A Brief History
On April 29, 1953, Los Angeles television station KECA made the first public experimental broadcast of a 3D TV show, an episode of Space Patrol. Sadly, this attempt did not usher in an era of 3D TV for the masses, but it was another step in the advancements that have brought 3D TV to where it is today.
Digging Deeper
You may be surprised to know that the origins of 3D viewing go back to the 1800s, with a series of inventions concerning stereoscopic viewing of still pictures developed into moving 3D pictures of a sort with the Kinematoscope in 1855.
The first 3D process patented for movies came in 1890 by Englishman William Friese-Greene. In 1922, the first public showing of a 3D movie, The Power of Love, debuted.
Television was not far behind with a 1928 demonstration in London by John Logie Baird and the first 3D TV set was built in 1935. Still far from a normal public product, television lagged behind as 3D movies in theaters became the rage during the 1950s.
As 3D movies technology advanced and the films became popular, TV makers have continued to develop the technology for the small screen, which today is still somewhat of a rarity, although public interest continues to spur development. We look forward to affordable home 3D TV that does not require special glasses!
Question for students (and subscribers) to ponder: Have you ever watched a 3D TV show or game?
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Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
Blokdyk, Gerardus. 3D Flat-Panel TVs and Displays. 5STARCooks, 2022.
Mendiburu, Bernard. 3D TV and 3D Cinema: Tools and Processes for Creative Stereoscopy. Routledge, 2012.
The featured image in this article, a photograph of actress Virginia Hewitt from the television program Space Patrol, is in the public domain in the United States because it was published in the United States between 1930 and 1977, inclusive, without a copyright notice. For further explanation, see Commons:Hirtle chart as well as a detailed definition of “publication” for public art.
You can also watch video versions of this article on YouTube.
