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Digital America
Home > Press > CEA Publications > Digital America > Digital America 2006 > Chronology > 1990s
Digital America Contents
2000-2006
1990s
1980s
1970s
 1960s
1950s
1940s
1930s
 1920s
1910s
1900s
1800s
1990s


1999
  • TV manufacturers sponsor first network HDTV broadcasts.
  • The first cellular phone is integrated with a touch-screen PDA.
  • The first color-screen handheld personal computers debut.
  • Cable modems are sold in stores for the first time.
  • Hard disk-based digital personal video recorders (PVRs) are introduced, capable of "smart" programming and instantaneous playback of a recorded TV program, even while the program is running.
  • The Neopoint 1000, the first Web-enabled cell phone, is introduced.
  • Progressive scan DVD players enter the marketplace.
  • Congress mandates that local channels be made available to direct-to-home satellite subscribers.
  • Lithium-polymer battery technology is introduced.
  • The Dolby Surround EX home theater sound system debuts.
  • Consumer recordable DVD systems are demonstrated.
  • DBS high-definition TV broadcasts begin.
  • The first DVD players offering progressive-scan video output for use with new DTVs arrive.
  • Satellite and digital radio formats are announced.
  • The first DVD-based digital camcorder debuts.
  • DVD-Audio and Super Audio CD (SACD) players are introduced.
  • The first MP3 tracks are distributed and first portable MP3 players become available.
  • The high-definition VCR is introduced.
  • The first high-definition plasma display screen is introduced.
  • The pay-per-view DivX DVD format is discontinued.
  • The Bluetooth wireless personal area network (PAN) standard is published.
  • High-speed Wi-Fi 802.11a specification is published.
  • Secure Digital Music Interface (SDMI) is announced to ensure copy protection of MP3 files.
  • Wireless Ethernet Compatibility Alliance (WECA) is formed to certify and promote various 802.11 Wi-Fi technologies; later it’s renamed the Wi-Fi Alliance.
  • The Consumer Electronics Manufacturers Association (CEMA) is renamed the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) and becomes a separate legal entity.
1998
  • DVD-ROM, DVD-RAM, DVD-R and DVD+R formats are introduced.
  • The DVD-Audio format is agreed upon.
  • CD-Recordable decks debut.
  • The first HDTV sets are sold at retail.
  • The first consumer flat-screen, gas plasma TVs are available.
  • The first HDTV satellite broadcast is demonstrated.
  • TV manufacturers and cable operators agree on IEEE-1394 (FireWire) with 5C copy protection.
  • Super-fast DSL Internet access using plain phones lines become available.
  • The first global satellite phones and pagers are sold by Iridium.
  • The first 2.4-GHz cordless phones are marketed.
  • Clarion and Microsoft unveil the AutoPC.
  • The Electronic Industries Association is renamed the Electronic Industries Alliance.
  • MPEG 4 digital video compression technology is adopted.
  • Special Interest Group (SIG) for Bluetooth wireless data communication standard is formed.
1997
  • DVD players hit the U.S. market.
  • Smart phones allow access to the Internet and e-mail via a phone with a screen and keyboard.
  • Flat gas plasma and digital light processing (DLP) monitors become available.
  • The debut of the new Intel Pentium processors with MMX technology is said to boost the multimedia performance of PCs.
  • Component video connection format is introduced.
  • The Wi-Fi (802.11) wireless local area network (WLAN) Ethernet standard is adopted.
  • 56 kbps modems hit the market.
  • DivX, a pay-per-view DVD format, is introduced.
  • The first two-way pagers are introduced.
  • Fax, copying, scanning, printing and telephone functions are combined into a single multi-functional home office device.
1996
  • FCC adopts ATSC HDTV standards.
  • The first VCRs equipped with VCR Plus+ are introduced.
  • WRAL, Raleigh, N.C., receives first HDTV broadcast license; first commercial HDTV broadcast is by WHD-TV in Washington, D.C.
  • Set-top boxes plug into televisions and allow viewers to surf the Internet via remote control.
  • Congress passes the Telecommunications Act of 1996, containing a directive to television manufacturers to begin installing "V-Chips" in TVs that would allow selected programming to be blocked.
  • Zenith introduces the U.S. market’s first HDTV-compatible front-projection TV.
  • CD becomes the most popular pre-recorded music format.
  • The first DVD players are sold in Japan.
  • An agreement among broadcasters, TV manufacturers and PC makers sets the inter-industry standard for HDTV.
  • Two handheld computer formats, Palm Pilot and Windows CE, are introduced.
1995
  • Competing DVD standards are introduced; a single DVD standard is selected.
  • The first television program (Computer Chronicles) is delivered via the Internet.
  • Internet and commercial online usage explode; the consumer online segment jumps 64 percent to almost 15 million users, while about eight percent of U.S. households are hooked into the Internet.
  • The first television station KOLD 13 uses a networked digital video server in its daily on-air operations.
  • Sony announces the first digital camcorders to be sold worldwide.
  • The Electronic Industries Association’s Consumer Electronics Group (CEG) becomes the Consumer Electronics Manufacturers Association (CEMA).
  • Dolby Digital surround sound is introduced.
  • Interactive cable modem trials with consumers are started.
  • Quad-speed CD-ROM drives become a common feature of multimedia PCs.
  • The flash memory technology standard is introduced.
  • The FCC approves 15 additional channels for cordless phones; 25-channel cordless phone models are introduced.
  • RDS pagers are introduced.
  • The safety warning system (SWS) technology standard is finalized.
  • Flat-screen plasma display TVs debut.
  • The first GPS-based vehicle recovery systems are marketed.
  • The first voice-recognition car security systems are marketed.
  • Multi-function home office products become popular.
  • The first MiniDV digital video camcorders enter the U.S. marketplace.
  • Digital satellite system (DSS) installations reach the one million milestone, making them the fastest growing product in consumer electronics history.
  • Digital VHS standard is agreed upon by the industry.

