1989
•  The first 16-bit videogames introduced.

1988
•  The first improved definition television (IDTV) receivers marketed.
•  The high-band 8mm camcorder format debuts.
•  CD becomes more popular than vinyl records.
•  Recordable CDs demonstrated.
•  The CD-Graphics format developed.
•  Still video cameras introduced.
•  LCD front projectors developed.
•  The first transatlantic fiber optic cable laid.
•  The first electronic organizer introduced.
•  Moving Pictures Expert Group (MPEG) working group formed.

1987
•  Higher resolution VCRs and camcorders introduced (S-VHS and ED-Beta).
•  The compact disc video (CD-V) introduced.
•  The first advanced television (ATV) system demonstrated.
•  The movie theater experience moves into the living room; Dolby Pro Logic available at home.
•  FCC creates ACATS (Advisory Committee on Advanced Television Service) to choose American HDTV standard.

1986
•  The first consumer video telephone marketed.
•  The first digital audio tape (DAT) recorders demonstrated.
•  The first 35-inch direct view TV becomes available.
•  The 4-mm video format for camcorders demonstrated.
•  Scrambling of satellite-fed cable TV programming starts; the sale of decoders and program subscriptions to home dish owners begins.
•  Stereo sound in television broadcasting available in all major U.S. population centers.
•  The Radio Data Service (RDS) begins in Europe.

1985
•  Color TVs with 35-inch picture tubes marketed.
•  8mm video home VCR decks and software introduced.
•  Still-picture magnetic disc video recorders, players and printers demonstrated.
•  The first portable color LCD TV sold.

1984
•  The first working auto CD system debuts at the Summer Consumer Electronics Show (CES).
•  The FCC authorizes multichannel TV sound broadcasting; the first stereo TV broadcasts begin.
•  Sales of stereo color TV receivers and adapters begin.
•  The 8mm video format and camcorders introduced.
•  The first color TVs with all-digital signal processing circuitry marketed.
•  The CD-ROM introduced.
•  Federal courts break up AT&T.

1983
•  The first camcorder, Beta format VCR-camera combination, introduced.
•  8-mm video format standards set.
•  Hi-Fi VCRs introduced.
•  Apple's Lisa, the first computer using a graphical user interface (GUI) and a mouse, unveiled.
•  Cellular telephone service introduced.
•  The first digital signal-processing chip (DSP) made by Texas Instruments.

1982
•  The FCC authorizes AM stereo broadcasts.
•  First rear projection TV sets (RPTV) sold in the U.S.
•  The VHS-C videotape format introduced (first called UCM, then Mini-VHS).
•  Dolby Laboratories introduces surround sound for home use.
•  The first CD players for sale in the United States.
•  The GSM cell phone standard established in Europe.
•  Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC*) formed.

1981
•  High-speed fax machines marketed.
•  IBM PC, using Microsoft's Disk Operating System (MSDOS), introduced.
•  The first portable computer sold.
•  First U.S. public demonstration of HDTV done by Japan's NHK network.

1980
•  Closed-captioning decoders are sold.
•  Cellular phone service tested.
•  The world standard for optical digital audio compact disc (CD) established.
•  The first portable VCR-camera combinations (camcorders) demonstrated.
•  The Group 3 international fax standard established.