Television has come a long way from the first wavering images sent over electronic wires to the high definition broadcasts we see today. Starting out as an alternate way to communicate in the late 1800s, it didn't take long before television became a worldwide form of entertainment.

1862
Italian Physics Professor, Abbe Giovanna Caselli, invents the "pantelegraph" and becomes the first person to transmit a still image over wires.

1927
American engineer, Philo Farnsworth, transmits the first all-electronic television image comprised of 50 horizontal lines. The image he transmitted was a dollar sign.

1928
Television hits the market! The first TV sold for $75.

1940
Peter Goldmark invents a colour television with 343 lines of resolution, but you won't see them in North American homes until 1964.

1969
Through the invention of the Telestar satellite in 1962, over 600 million people watch as Neil Armstrong takes humankind's first step on the moon.

1971
NHK in Japan begins experimenting with high line number TV systems, and discusses the feasibility of an 1125-line system - otherwise known as high definition.

1981
NHK in Japan demonstrates an analog HDTV system with 1125 lines of resolution in Los Angles for SMPTE (Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers). Two weeks later an HDTV demonstration was presented in Washington, D.C. for the FCC (Federal Communication Commission) and other government entities.

1982
The quest for improved audio and visual quality continues as Dolby surround sound is introduced in home televisions and Japan starts producing analog HD programming.

1984
Digital televisions are marketed in North America, but it will be nearly 10 years before wide-screen TVs hit the showroom floor.

1988
The first digital HDTV broadcast of the Olympic Games in Seoul comes out of Japan.

1990
General Instrument Corporation demonstrates squeezing an HDTV-quality signal into the standard 6MHz channel required for broadcast and cable TV.

1991
Japan begins broadcasting HDTV while the U.S. begins testing high definition systems. It will take five years before both broadcasters and television manufacturers agree on a standard for HDTV that will be adopted for both the U.S. and Canada.

1996
Zenith introduces the first HDTV-compatible front projection TV.

1998
The US space shuttle provides the world with the first HDTV pictures from space.

1999
Regular network HDTV broadcasts begin in North America, but only a small percentage of the local affiliate stations are equipped to broadcast in HDTV.

2001
Internet millionaire, Mark Cuban, launches the first North American network comprised entirely of HD programming called HDnet.

2003
Discovery Channel Canada and TSN became the first two Canadian specialty channels to broadcast their signals in high definition television (HDTV).

2005
Japan unveils super hi-vision TV with 4000 scanning lines or16 times more definition than HDTV. CTV Specialty and Discovery Communications Inc. launch Canada's first 24-hour HD channel: Discovery HD.

2007
The CEMC (Consumer Electronics Marketers of Canada) predicts that HDTV purchases in Canada will surpass 4.2 million units.

2009
As of April 7, 2009, the U.S. will stop transmitting analog signals. Canada too will eventually stop transmitting analog signals, but no date has been set. All viewers will then need a digital TV or a converter in order to watch television.