#When was the tv remoter invented tv
McDonald Jr., Zenith's late founder-president, believed TV viewers would not tolerate commercials. The viewer used a highly directional flashlight to activate the four control functions, which turned the picture and sound on and off and changed channels by turning the tuner dial clockwise and counter-clockwise.Ĭommander Eugene F. Introduced in 1955, Flash-Matic operated by means of four photo cells, one in each corner of the TV screen.
Polley invented the "Flash-Matic," which represented the world's first wireless TV remote. Zenith's Gene Polley ushered in the era of channel surfing in the middle of the 20th Century during the Golden Age of Television. Today, remote control is not a luxury but a necessity in navigating 500-plus digital cable or digital satellite channels, or controlling an HDTV, Blu-Ray Disc player, digital video recorder or home theater audio system - all at the touch of a button. The inventor of the first wireless remote control for television, Zenith's Gene Polley, was called everything from the founding father of the couch potato to the czar of zapping to the beach boy of channel surfing.įew would dispute the enormous impact of this invention, devised in an era of three or four VHF broadcast TV stations in most markets. A funeral mass will be held May 23 at 10 a.m., Sacred Heart Church, Lombard, followed by internment at Assumption Cemetery in Wheaton.
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Visitation will be held May 22, 5-8 p.m., Brust Funeral Home, Lombard, Ill. He was preceded in death by his wife, Blanche, and daughter, Joan Polley. Polley Jr., and grandson, Aaron, of San Diego, Calif. He was a longtime resident of Lombard, Ill., where he was active in village government, serving as a member of the village's Zoning Board of Appeals for 34 years. He attended the City Colleges of Chicago and Armour Institute. Polley's innovation has been featured in numerous articles and television programs.Įugene J.
Polley and fellow Zenith engineer Robert Adler were honored in 1997 with an Emmy Award from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences for "Pioneering Development of Wireless Remote Controls for Consumer Television." Mr. Polley was the 2009 recipient of the Masaru Ibuka Consumer Electronics Award from the Institute of Electronic and Electrical Engineers. Polley held key technology positions at Zenith, including as Product Engineer, Mechanical Engineer, Head of Video Recording Group, Advanced Mechanical Design Group and Assistant Division Chief for the Mechanical Engineering Group. Polley also worked on the push-button radio for automobiles and on the development of the video disk, predecessor of today's DVD. Polley worked on radar advances for the U.S. Polley worked his way up from the stockroom to the parts department, where he produced Zenith's first catalog, and then on to his long career in the engineering department.ĭuring World War II, as part of Zenith's commitment to the war effort, Mr. It used a flashlight-like device to activate photo cells on the television set to change channels. Polley's best known invention, the "Flash-Matic" remote control, was the world's first wireless TV remote, introduced in 1955. His inventions, primarily in the field of television, earned 18 U.S.
Polley died of natural causes on May 20 in Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital, Downers Grove, Ill. His 47-year engineering career spanned the pioneering days of radio, black-and-white television and color TV. Polley started his career with Zenith Radio Corporation (now Zenith Electronics LLC, a subsidiary of LG Electronics) in 1935. TV Remote Control Inventor Eugene Polley, 1915-2012ĬHICAGO, /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ - Best known as the inventor of the first wireless remote control for television, Eugene J.
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