First BBC television transmisions, 1929.

Photograph showing television experts watching the Baird system transmitting the first BBC broadcast. John Logie Baird (1888-1946) was one of the pioneers of television. In 1929, Baird conducted the first BBC broadcasts, and was shortly producing daily half-hour programmes with synchronised sound and vision for them. However, shortly after these early broadcasts, the BBC chose to use the Marconi-EMI electronic scanning system which had 405 lines in preference to Baird's mechanical scanning system with 240 lines.