The first TV remote ever invented in 1961



    by TechGuru4Life

    50 Comments

    1. Back then it was just click to escape commercials now it’s basically a spaceship control panel for Netflix.

    2. The first remote controls were actually wired and came out in the 50s, so this isn’t the first. They also came out with more rudimentary wireless remote controls before this one as well.

    3. ManiacalLaughterLoL on

      Take the remove unit from it’s storage space and ur set for hours of pure pleasure……. Don’t seem right to me

    4. Evening-Life5434 on

      We only had like 1 channel till the late 60s and maybe 3-4 till the 80s then FOX came and it was them CBS ABC NBC and two other local channels then we got cable. Till then we never needed a remote, you always knew what you were going to watch.

    5. Legitimate-Log-6542 on

      You’re telling me the very FIRST tv remote had its own holder? You know how many hours of marriage counseling this could’ve saved married couples that ask each other 8 times a day “where the fuck’s the remote?”

    6. Friend’s dad had a Zenith “space command” remote that used hammers on rods to make an ultrasonic noise to change the channels, sound, etc. I’d come over and shake my keys and the tv would change channels. Would piss off his dad big time.

    7. CertainIndividual420 on

      * The first TV remote, the Lazy Bone, was made in 1950 and used a cable.
      * In 1955, the Flash-matic was the first wireless remote but had issues with sunlight.
      * Zenith’s Space Command in 1956 used ultrasound and became the popular choice for over 25 years.

      So this one in 1961 wasn’t “first tv remote ever”

    8. Back then I have a voice activate control on my TV. I tell my maid to change the channel for me.

    9. No Its not the first was invented in 1950.

      Wireless in 1955.

      People really just post bullshit for karma without even looking lol

    10. the_pee_pee_dance on

      My great grandmother was an alpha tester for RCA back in the late 40’s and 50’s. While she was alive until I was about 15, her memory had severely deteriorated, but my dad said that she had a remote in her house in the mid- to late-50’s and RCA debated on whether to release it or not because they couldn’t comprehend that someone would be so lazy as to not just get up and change the channel.

    11. Every button just seem to make it worse 😅 I do remember my parents first TV remote because it used ultrasound and not IR. I know because I took it apart as I did with everything

    12. Separate_Finance_183 on

      mmm sorry but i couldn’t pay attention to the remote, what a fine elegant lady that is!

    13. It’s lightweight design only needs 3 D-cell batteries for hours of convenient viewing pleasure. When you’re done just throw the batteries into the storm sewer each week!

      ![gif](giphy|EtB1yylKGGAUg)

    14. I cannot believe we survived without remote controls, cable tv, streaming services, 24 hour tv. I remember the olden days when we used to watch the blockbuster return bin to see if any of the returns were movies we wanted to watch!!!

    15. Oh now I can use my phone as my remote control!!!!! I just have to fight my husband for the tv!!!!!

    16. Around the mid to late 60’s we had a remote for the tv. When someone would walk by with metal coat hangers or jingle their change the channel would change.

    17. Intrepid_Doctor8193 on

      Imagine living in the 50s… Unless you were rich you probably couldn’t afford this TV… But you could at least afford to buy a house.

    18. NoKaleidoscope4295 on

      First remote control tv was Zenith Flashmatic in 1955. It was a cordless flashlight kinda device sending light to photoreceptors.

    19. I love old ads. “This is our shit, this is how it works, please buy it” there was honesty on it.

    20. Growing up we called the remote control the ‘television thing’…seems weird in retrospect

    21. “Progrums”. Gotta love the Transatlantic accent.

      My 6th grade teacher (1986) apparently talked in one when she talked to the class as a group. I remember she would say “robut” instead of “robot” hehe.

    22. Pops just recently told me a story of the first TV they bought with a remote when he was a kid. The kids figured out that if you sneeze it would change the channel. The adults took a little while to catch on to their new game.

    23. The tv remote had buttons yet at that time the phone next to her still operated with a dial 🤣

    24. 20% of the buttons then my remote but still has all the relevant settings without even going thru a menu.

    25. redlancer_1987 on

      Back when you wanted to rent a movie, you had to rent the VCR, too

      One of the ones we rented had a wired remote. We were truly living in the future.

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