Broadcast Television: An Evolution of Technology in Our Lifetime

Remember the time when Sunday afternoons were the highlight of the week? Our kitchen tables were filled with finger food and loads and loads of popcorn? Who can forget the amount of pop we had stored just for this one afternoon. All for that Sunday afternoon special movie which broadcasted on our television screens.

Days of the Future Past: An Audio Visual Technological Journey

There was much conversation before the movie began, and after. It was almost like a communal thing. Moms discussed the actors and their lifestyles as weekly gossip. Dads took an entire week to establish why the narrative was flawed and how it could have been better. Or how THEY could have made it better.

We later on evolved on to the era of Blockbuster Videos. They were the hottest place to go for renting out the latest and the hard to find evergreen movies. Slowly and surely technology changed yet again and we moved on from the VHS to the DVDs. Personally, the era of playing a movie on VLC still continues to be a favorite of mine.

Home entertainment went through another change when with an unprecedented speed it graduated from Blu Rays to online streaming platforms. Kids today are either Netflix and chilling, or enjoying the awesome visual delight of watching a movie on the 4K. With the past in check and the present looking good, we are sure the future technology of entertainment is going to go from strengths to strengths. Let’s take a quick glimpse at what the future may hold in store for us.

• 4D/5D Television: In Order to further enhance the experience of watching a movie on 4K, companies are now focusing on 4D (3D film display with motion) and 5D (3D film display with Motion and effects of smell and touch). 4D and 5D are not as farfetched as you think. It’s an upcoming technology that is currently accessible only in selected theaters. It is just waiting to go mainstream. Imagine watching the Lord of The Rings in high quality of 4K television in 3D with added effects of motion and smell. Guess that is the closest we can ever get to experience the 111st birthday party of Bilbo Baggins.
• VR Television: The anticipation of experiencing VR Television is like having butterflies in one’s tummies. Just you alone can feel it. Hence, we are eagerly awaiting the day when VR TV becomes mainstream. Virtual reality may make one experience 360 degree of the environment on the screen and it can also be further enhanced with the user becoming one of the characters aka an avatar, within the show or film. This shall establish user interaction with the other characters along with the experience of truly living in the Virtual world within the TV. May be with this technology boost we can finally become an avatar of our choice so that one can be a part of the LOTR and go on to Mount Doom to destroy the one ring. I call dibs on Legolas!
• Drone TV: What can be better than a TV that is not hooked or attached to one place, but moves as we move. One will no longer miss out on a single scene of a show or a movie, if they need to check out who is at the door or answer the phone. Drone Television is the answer to all those lazy boy issues. Imagine, a tv that flies and follows you around. How awesome is that?

Future Tech: The Anticipation Is Worth It

The current crop of technology in television watching has now got a new moniker. Commonly regarded as ‘Binge Watching’, there are many who finish watching seasons of any particular show in one sitting. Online streaming portals have helped them realize this previously unbelievable dream.

But, do these binge watchers realize that they are losing out on the joy of anticipating a movie or a show? The thrill we felt at the end of the weekly Sunday movie when the broadcaster would announce the next weeks movie is unparalleled to any today. The joy we experienced when it featured our favorite actor, or if the movie was of a genre of our choice.

The sad truth is that with so many options, one at times is lost in deciding what to watch. With the future tech coming closer and closer to us every day, we hope that they increase the novelty that audio video entertainment provides and make one cherish it all over again.