Entertainment Technology: The Inventions That Shaped Humanity
From music videos to film to ad campaigns — more and more brands have been experimenting with interactive video.
What seems to many as a new era in media and entertainment , actually started in 2005 thanks to two developments; the addition of video as a media type to Flash and the growth in the number of users with access to broadband speed internet. It’s also what we’ve been doing here at Eko for the past decade.
However, none of the super cool things we’re doing today would be possible if it weren’t for many other innovations, dating all the way back to 1820.
In this article, we’ll explore the key entertainment tech inventions that not only transformed entertainment itself, turning it to the $2 trillion industry it is today, but also affected how, when and where we consume content and how we interact with each other as individuals, forming new types of human connections.
Let’s get started, shall we?
The Phonograph — The Birth of Entertainment Tech
In 1877, While trying to improve the telegraph and telephone, Thomas Edison found that sound could be recorded on tinfoil-coated cylinders and for the first time, created a device that not only recorded sounds but also reproduced them — the phonograph.
Edison first tested the device, which many consider to be the birth of entertainment technology, by recording the words to the famous “Mary had a little lamb” nursery rhyme and he was amazed to hear them played back to him.
The phonograph paved the way for other inventions such as broadcast media and enabled governments, companies and individuals to communicate and share ideas with others.
The Camera — From Box to Digital
Joseph Nicéphore Niépce succeeded in creating the first permanent photo using a sliding wooden box camera made by Charles and Vincent Chevalier in Paris in the 1820s.
Fast forward to 1895, when the Lumière brothers held some of the first movie screenings. Their film, “The Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat Station” (1896), famously showed a train entering the station and allegedly caused the audience to run away in fear from the screen.
The digital camera was invented and built by Kodak engineer Steven Sasson in 1975 and became widely popular by 2005. The digital age dramatically lowered the cost of producing still photos and videos, enabling anyone with a smartphone to capture every moment and share it with anyone, anytime, anywhere.
The Television — Entertainment at Home
The first electronic TV was created in 1927 by 21-year-old inventor Philo Taylor Farnsworth.
The first mass produced television was the RCA 630-TS, often referred to as “Model T”. They became popular in the 1950s and were in 54 million American living rooms by 1969.
For the first time, viewers were able to enjoy movies, shows and news from the comfort of their own homes and had immediate access to a variety of channels and content.
The Personal Computer — The Invention That Changed Everything
Many consider the Altair 8800 created by Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems (MITS) in 1974 to be the first real personal computer. It was made possible by the development of the microprocessor in the 1970s, making computers affordable for small businesses and individual use.
Computers have changed every aspect of the human experience. they helped us land on the moon, revolutionized how we access, save and analyze information and created a plethora of new industries.
We’ve been playing games, watching movies, listening to music, following the news, reading, learning new skills, shopping and engaging with other people for years — all on our computers.
Computer-Generated Imagery (CGI)
We can’t mention computers without saying something about CGI.
The first use of CGI in film was “Westworld” in 1973. It was a 2D depiction of a robot’s vision. “Jurassic Park” was the first ‘physically-textured’ CGI film, introducing an incredibly realistic-looking 3D dinosaur to the masses. Pixar’s “Toy Story” (1995) was the first CG feature film, created with just a small team of animators.
Today, almost no film is released without some form of computer enhancement or image manipulation.
The Internet — The Democratization of Information
The invention of the internet was nothing short of a revolution.
The ARPANET service, first used by the department of US defense in the 1960s and followed by Tim Berner Lee’s invention of the World Wide Web democratized information, enabled global communications, and created new forms of entertainment.
While televisions and computers brought entertainment into our homes, we were still stuck to our couch / chair. The combination of internet and broadband growth, along with new portable devices like laptops, smartphones and tablets, now enables us to enjoy instant access to our favorite movies, TV shows, games, books and music while on the go.
Most important, smartphones, smartphone cameras and the internet have made video the most democratized and popular medium in the world.
Streaming — Consumer-Driven Entertainment
Streaming is simply an alternative to file downloading. However, this “minor” shift in delivery method has had a profound impact on media consumption, gave rise to huge companies like Hulu, Spotify and Netflix and is about to render traditional television useless.
Streaming is perhaps the most consumer-driven field in entertainment. Streaming services are continuously collecting data concerning user preferences, usage habits, ad engagements and locations. This consumer-specific data helps platforms understand what people like. They then use that data to create and deliver the right content at the right time — putting them several steps ahead of movie theaters and television stations.
So, Where Is This All Going?
Rapid growth in technologies such as 5G and AR/VR together with increasing data-based decision making are taking entertainment to new heights. Large technology and entertainment companies will improve content quality and delivery, develop new ways to tailor content for consumers, such as interactive video — creating deeper levels of personalization, and continue to delight people with endless hours of fun and excitement.
Want to help us shape the future of entertainment?
We have plenty of open development positions — take a look here!
