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TV Game Unit #1, 1967

National Museum of American History

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Object Details

inventor
Baer, Ralph H.
patent holder
Baer, Ralph H.
Description
From this assemblage of metal, wires and glass tubes, the future of video games would be built.
In 1966, while working for Sanders Associates Inc., engineer Ralph Baer began to look into new ways to use television, focusing specifically on interactive games. In 1967, he created the first of several video game test units. Called TVG#1 or TV Game Unit #1, this device, when used with an alignment generator, produced a dot on the television screen that could be manually controlled by the user. Now that he was able to interact with the television, Baer could design increasingly sophisticated interfaces and programs.
TV Game Unit #1 was designed by Baer and built with the assistance of Bob Tremblay, a technician who worked with Baer at Saunders. Though transistors were available, Baer, who had received his bachelor’s in television engineering, choose to use the familiar and proven technology of vacuum tubes for this early test unit.
Like all the Ralph Baer prototypes, TV Game Unit #1 was used as evidence in many patent infringement cases. It still bears many of the court exhibit labels left over from these trials, as may be seen from the photograph.
Location
Currently not on view
Credit Line
Ralph H. Baer
1966
ID Number
2006.0102.01
accession number
2006.0102
catalog number
2006.0102.01
Object Name
vacuum tube spot generator
Physical Description
aluminum (overall material)
glass (overall material)
Measurements
overall: 4 1/4 in x 6 in x 5 in; 10.795 cm x 15.24 cm x 12.7 cm
Related Publication
Baer, Ralph H.. Videogames: In The Beginning
See more items in
Medicine and Science: Computers
Popular Entertainment
Computers & Business Machines
Family & Social Life
Baer
National Museum of American History
Record ID
nmah_1301993
Usage of Metadata (Object Detail Text)
CC0
GUID (Link to Original Record)
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746ab-dffa-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa

Related Content

  • The Father of the Video Game: The Ralph Baer Prototypes and Electronic Games:Introduction

    American History Museum
  • The Father of the Video Game: The Ralph Baer Prototypes and Electronic Games:Video Game History

    American History Museum
  • 1967: A Year in the Collections

  • The Father of the Video Game: The Ralph Baer Prototypes and Electronic Games

    American History Museum
TV Game Unit #1
There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page .
International media Interoperability Framework
IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and media viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. Visit the IIIF page to learn more.
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