introduced into the UK market from Japan. Sony, Hitachi, Panasonic, Sharp and Toshiba started to steal the market share rapidly from the likes of Ferguson, Decca, GEC and others. Reliability was not so much an issue with these fully transistorised sets – well, not initially. It was in the mid-70s I was fortunate enough


to join Hitachi until the early 90s, gaining vast knowledge and experience then and continuing to until the present day. Though many great retailers from the 70s


have now gone, luckily there are still some remaining who will remember the 70s and early 80s. The years of increasing demand, yet limited availability, not only did TVs command a premium price, but they were also on allocation – orders for 50 became 10 or maybe only 5 due to importation restrictions. This eased when the Japanese companies established UK production facilities. With continued feature developments like


Teletext followed by *Fastext, such eventually became a normal feature in the 80s and the then high demand for 21 inch sets was superseded as larger screens became available, 24-inch, 25-inch and the much larger 28-inch. With increased demand for larger *CRT


tubes, companies experienced shortages in manufacturing, thus a commencement of shared resources was increased. Unfortunately, quality assurance was not as proficient during the 80s and several companies experienced service issues. Some companies had to replace CRT tubes within weeks or months of customer purchases. In 1984, Stereo TV broadcasts became available, and manufacturers were again under pressure to meet demands. It was also in the 80s the ASA [Advertising Standards Authority] issued warnings to TV manufacturers of the immediate requirement of stating screen sizes be referred to in Metric and not just Imperial. Hence, a 21-inch became 51cmV, 25-inch as 59cmV, and so on. Regarding the retail prices of TVs, even though being involved at the time, it’s still difficult to comprehend a 59cmV set had a recommended minimum advertised price of £529.99. In the late 80s with demand wishing for larger screen sizes, the 78cmV [33-inch] was


*Plasma - An emissive flat panel display technology that uses gas plasma to excite phosphors to glow.


The screen’s phosphor coating


on a Plasma TV creates a picture that is closest to conventional tube TVs [CRT]. Unlike the slow


Spring 2026


introduced commanding a retail of £1,999.99. Not only heavy at around 62Kg they were enormous, measuring around 800 x 700 x 600 [W x H x D] mm. Just for info, as extra, a Digital VHS VCR was retail priced at £799.99 and a Super VHS VCR priced at £999.99. Satellite then became a more popular media in the 90s with some models of TV having Astra built-in receivers and being adaptable with the short lived, BSB [British Satellite Broadcasting] system of which after only months merged with Sky owing to commercial pressures. Jumping to 1996, HDTV [High-Definition


TV] became a recognised standard worldwide although countries still broadcast with their own standards, PAL, SECAM, NTSC, etc. By this time, it was estimated over one billion sets were in use globally. *Plasma TV and *LCD TV were hovering about in the early 90s, albeit these TV formats did not start coming into the mass market until the late 90s. Fujitsu introduced a 42-inch Plasma TV in 1997 priced over £2,000. Philips followed in 1998 with its 42-inch Plasma TV at a similar price.


Regarding LCD TVs, these were primarily launched as portable models, with Sharp launching a 14 inch as early as 1988. It was not until the early 2000s LCD technology improved to rival Plasma TVs. Once LCD overcame the backlighting issues,


Plasma TVs were deemed as consuming too much energy and Screen Burn was raised as a major issue, LCD raced ahead. Before delving into the 21st century, there needs a mention of *DLP TVs. Around in the 90s, more so in the USA as this projection system built within large cabinets capable of producing larger TV images. The cost was also lower in comparison, yet the clarity was not that of CRT. A Texas Instrument technology, their now much improved system is a recognised means of high-quality projection within both the domestic and commercial projector markets. With quality of image becoming a significant


factor of consumer purchase, though more expensive, Plasma TVs initially became the ultimate and recognised for screen image quality. More or less in 2000, CRT was in the history


response on LCD, the plasma refresh time is much greater. *SED - ‘Surface-Conduction Electron-Emitter Display’. The result of the major challenges which faced display manufacturers was to develop a new kind of screen with the


books with Plasma TV and LCD TV competing for market share. Then along came the super-flat panels *OLED TV, introduced by LG Electronics within the first decade of the new century. Then another system was introduced, *SED. Albeit, this technology was conceived way back in the early 1980s by Canon, it was not until 2004 when Canon teamed with Toshiba in order to place its SED panels inside Toshiba’s flatscreen TVs. Launched at the 2006 CES Las Vegas, it initially appeared to be a positive contender to meet the demands for a competitive TV solution. Alas, owing to an issue with technological patents, components used within the production infringed patents and had to be withdrawn allowing Plasma and LCD to continue the battle, with OLED. Fast forward to today and with Plasma TV also cast into the history books, OLED and the derivatives of LCD with its many versions of superior backlighting and management of the input signal, the two major contenders to win the desires of the consumer continue. Reverting back to the comment from my


good friend Syd, we continue to take for granted the vast jumps in technology which provides that electronic window to view what can only be described as amazing. Though some may say, it reveals the greater good, the bad and the somewhat ugly sides of life on our earth. Thankfully, we have greater choice, the on/off button, iPlayer, Streaming, etc., to choose at our leisure. What’s next? Will it be Holographic TV? Well,


it may surprise you but in a privileged position when with Hitachi, during 1989, besides seeing Plasma TV prototypes, Holographic TV was also confidentially demonstrated to me by the R&D. So in a much more advanced state, it could be around the corner for the domestic market, or a decade away. When the market is ready, as we know from experience, the manufacturers will release the flood gates accordingly. For my good friend Syd (ex tail gunner on Lancasters - respect), at 101, still driving, never drinking alcohol, only tonic water, not having broadband, only a terrestrial signal, he is happy and content with his 2018, 28-inch LCD, watching factual programmes fed via his Freeview receiver. Yes, one in a billion.


same picture quality as a CRT, that is both slim and large. Canon’s Flatscreen SED (Surface- conduction Electron-emitter Display) successfully met this challenge. *OLED - ‘Organic Light Emitting Diode’ technology offers the best


PEOPLE MAKE THE DIFFERENCE


way to display pictures and video with fewer constraints on camera and other vision equipment designs. Consists of extremely thin layers of organic material applied on a substrate such as glass. When stimulated by an electrical charge, these materials emit light.


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