1994

  • GPS system is completed.
  • GPS auto navigation systems are marketed in the United States.
  • Direct broadcast system (DBS) receivers are introduced.
  • The first consumer digital still camera, the Kodak-developed Apple QuickTake 100, goes on sale.
  • MPEG 2 digital video compression technology is adopted.
  • Pentium and PowerPC microprocessor chips are introduced.
  • Qualcomm establishes the Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) digital cellular phone standard.
  • FCC begins auction of 1900-MHz digital PCS bands for digital cell phone service.
  • The first CES Mexico is held in Mexico City.
  • The first inkjet and laser printers become available.

1993

  • The Grand Alliance forms to develop  the HDTV system.
  • 16:9 aspect ratio (widescreen) television sets are marketed in the United States.
  • The first plasma display screens become available.
  • Next-generation videogames are announced.
  • Personal digital assistants (PDA) are introduced.
  • The FCC adopts a signal standard for AM stereo broadcasting.
  • The video CD is adopted as a five-inch optical disc standard.
  • The VCR equipped with VCR Plus+ debuts in Japan.
  • The first 625-line chip-based 16:9 widescreen format camera are introduced.
  • The first wireless headset portable CD player is marketed in Japan.
  • 900-MHz cordless phones are introduced.
1992
  • The World Wide Web becomes available.
  • Tim Berners-Lee at CERN releases the first Web browsing software.
  • MP3 music compression coding is integrated into the new MPEG-1 format.
  • Digital cellular phone service begins.
  • Digital compact cassette (DCC) is marketed.
  • MiniDisc is launched.
  • Radio Broadcast Data Service (RDS) is introduced in the United States.
  • The CEBus Home Automation standard is finalized in the United States.
  • The first camcorder with a color LCD screen instead of a viewfinder debuts.
  • The color picture videophone is available for the home market with a $1,500 price tag.
  • The Mobile Electronics Association merges into the Consumer Electronics Group of the Electronic Industries Association (EIA).
1991
  • Multimedia CD-ROM computer systems are introduced.
  • The Kodak DSC 100, the first commercial digital camera, goes on sale.
  • The first TVs with built-in closed-caption display capability are introduced in the United States.
  • U.S. testing of digital HDTV systems begins.
  • The Consumer Electronics Group of the Electronic Industries Association (EIA) and the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) set AMAX and AMAX Stereo standards for advanced AM radio performance.
  • QuickTime digital multimedia compression technology is released.
1990
  • The first digital audio tape (DAT) recorders debut.
  • The production of giant-screen (27-inches or larger) color TV picture tubes starts in the United States.
  • Legislation is passed requiring closed captioning decoders in all color TVs 13-inches or larger and manufactured after July 1, 1993.
  • The all-digital high-definition television (HDTV) system is proposed; the FCC sets a field-testing schedule.
  • Color fax machines are sold.
  • The Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) digital cell phone standard is established.
  • The first rechargeable lithium-ion battery is introduced.
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