We spend a lot of time staring at screens. Some estimates suggest that the average American is glued to some kind of screen -- television, mobile devices, PCs, etc. -- for upwards of 400 minutes per day, which translates to roughly 40% of our waking hours.
From the warbled picture on a 1950s television to the early Macintosh computers to today's impressive AMOLED and flexible screens, display technology has been a ubiquitous part of our everyday lives for decades.
Many of today's most popular and technologically advanced displays actually have roots in earlier years. For example, when you think about 3D movies, you may think of visual modern masterpieces like Avatar -- but 3D film technologies date back to the early 20th century; and today's highly impressive 4K (and now 5K) televisions come from a long line of predecessors.
Check out the timeline, below, outlining a brief history of screen tech evolution over the past century and a half.
CRT and early discoveries that paved the way.
1897 - The Birth of CRT
1907 - Discovery of Electroluminescence
1925-1928 - Glimpses of TV's Capabilities
'40s and '50s - Experiments with 3D Movies
1952 - Debut of Curved TV Screen
Early '50s - Color Television
1961-1962 - Invention of LED
1964 - Invention of LCD and Plasma
Touchscreen, IMAX and high-definition.
1965 - Touchscreen Technology
1967 - Birth of IMAX
'60s and '70s - Beginnings of HDTV
Displays get bigger and better.
1984 - First Macintosh Computer
1987 - OLED
'80s and '90s - Rise of Large-Scale TVs
'80s and '90s - Touchscreen Invades
'90s - Full Color Plasma Display
1995 - Larger Than Life LED
1998 - Launch of HDTV in the U.S.
Improvements and innovations abound.
LCD Surpasses Plasma
Retina Display Debuts
Touchscreen is the Status Quo
Mainstream Resurgence of 3D
High-Res Continues to Improve
VR, bendable screens and what lies in store.
Thinner and More Flexible
Curved Screens (on Everything)
4K and 5K
Improved 3D and Virtual Reality
What lies in store for the future? What type of screens will we find ourselves staring at a decade down the road?
Stay tuned with Mashable's coverage of CES 2015 to glimpse the latest and greatest display technologies hitting the market this year.
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