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