The Invention That Changed The World

After sketching his idea for an “electric television” on his high­school chalkboard, Philo Farnsworth dedicates his life to gaining the knowledge necessary to make his dream a reality...

When RCA tries to buy his patent (and the riches that come with it), Farnsworth and the RCA founder David Sarnoff face off; the results of their confrontation will forever change the way we experience the world.

David Sarnoff is the ultimate rags-to-riches, American success story. One of the first to recognize the potential that radio has to offer, he rises up the ranks to become an executive at RCA. Within a few short years he’s the immensely wealthy and powerful head of the company. His goal: to change the world, using media.

Though it’s hard to imagine, Sarnoff’s archrival is a farm boy from the Midwest. Philo Farnsworth, a brilliant, humble geek, believes in a machine that could someday broadcast pictures, like radio does with sound. One day, looking at the rows of a field he’s plowed, Farnsworth has a vision – of how a picture tube’s electronic lines could scan an image. He shows his high school teacher his plan for television, and persuades some investors to fund his idea. Before long, he has the backing of a leading company in the field, Philco.

[FirstLast-vres]

It never seems to fail. Every time a brilliant person comes up with something that changes the world, a rich parasite shows up and tries to steal everything from them. Often successfully. And we actually celebrate that behavior.

[thecrafteaneighbor]

Reminds me of the man who invented intermittent windshield wipers, showed it to an auto giant in Detroit, who lied and said they had already developed it, then stole the man's design & put it on their own cars. He sued and it took years, losing everything he had, to win. He was given good compensation by the courts in the end.

[banquo]

It’s interesting how the word “greed” is never applied to David Sarnoff in this entire program, even though that was his entire motivation.

[itsjustnopinionok]

In 1939 it really was science fiction to think that by 2023 it would be possible to walking around with a portable TV/radio/phone in the palm of their hands.

[SaltyE]

Just imagine where this world would be if it wasn't for greed and "powerful" people/groups making everything about money instead of the advancement or wellbeing of all of us.

[mrcet]

Edwin Armstrong, who invented FM radio, was another, somewhat-similar victim of Sarnoff’s business tactics, at around the same time. Among other “punches” Sarnoff threw in that battle, he lobbied to get the frequency band for his TV to overlay (crowd out, in essence) Armstrong’s “Yankee” FM-radio network.

[johnnicolson]

John Logie Baird FRSE was a Scottish inventor, electrical engineer, and innovator who demonstrated the world's first live working television system on 26 January 1926. He went on to invent the first publicly demonstrated colour television system and the first viable purely electronic colour television picture tub

[royschering]

What Sarnoff did to Farnsworth and Armstrong is not too dissimilar to what Edison did to Tesla.

[IndependentBear]

The program suggests that at least two people thought of scanning an image line-by-line independently. The Nipkow disc which did the same thing mechanically was patented in 1884 and used in early television sets. It was Farnsworth''s all electronic system that offered high enough resolution (detail) for a practical TV system

[upjxmtj]

When I was little Iwas at my great grandmother's house in Los Angeles.
She had an old television, one with
a completely round screen.
That house had more stories than I was ever able to discover. Tiny rooms tucked away in alcoves, staircases and hallways that seemingly never ended anywhere. And a basement the size of a city. A very old house.

[yamil.]

I grew up in the ‘80s. Learned to type on typewriters. Had boom boxes & cassette tapes. Saw the evolution of technology with the personal computer, dvds & cds. The internet, etc. So glad I lived through that. Kids nowadays don’t know anything about that. My point? How exciting it must’ve been to be alive when the TV came out. A revolutionary product that changed our lives for sure.

[Maddoktor]

Farnsworth was the Tesla of television.

[justicewillprevail]

Television is truly one of the greatest invention in the world. He’s truly a genius.

[jaminova_]

And 100+ years later, You Tube trashes "television" with their random ad placement turning the documentary about Farnsworth virtually unwatchable!

[handsomeblackman]

I wish I had "inner drive."
I have too much contentment.

His science teacher could have stolen his idea. What a stand up guy.

Why didn't he just agree to work with RCA?

Again, that teacher was a great guy.

Zarnoff was like Darth Vader demanding the Death Star be rebuilt.
He was very much the villian in this story.

[bar]

I haven't watched this video yet but our first TV was a Stromberg Carlson mahogany console with a 12" screen. My parents paid about $400 in 1949 when I was 5 years old. Before having our own TV we would walk through the woods in the evening to watch our neighbor's Motorola table model. This was when we lived in the MD suburbs of DC. Now I have an LG 50" plasma that we purchased in 2009. My wife passed away in 2021 and I. never watch TV anymore. We would enjoy programs together but I can't enjoy them without her.

[James-mwzv]

They haven't made this into a movie? That's surprising.

[mattnbin]

What about the British mechanical TV system invented by John Logie Baird? It was all happening at the same time. Perhaps was the first to actually work. It used a spinning “Nipcow Disk”. Kind of an important part of the television story.

[pantherplatform]

Reminds me of the guy who invented shelves for refrigerators. Can't believe they didn't think of that. It would be like Henry Ford forgetting to put seats in the Model T

[amehak]

Farnsworth!!!

The Futurama character was named for this guy and is said to be his descendant.