Let us only watch TV today!

 

Let us only watch TV today!

Now why in my right mind am I suggesting that?

You have to trust me. Today is World Television Day. That means, you can officially sink into your lazy chair, prop up your feet, put the snack bowl in your lap and play with the remote, your eyes glued to the screen in front.

No, I did not make it up.

The UN General Assembly on the 17^th of December 1996, ‘proclaimed’ that November 21 would be observed as World Television Day ‘to commemorate the date on which the first World Television Forum was held earlier that year.’ Recognising the role television has played in putting forth various issues before people, the world organization also suggested what to do today: encourage exchanges about television programmes focussing on global issues such as peace and security, economic development and facilitation of cultural changes. The idea is to celebrate the philosophy and not the anatomy or physiology of the appliance.

It is all thanks to Philo Taylor Farnsworth, the inventor of television that from our nests we can now watch the drama of life unfolding in known, and more than that, unknown parts of this universe.

The Indian millennials were in their diapers when the unwieldy shaped box made its colourful appearance in India around Asiad ‘82 with old faithful Doordarshan as the only channel. The hair and makeup of Hindi newscasters, who sat poker-faced in front of the camera, mouthing the day’s news in twice a day slots, afforded a major topic of conversation in those days. The days of Chaupal and Hum Log have long gone and you have the luxury of an infotainment bombardment of a thousand channels so you can easily choose just one to binge on each day of the year.

Our mothers and grandmothers never missed a chance to admonish us itna TV dekhoge to aankhen kharab ho jayengi (If you watch so much TV, you will spoil your vision), yet now with children using smartphones and tablets, PCs and laptops in privacy, only with television can parents be sure their young child late in the night/in the silent afternoon/alone is watching FCB vs. Real clash/Tom and Jerry/Game Night or something that qualifies as adult content no more than American Psycho.

Remember the time when we used external antenna for reception and every time the weather threw a tantrum, grey non-geometric hazy patterns would start flickering on the screen. You had to cajole somebody to go out on the roof to turn the antenna while you gave a running commentary on whether the appliance had started getting reception. And the antenna-turner would grumble for he/she had missed out on some precious minutes of TV-viewing.

Television-viewing turned into a pleasant activity when the remotes made an appearance. Earlier, when the entire family watched a programme, the youngest child was burdened with the duty of being the remote. Now every channel-surfing hand looks like it is attached to a body housing a mind suffering attention-deficit disorder. Haven’t you ever met the parents of a toddler describing how he/she can easily maneuver the buttons on the remote to find the programme of choice even though the small sample of human being has not learned the correct way of bathroom activities?

The televisions are not just dumb boxes waiting to be switched on. You fight a mental battle looking for something which suits your pocket and needs at the same time. Equipped with features for fast interface, ultra HD screen resolution for sharp pictures, HDR, great media players, buying this contraption for information and entertainment is much like a woman shopping for a dress. Also, the solace is that TVs are bought far fewer times in life than dresses are.

Like film actresses and models, the appearance of TV has also changed from protruding front, buxom-backed matronly monster which took up a great deal of space among the drawing room furniture, to its shiny, sleek size zero avatar. Gone are the massive custom-built cabinets to house the sets. Now they hang on the wall giving you a ‘come hither’ look as soon as your eyes fall on them.

The stunning new technology has done away with the need to go out looking for a big screen to watch a match or election results. Of course, no need for me to talk about the picture quality. The vivid colours bring every movement on the screen alive whether you are watching programmes being telecast live or recorded ones.

And all this, at no huge cost or effort! You can see, inspect, compare, haggle and buy the conventional way or order it online and get it delivered at home. Naturally, the choice of sets on offer is also mind-boggling. You can pick up a 24 inch full HD LED set for as low as Rs 4000 or mortgage your house and bring home the 248 cm (98 inch) Smart 8K Ultra HD QLED TV 98Q900RK for a whopping Rs 60 lakh and be the focus of all kinds of attention for the next few months. 

(Prices from https://www.pricedekho.com/televisions/expensive-televisions-price-list.html )

In this race, some of the old names like Onida, Punjstar, Videocon are no longer heard of and global brands have taken over.

Now the most important factor, it is not just the instrument which offers all this pleasure. The secret lies in connectivity. It does not shock me any more that people who do not buy milk or medicines, have at least cable network, if not internet, for their television. Connectivity on televisions is the medium that makes it possible for us to fully utilize the content sold by service providers and Internet. And then of course, you can connect it to your phone and use it as your computer for gaming etc.  

I do not understand why someone started using the word ‘idiot’ for television. Isn’t it is the viewer who is the idiot? Come on, you have the remote and the freedom to change the channels or switch it off. So what is stopping you?

It is because of television that we lesser mortals who are not interested in or do not know art or literature are not poorer in topics of conversation.  It provides rich matter to tell, discuss, show off and argue about. News or views on news, films or music videos, nature or science, history or sports, educational programmes or spiritual discourses, complex family dramas or unreal reality shows, cartoons for kids or technical knowledge for professionals, food fiesta or fashion challenges, information or entertainment, this is one place where everyone finds a happy time.

Isn’t it wonderful that television has offered a parallel medium to people desirous of working in various industries including news, film, music, photography, fashion, food, travel, and what not? It has brought into existence new professions, created jobs, coined new words and brought about a whole new revolution in the field of careers.

And thankfully this is one reason you still see people enjoying sitting together without getting into any argument.  Viewing together has not yet gone out of fashion even in multi-TV homes. Families who survive on ticks in the ears attached to their mobiles the whole day long, come together to watch matches, election results, not to forget the soaps and reality shows.

Above all, what a heaven-sent medium to put a silencer on the mouths of cantankerous old parents, crotchety mothers-in-law, ever-complaining wives, demanding husbands, complaining kids or work-shirking helpers.

So do not worry if television would give way to individual pod-viewing in future. From visual satisfaction by print media, we moved on to the audio-visual pleasure given by electronic media. Who knows where we would go from here!

https://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/021816/3-predictions-tv-next-10-years.asp says

Companies such as Facebook, Google, and Microsoft have all developed virtual reality technologies. Within the next ten years, traditional television screens are likely to make way, at least in part, for variations that pair with VR eye-wear and headsets. Evidence of this is already available in Google's development of Google Glass as well as Samsung's foray into wearable accessories that help turn phones into virtual reality machines.

What's more, all televisions are likely to become smart TVs within the next ten years. Expect these devices—which allow users to stream videos and music, browse the Internet, and view photos—to be ubiquitous in homes across the world, adding to the power and potential of virtual reality and future programming.

There is a race among technology giants to be the leader in smart TV development, including companies both inside and outside the industry. Businesses such as Google, Apple, Netflix, and Amazon are all developing more powerful smart TVs, and the trend is likely to make the technology much more affordable for consumers.

Live in the present, say the wise: switch on the TV. It does not matter what you enjoy- the duck-mouthed world leader squeaking he would not leave his position/12-member panel shrieking at one another in a cacophonic discussion on some topic of little consequence/evil machinations of the vamp in the family drama/wily tricks of insects escaping the beaks of birds/sandy beaches of a land unvisited/a hot looking chef creating wonders on the plate with simple ingredients!

I am only sorry that it is not a public holiday today to watch TV.

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