How the TV Remote Has Changed Over the Years Part I

The first remote controls for televisions were not wireless, but rather wired to the TV with a long cord. These remotes started appearing with television sets in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Zenith, however, quickly worked on a solution to make the first wireless remote control and established itself as a leading television supplier thanks to the release of its wireless remote control in 1950 that allowed people to control their televisions from just about anywhere in the room.



The wireless remote control developed by Zenith used light beams to communicate with sensors built into the television. The only drawback was the remote had to be pointed at one of these sensors in order for it to function correctly. In addition, the controls were limited in functionality to turning the TV on and off, changing channels up and down, and being able to mute the sound. You still had to get up to adjust the antennae to get a clear picture and certain channels had to be manually tuned.



In the late 1950s a new remote control was invented that did not require batteries and utilized sound frequencies to control the television. The new remote quickly become to be known as a clicker because it would make a clicking sound anytime a button was pressed. The frequency was created by a metal bar striking one of four aluminum rods, resulting in an ultrasonic frequency detected by the TV’s receiver. Even though humans could not hear the sounds made by the remote control, dogs sometimes went berserk anytime the remote was used.



Today’s remotes have come a long way since the 1950s. In the next blog, we will continue to explore the evolution of the television remote control. Feel free to contact Anderic for preprogrammed universal remotes for all of your devices by calling 855-573-6683 today.