Customer Reviews

Modern Marvels - Television: Window to the World (History Channel) (A&E DVD Archives)

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I teach an Introduction to Video Broadcasting class, and I have had trouble figuring out how to introduce the history of Broadcasting without completely boring my high school students. I like this program very much, because it focuses on the important aspects and summarized it for me. (Believe me, I have been searching for materials related to teaching Broadcasting for two years). My textbooks from my undergrad years as a Broadcasting major were way too detailed for the average high school student -- this video is perfect!

Modern Marvels - Television: Window to the World has loads of factual information along with amazing archival footage that kept my attention all the way through. The story goes at a rather quick pace although the major names in the development of television are repeated so often that you're sure to pick them up. There is interview footage with Walter Cronkite and a David Sarnoff employee and biographer; and I particularly liked the footage of the first televised signals even if they were crude images that needed much more technological refinement.

The DVD goes straight through the history of the development of television; and we are introduced to inventors and geniuses like Farnsworth who was awarded the patent for inventing television. Amazingly enough, David Sarnoff was quite the businessman and he was eventually able to outmaneuver Farnsworth and political figures to control the better part of television and its broadcasts. It's also great to see how they developed color television using a system partially based on the three colors of red, yellow and blue.

If I have any problem with this DVD it would be that the information does come at you rather quickly and I would have had trouble taking too many notes were I a student in school watching this for a homework assignment. It might also be uninteresting for a younger crowd although I myself enjoyed it. If you are a teacher considering whether or not to use this DVD in class, you may want to look elsewhere as this might not be the best choice for junior high school students or even high school students. This film has a lot of information at an almost rapid fire pace with plenty of important detail.

Overall, while I enjoyed this DVD very much I admit the information comes at you so fast that students might have a hard time taking notes properly to absorb all the pertinent information. It could also be too dry depending on the specific group of students you wish to show this to; but it's very well suited for adults and anyone else who wants an excellent introduction to the history of television and its development over the years.

This was a great Modern Marvels episode on Television. It covered more than any other show I've seen on early TV.

The video contains many great facts about the invention of the television, but the delivery of these facts are horrible. The description does not tell you that the video was created in 1996 and has the pacing of an old documentary. I'm sure a newer video about the television would be better, but this video is a sleeper. I could never use it in my classes at school.