Every TV Screen Explained in 12 Minutes

The CRT
The very first commercial televisions of the late 1930s through the post-war boom of the 1950s were all powered by Cathode Ray Tube, otherwise known as CRTs. RCA introduced one of the first widely available models in 1939 at the New York World’s Fair, and for decades afterward, CRTs were the default. They defined not just living rooms, but broadcast culture itself—everything from the moon landing to I Love Lucy came through a CRT.
CRTs worked by firing electron beams onto phosphorescent glass, lighting up tiny dots that formed images. It sounds complicated, but to most families, it was just the big box in the living room.
The design was bulky—so heavy you risked throwing out your back if you moved it. Families treated these TVs like furniture. Some even had decorative cabinets built around them, making the TV the “hearth” of the house. Still, CRTs had surprisingly crisp images for the time, with deep blacks and rich color that gamers and retro fans still swear by today.
You might remember the curved glass screen, the static shock when you got too close, and that thump sound when you turned it on. And if you ever lost signal? Cue the snowstorm of static that somehow managed to be both terrifying and hypnotic.
Here’s the kicker: despite their clunky looks, CRTs were incredibly reliable. Many lasted decades, far longer than today’s “smart” TVs. In fact, some old CRTs still power on today, making them beloved among vintage collectors. But their size was their downfall. Once flat panels showed up, the days of the living-room behemoth were numbered.
CRTs weren’t just the start of TV—they set the gold standard for picture quality that some argue we still haven’t truly beaten.


Projection TVs
Projection televisions emerged in the 1970s when manufacturers realized people wanted “theater-sized” experiences at home. Early versions were mostly used in schools and auditoriums, but by the 1980s and 90s, home models became popular. Companies like RCA and Sony sold them as luxury items for families who wanted to turn their basement into a mini-theater.
Projection TVs used three separate CRT projectors (red, green, blue) that projected images onto a mirror, which then reflected onto the front screen. The result? A massive picture that looked like a movie theater in your living room.
The tradeoff: you had to sit directly in front of them. Move a little off-center and the picture washed out like an old Polaroid. Brightness wasn’t their strong suit either—you basically had to dim the lights like you were setting up for a date night just to see the screen clearly.
And then there was the size of the cabinet itself. Projection TVs were huge—deep, boxy things that hogged half the wall. Families arranged couches around them like altars. Moving one? Forget about it—you’d need a whole squad and maybe a chiropractor on speed dial.
But the size? Unmatched. If you were the house on the block with a projection TV, people wanted to come over for the Super Bowl or the new VHS release. It wasn’t just about watching—it was about hosting.
Projection TVs taught us the thrill of “big-screen” viewing at home—even if it meant squinting at a washed-out image half the time.
Plasma TVs
Plasma TVs hit the market in the late 1990s, with Fujitsu and Pioneer leading the charge. For the first time, consumers could buy screens larger than 40 inches that weren’t the size of a washing machine. By the early 2000s, plasma was the TV of choice for high-end home theaters.
Plasma screens used tiny gas-filled cells that lit up when electricity ran through them, producing vibrant colors and rich contrast.
For many, plasma was the dream TV. The picture looked cinematic, blacks were deep, and colors popped in a way CRTs couldn’t match. They also had wide viewing angles, so you didn’t have to fight for the “good seat” anymore. Suddenly, family night didn’t mean someone was stuck on the floor craning their neck.
The downside? Burn-in. If you paused a DVD too long or left a video game HUD up for hours, you’d see “ghost” images burned into the screen. And they weren’t cheap—the first plasma screens cost as much as a small car. Owning one was almost a flex, like having a luxury watch you hung on your wall.
Still, plasma TVs changed living rooms. For the first time, a TV wasn’t a bulky piece of furniture—it was sleek, wall-mounted art. Walking into a home with one felt like stepping into the future. Even the “buzzing” sound some models made became part of the charm.
Plasma screens were the first TVs that actually looked cool even when they were turned off.
LCD Liquid Crystal Display
Although LCD tech was invented in the 1960s for calculators and watches, it didn’t become mainstream for televisions until the early 2000s. By 2007, LCDs outsold plasmas, marking the first major consumer shift away from gas-based displays.
Instead of glowing phosphors or plasma gas, these screens used liquid crystals that twisted to block or let through backlight.