My step-grandfather R. P. __________ owned either the first or one of the first few home TV sets in Ft. Worth. To the best of my 5-year-old
recollection, it was a 7″ model at most and could be comfortably viewed from a distance only by virtue of a mineral oil filled magnifying lens mounted on an adjustable floor stand such as the one pictured in the link below. It could be turned on or turned off and there were dials for channel selection and volume control.
These days, I’ve got a 55″ Smart TV that handles cable, wireless streaming channels, two-way video and voice calling, flash memory inputs, USB devices like Roku and external cameras, creation of both still photos and short videos, and ‘net surfing via a built-in web browser.
Of the four kinds of available remotes I have three, two of which are wireless, and each can control every feature of both the TV and my set-top cable box. One of them is hand-held and gives me a choice of either on-screen push-button control or voice control via a self-contained mike. The second is a full computer-style wireless keyboard. The third is a high-res Skype-enabled camera with a built-in mic which gives me motion control. And the fourth kind, which I don’t have, is a wireless mouse.
Would that R. P. could have lived to see it…
7/8/15