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television pickup tube

television pickup tube

9.9
An electronic tube in early television cameras that turns light into electrical signals
  • noun
  • /ˈtɛlɪˌvɪʒən ˈpɪkʌp tuːb/
  • Archaic
translation icon : tubo de captura de televisión
  • A television pickup tube converts light from a scene into an electronic signal for broadcast.

Examples

  • The early studio cameras used a television pickup tube to capture black-and-white images.

  • The first television pickup tube was invented in the 1920s.

  • Inventors improved the television pickup tube to enhance image quality in early television systems.

  • Many television pickup tubes were used in early broadcasts.

  • A television pickup tube converts light from a scene into an electronic signal for broadcast.

  • Inventors improved the television pickup tube to enhance image quality in early television systems.

  • The early studio cameras used a television pickup tube to capture black-and-white images.

Synonyms

television-camera tube
vstelevision pickup tube
  • Archaic
9.6

A device used in old television cameras to change an image into electronic signals

is the exact same device named with a more descriptive compound term
iconoscope
vstelevision pickup tube
  • Archaic
9.9

An early device in television cameras that changes pictures into electric signals

is the general scanning tube used in early cameras rather than a specific model
vidicon
vstelevision pickup tube
  • Archaic
9.9

An old glass tube in television cameras that changes pictures into electric signals

is the general pickup tube type not the specific vacuum technology

How Modern

television pickup tube
  • Archaic
9.9
iconoscope
  • Archaic
9.9

Surface Forms

Morphology

television + pickup + tube

The phrase is largely compositional: 'television' (TV) + 'pickup' (to pick up or receive) + 'tube' (an electronic tube) together denote a tube that picks up or receives television images/signals. A B1 learner who knows those constituent meanings can reasonably infer the technical function, so the construction is transparent.

Etymology

Television pickup tube comes from early TV cameras where a glass tube would 'pick up' light from a scene, which is why the word pickup is used, and then change that light into an electronic signal. That's why the name means a device that receives an image and makes an electronic signal.