddon is pretty autonomous.)
First love your videos
The narrator sounds like John Kennedy 🤣
Only gave 4 out of 5 users cancer 20% better than the previous model.
nowadays i use my "m" all the time
K
The world has do nothing but got in one big hurry
Say what? Which button?
"In The 1961" isn't proper grammar.
fix the title, please mr. Hoffman
You might want to read about when to capitalize.
Thank you. I have corrected the error.
David Hoffman filmmaker
I capitalize words when I'd like to. I don't follow the rules.
David Hoffman filmmaker
@DavidHoffmanFilmmaker ? Oh, sometimes I wonder......
@@DavidHoffmanFilmmaker I hope you realize I was addressing the person who told you to fix the title. I thought it was rude of him/her.