<P> Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium used for transmitting moving images in monochrome (black and white), or in colour, and in two or three dimensions and sound . The term can refer to a television set, a television program ("TV show"), or the medium of television transmission . Television is a mass medium for entertainment, education, news, politics, gossip, and advertising . </P> <P> Television became available in crude experimental forms in the late 1920s, but it would still be several years before the new technology was marketed to consumers . After World War II, an improved form of black - and - white TV broadcasting became popular in the United States and Britain, and television sets became commonplace in homes, businesses, and institutions . During the 1950s, television was the primary medium for influencing public opinion . In the mid-1960s, color broadcasting was introduced in the US and most other developed countries . The availability of multiple types of storage media such as Betamax, VHS tape, local disks, DVDs, flash drives, high - definition Blu - ray Discs, and digital video recorders have enabled viewers to watch prerecorded material--such as movies--at home on their own time schedule . For many reasons, the storage of television and video programming now occurs on the cloud . At the end of the first decade of the 2000s, digital television transmissions greatly increased in popularity . Another development was the move from standard - definition television (SDTV) (576i, with 576 interlaced lines of resolution and 480i) to high - definition television (HDTV), which provides a resolution that is substantially higher . HDTV may be transmitted in various formats: 1080p, 1080i and 720p . Since 2010, with the invention of smart television, Internet television has increased the availability of television programs and movies via the Internet through streaming video services such as Netflix, Amazon Video, iPlayer, Hulu, Roku and Chromecast . </P> <P> In 2013, 79% of the world's households owned a television set . The replacement of early bulky, high - voltage cathode ray tube (CRT) screen displays with compact, energy - efficient, flat - panel alternative technologies such as plasma displays, LCDs (both fluorescent - backlit and LED), and OLED displays was a hardware revolution that began with computer monitors in the late 1990s . Most TV sets sold in the 2000s were flat - panel, mainly LEDs . Major manufacturers announced the discontinuation of CRT, DLP, plasma, and even fluorescent - backlit LCDs by the mid-2010s . In the near future, LEDs are expected to be gradually replaced by OLEDs . Also, major manufacturers have announced that they will increasingly produce smart TVs in the mid-2010s . Smart TVs with integrated Internet and Web 2.0 functions became the dominant form of television by the late 2010s . </P>

When did tv become available to the public
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