The word Television is from the ancient Greek word  “tèle” means “far” and the Latin word “visio” means “sight”. Television is a device or a form of technology that receives and transmits moving images or otherwise known as “movies” that are sometimes monochrome or black and white and at other times in full color.

The moving images that it receives from a nearby broadcasting station is projected in three dimensions by the cathode ray tube or “CRT” and it also has an audio decoder to reproduce the sounds from the transmitted radio signals through the audio speakers. It is mainly used for entertainment, information and education. It is also referred to as a television set, television transmission or television program.

Unlike the internet where it is still struggling to compete with TV even nearing the completion of its third decade since it was made for public use; TV took over print media and radio broadcasting overnight! The world quickly catch on and before we knew it, TV had become a global phenomenon. Today there are approximately 4.7 billion units of television throughout the world and they range from the old cathode ray tubes to the flat LCD and plasma screens and all the way up to the latest LED curved TVs. In fact, there are more TV sets than computers in the world today and it seems computers and the internet has yet to surpass TV’s dominance in the mainstream media world.

Here are some of the latest innovations on television today:

The various innovations that companies have developed today makes television almost unrecognizable except for developers and providers adding the suffix “TV” at each new idea that they conceived. Apparently it’s no longer just about a broadcasting station and the box with moving pictures in it! In order to understand what these innovations are allow me to break it down to you in bite sizes. TV nowadays could be…

1) 3DTV – is a semi-total immersion television system that uses multiple techniques such as multi-view display, stereoscopic display,  2D-plus-depth, and other forms of 3D display which makes the object on the TV screen appear to have dept and form just like real objects are. In other words it makes viewing movies on a 3DTV seem realistic! It is one notch below holograms as you will need a specially-designed 3D glasses in order to see the images projected from this type of TV set. The benefits of having a 3DTV is that it makes learning more fun for kids who wants to learn about space and the universe or what’s in our oceans at the comfort of their living rooms. Watching movies that are heavily incorporated with CGI (computer generated imaging) takes you right in the middle of it, which is a completely different experience than just watching the same movie from an ordinary TV. One way 3D images are produced is by offsetting the images and separating them to each eye (left and right), then use passive color filters and a light source to project the image in a singularity all the while the 3D glasses help solidify the images from the viewer’s perspective.

2) Cable TV – CATV or cable television is a system that delivers TV programs through the use of coaxial or fiber-optic cables. Those who wish to subscribe to TV programs offered by CATV companies has to pay for them and that’s why cable television has been a major success back in the 1980’s and 1990’s. The benefits of subscribing to a cable TV network is that you’ll have hundreds of channels and vast TV programs to watch all day everyday; while the disadvantage is that due to the fact that TV shows and movies are sometimes played more than 3 times a day, you will get bored eventually. The take-away is that when you have a busy schedule and you absolutely need to catch up with the episodes of your favorite TV shows or when there’s some very interesting shows that you need to take down notes from.

3) HDTV – or otherwise known as high definition TV or hi-def TV is a modern innovation that came out in the latter years of the first decade of the new millennium. HDTVs has a resolution display between 720p – 1080p which is basically 0.92 megapixels to 2.07 megapixels and that’s like more than 5 times normal! In February 2008 the FCC ordered all TV broadcasting frequency in the United States be set to high definition standards, because the federal government will use all the lower bandwidths exclusively. Perhaps the best benefit that HDTV brings is that you won’t ever have fuzzy signals again.

4) Smart TV – is a cross-between TV and internet as it has the attributes of both. Examples of Smart TV include Apple TV, Amazon TV, Google TV, MeeGo, Plex, Roku, Samsung, TiVo and more! Companies that offer Smart TV programming requires users to buy a set-top-box which is some sort of a receiver (much like cable and satellite TV systems) where you can get exclusive access to paid TV programs. Besides gaining access to TV programs you can also get games, internet access and special offers through the Smart TV vendor which is even better than ordinary TV.

5) Satellite TV – it’s  almost very similar to cable TV except for 2 things: a) network coverage can extend beyond the US, and b) providers always broadcast in HD bandwidth which is very desirable for subscribers. TV programs may or may not be the same as cable TV providers offers and severe weather conditions can disrupt satellite broadcast which is an obvious weakness for satellite TVs. Satellite TV providers also offer a bundled service that includes TV, internet and telephone service.

6) Internet TV – is also called Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) where mainstream media TV and alternative TV programs are converted into digital signals and are offered for either free or paid subscription over the internet through video streaming technology. Advantages of internet TV is that you can access it from your desktop home computer, your laptop computer, your tablet computer and even your smartphone. And what’s not to like about mobile TV watching your favorite shows while you’re on the go? Absolutely nothing! Another thing that you may like about internet TV is that you can participate in their forum discussions in real time as a fan and sometimes even interact with the stars and other people involved in creating and developing these shows.

