Multimedia
Blogs
Forum
Affordable HD
Whitepapers
Newsletters
Events
Advertisers
Blogcast
MillimeterZenith wins Emmy for Flat-Screen CRT
Oct 17, 2001 12:00 PM
NEW YORK, Oct. 17, 2001 ––Zenith Electronics Corporation received an Emmy Award last night for its development of flat-screen CRT (cathode ray tube) television technology.
Presented by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) at a black-tie gala in mid-town Manhattan, this marks Zenith’s fourth Emmy. The company was previously honored for developing stereo television, remote control technology and digital high-definition television (HDTV).
Accepting an Emmy “for Outstanding Achievement in Television Technology,” Richard M. Lewis, Zenith’s senior vice president, research & technology, said: “On behalf of my colleagues, both past and present, we are deeply honored that Zenith has been recognized for its development of flat-screen TV picture tube technology.”
Zenith’s pioneering work in perfectly-flat-screen color CRTs spans three decades. The core innovation involved stretching a shadow mask and holding it under tension. This so-called “flat tension mask” (FTM) was the industry’s first perfectly flat, high-resolution color CRT. Its high brightness, high resolution and glare-free and reflection-free performance revolutionized CRTs for consumer television and computer monitor displays.
The first of 137 U.S. patents granted to Zenith for flat CRTs was issued in 1981. The first private industry demonstrations of the technology were in 1984-85, followed by the first public showing of a 14-inch computer monitor display in 1986. Commercial shipments began in 1987, and larger versions (15- and 17-inch) followed. In 1993, Zenith demonstrated a 22-inch version and proceeded with development efforts on larger screen versions for consumer TV applications.
The Advanced Research Projects Agency’s High-Definition Systems program supported research in the early 1990s for new production techniques enabling larger-screen FTM CRTs.
As part of its restructuring, Zenith phased out CRT manufacturing several years ago, but the technology has been licensed to others, and FTM displays today are sold throughout the world.
In 2001, Zenith introduced six digital HDTV monitors, ranging from 27-to 36-inch diagonal screen sizes, employing perfectly flat CRTs.
Continue the discussion on “Crosstalk” the Millimeter Forum.