1958 HDTV Sold at Auction for $3,825

1958 is not a new company, but it’s the year when the HDTV in the picture was made. That’s right, that makes it the first HDTV in the world. The Teleavia type P111 (that’s its name) was sold for $3,825 at auction in London and came from the collection of Michael Bennett-Levy.

The P111 is a 19-inch HDTV. The screen can be turned independently through 150-degrees and it can be also angled vertically. The controls and speaker are situated in a box underneath the display. The display can show 441 lines or 819 lines which is basically HDTV quality. Too bad nobody has pursued this dream 50 years ago. Who knows where modern television would be if this P111 would have been taken seriously by the French. That’s where it was sold without much success in the 50s.

via GizMag