With the advancements in technology, it seems most devices are getting bigger and bigger screens for better viewing. But TinyCircuits, an electronics company, has decided to take another direction and recently unveiled the world's smallest TV.
They introduced two new prototypes in its TinyTV range, including the TinyTV Mini, which has a screen measuring only 0.6 inches (15 mm), and TinyTV 2 with a 1.0-inch (26 mm) display sitting atop a 0.6 by 0.4 inch (16 by 9 mm) front-facing speaker.
World's Smallest TV is Just as Big as a Post Stamp But Works Like the Real Ones
World's Smallest TV: TinyTV Mini and TinyTV 2
Daily Express reports that the world's smallest television is less than an inch wide and follows a retro style with two tiny dials that can be used to change the channel and increase or decrease the volume. It has gone on sale with capabilities of storing videos, which can hold and playback up to 40 hours of video.
The TinyTV range is the brainchild of Ohio-based open-source electronics manufacturing firm TinyCircuits, whose mission is to "serve innovation in the maker community, build fun science, tech, engineering & maths learning, and spark joy," as quoted by the news outlet.
According to MailOnline, Ken Burns, the Founder and President of TinyCircuits, created the tiny televisions. His company launched its first project, a miniature computer processor called TinyDuino, in 2012. Then two years later, in 2014, they launched the TinyScreen with an accompanying display unit before it was combined into the Tiny Arcade games in 2015.
By 2017, a Japanese man named Yashusi Enari purchased the next-generation TinyScreen+ and began making his own miniature devices. He 3D-printed a mini TV set named MAME-TV and was successful that it caught the attention of TinyCircuits, and they began collaborating.
Unfortunately, Yashusi was diagnosed with cancer in 2018, and doctors found a tumor the following year that prevented him from continuing the project. He passed away on May 1, 2019, but requested for his MAME-TV to continue, paving the way for TinyTV DIY Kit.
How TinyTV Works
The TinyTV Mini and TinyTV 2 are now the world's tiniest televisions, with the necessary features to load a video. Per Techeblog, these mini televisions come fully assembled with rotating knobs, even for the smallest version.
TinyTV Mini measures only 0.94″ x 1″ x 0.86″, while TinyTV 2 measures 1.4″ x 1.9″ x 1″. Both TinyTV models come with TinyTV Converter software that allows users to crop and convert media for playback on devices stored in 8GB microSD cards transferred via USB or USB-C. The starting price for the product is USD 49 on Kickstarter.
The microSD cards come preinstalled with open-source videos, such as a roaring fireplace. But users have the option to upload their favorite films, programs, and even TikTok videos by plugging them into the computer and dragging the files.
But they need to be converted into a TinyTV-friendly format using the free software TinyCircuits provides with the TinyTV DIY Kit. Both models can be controlled with either the knobs or the infrared remote controller that can turn on the device, change the volume, or video.
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