7) PPTV – another emerging digital television is known as peer-to-peer television or PPTV. It is very popular in Asia, particularly in China, Korea, Thailand and other nearby countries – this is because the technology was developed in Huazhong University of Science and Technology, China. For now the system is mostly compatible with Microsoft’s Windows OS (operating system) and you can watch TV shows, movies, sports, news and other special coverages right off of the browser. If it will be marketed worldwide, then we may see it soon on other platforms.

Other possible future TV innovations include holographic imaging and virtual reality TV although it may take years for us to see it into fruition as the marketing aspect of these innovations is such a huge obstacle to get around with. Still, the number of innovations that has so far been developed are leaps compared to what we had just a decade ago which are very impressive. Whatever your preference is you can be sure that you will absolutely enjoy these wonderful new innovations for TV.

The Roku streaming media device has already sold more than 10 million set-top boxes, which is a considerably astounding number—especially since the small company just began selling the devices about 5 years ago. (The company did have some other media streaming devices before then.) As part of an effort to harden its strong position, this company has updated and upgraded 2 of its highly popular Roku devices: the Roku 2 and the Roku 3 streaming media players.

The newest Roku 3 still has a price tag of $99.99, but it now has a new voice search feature as well as a new remote control device that allows users to activate it. It also comes with the Roku trademark headphone jack as well as motion control. The Roku 2 has become even faster and matches the Roku 3 performance-wise, it just lacks the enhanced remote control device. The Roku 2 currently has a selling price of $69.99.

On the software side of things, there are some new updates as well. The Roku Feed lets users see prices and release dates of upcoming movies, as well as when they will be available for streaming. Users can also search for any specific channels using the Roku Channel store. The channel store houses over 2,000 channels and covers more than 250,000 television shows and movies. All of the new current-generation Roku models will be receiving these software updates by the end of April.

The Roku company has also overhauled its mobile applications. A new voice search feature has been added, as has the Roku Feed feature and a host of other features. The newest players, upgraded mobile applications, and all-new features are presently available, except fro the iOS applications update, which is expected to land very soon.

Last year in October, HBO made it clear that the company plans to enter the lucrative and ever expanding streaming TV market by rolling out its own standalone streaming service at some point in 2015. Quite predictably, the market was abuzz with all sorts of speculations within hours – with some even going to the extent that this could well be the end of cable television as we know it.

Adding more to these speculations, CBS announced only a day later that it too was preparing to join the bandwagon by launching a proprietary streaming service. Similar announcement came from Showtime, CBS’s flagship entertainment channel.

Latest TV searches:

Community, the popular TV serial with a cult-like following, was picked by Yahoo Screen last year after it was cancelled by NBC. At the time, a time frame for the sixth season was announced as a vague “see you in the fall”.A premiere date for the anticipated series has been set for March 17, which will see the release of two episodes.

The 13-episode season will release one new episode every Tuesday after the premiere date.

The premiere of Community is a big step by Yahoo to take on digital streaming services like Netflix, Amazon and Hulu. Streaming companies have now started airing original series’ which have brought in a rush of new subscribers.

Netflix and Amazon, both won Golden Globe awards on Sunday for an original series.

Woody Allen, has also signed to make his first-ever television series with Amazon this Tuesday.

The TV Show, Community, revolves around a band of misfits at a community college. The cast includes Joel McHale and Alison Brie.

“It’s the best show of all viewed on anything. I’m not going to say ‘television,’ because it’s not on television,” said McHale, in a video announcing the premiere date. “You know why? It’s better than television.”

Are you amongst the fans of the popular Doctor Who series using Netflix and are dreading February 1st?
The day when Doctor Who is planned to be removed from Netflix.

Though the past few days there have been a big uproar from fans on the internet: petitions have been signed, requests made to Netflix to reconsider and countless angry comments on blogs and sites all over the web.

But you may remain calm, at least according to a Netflix source close to”The Best of Netflix” blog, whom told that the streaming service is in talks with BBC to keep the show going. And a deal may be reached before the February deadline. The source said that there is potential that the deal could cancel the removal entirely.

The contract negotiation may most likely be a “BBC package renewal”. This means that less popular BBC shows may also return alongside Doctor Who.

This type of “cliffhanger removal” is quite common. But it does not always cause an uproar like in the case of Doctor Who. The BBC series has a very loyal and wide fan base so it should come as no surprise.

Before removal, Netflix takes into consideration the show’s popularity and customer service “votes”. The latter is a statistic based on how many people have called in to complain about the series being removed or request for an unavailable title.

Dr. Who’s original and new series’ have been a massive hit on Netflix making it one of the most streamed television shows. The streaming company has probably brought countless of new fans to the series through their content.