Recording the image

John Logie Baird, the Scottish television pioneer, like many of the early television experimenters, employed a mechanical arrangement in his cameras to scan the scene. With the advent of much faster electronic scanning systems, Baird's relatively slow mechanical arrangements were relegated to the history books. It is easy for us now to look back on Baird as a visionary who saw what television might achieve but whose own ideas about achieving it were quite unrealistic. Undoubtedly, Baird's drive and enthusiasm contributed to the general acceptance of the concept of television, but he is not usually credited with any lasting practical contribution.