<P> The first engineering proposal for a flat - panel TV was by General Electric as a result of its work on radar monitors . Their publication of their findings gave all the basics of future flat - panel TVs and monitors . But GE did not continue with the R&D required and never built a working flat panel at that time . The first production flat - panel display was the Aiken tube, developed in the early 1950s and produced in limited numbers in 1958 . This saw some use in military systems as a heads up display, but conventional technologies overtook its development . Attempts to commercialize the system for home television use ran into continued problems and the system was never released commercially . The Philco Predicta featured a relatively flat (for its day) cathode ray tube setup and would be the first commercially released "flat panel" upon its launch in 1958; the Predicta was a commercial failure . The plasma display panel was invented in 1964 at the University of Illinois, according to The History of Plasma Display Panels . The first active - matrix addressed display was made by T Peter Brody's Thin - Film Devices department at Westinghouse Electric Corporation in 1968 . In 1977, James P Mitchell prototyped and later demonstrated what was perhaps the earliest monochromatic flat panel LED television display LED Display . As of 2012, 50% of global market share in flat - panel display (FPD) production is by Taiwanese manufacturers such as AU Optronics and Chimei Innolux Corporation . </P> <P> Liquid crystal displays (LCDs) are lightweight, compact, portable, cheap, more reliable, and easier on the eyes than cathode ray tube screens . LCD screens use a thin layer of liquid crystal, a liquid that exhibits crystalline properties . It is sandwiched between two electrically conducting plates . The top plate has transparent electrodes deposited on it, and the back plate is illuminated so that the viewer can see the images on the screen . By applying controlled electrical signals across the plates, various segments of the liquid crystal can be activated, causing changes in their light diffusing or polarizing properties . These segments can either transmit or block light . An image is produced by passing light through selected segments of the liquid crystal to the viewer . They are used in various electronics like watches, calculators, and notebook computers . </P> <P> Some LCD screens are backlit with a number of light - emitting diodes (LEDs). LEDs are two - lead semiconductor light source that resembles a basic "pn - junction" diode, except that an LED also emits light . This form of LCD (liquid crystal display) is the most prevalent in the 2010s . The image is still generated by the LCD . </P> <P> A plasma display consists of two glass plates separated by a thin gap filled with a gas such as neon . Each of these plates has several parallel electrodes running across it . The electrodes on the two plates are at right angles to each other . A voltage applied between the two electrodes one on each plate causes a small segment of gas at the two electrodes to glow . The glow of gas segments is maintained by a lower voltage that is continuously applied to all electrodes . In the 2010s, plasma displays have been discontinued by numerous manufacturers . </P>

What year did the first flat screen tv come out