1962: The TELEVISION SET You Can WEAR | Tonight | Retro Tech | BBC Archive

"The fashionable thing to wear these days is a television set." - Alan Whicker.
Tonight's Alan Whicker is clearly delighted to demonstrate an extraordinary new invention, The Electrocula - a 30 ounce portable television set that can be worn on the head. They system projects a television picture onto an adjustable monocle in front of the viewer's eye, enabling them to watch television while doing other things.
It's TV on the go - perhaps one day, we will all be able to watch television on the move.
Clip taken from Tonight, originally broadcast on BBC Television, 3 May, 1962.
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[@williambinions4205]

Who would ever thought Alan Whicker was one of the Borg in Star Trek TNG

[@smokerjim]

And you know when he'd come to assimilate you it'd be like "Good afternoon, we're here to assimilate you into the collective, we're quite certain you will have a jolly time as Borg, if you'd be kind enough to step over here for assimilation."

[@hamsterclamper]

Honestly not that much more ridiculous looking than the Apple Vision headset 60 years on

[@handsoffmycactus2958]

It’s so funny how they’ve been trying to make these a thing forever and no one’s interested. No one wants silly goggles or glasses

[@frequenttraveller1835]

From a time when £350 got you $1000! That's more impressive than the electrocular.

[@Comfortzone99]

The following Labour gov had to devalue the Pound after running out of money and chasing the rich out with 90% tax.

[@jillyb9995]

Never seeing Alan Whicker being so funny before. Good actor. Made me laugh😂

[@TCHorwood-xq7mw]

With two of them you could have 3D.

[@harryjones5260]

alan whicker...universal soldier

[@sleepyheadsleeps]

They don't show the huge battery and receiver in a suitcase !

[@AtheistOrphan]

I’m guessing it’s mains-powered.

[@fredo1070]

I am Whicker of Borg, resistance is futile.

[@timusforlife]

I can't find anything else about this other than this BBC report

[@pit_stop77]

I see it never took off, but it showed what could be done, and what was possible

[@maltronics]

It did take off ,it was the viewfinder (crt) in 80s/90s camcorders

[@BOZ_11]

you can't really watch video and get on with your life at the same time.

[@maltronics]

@@BOZ_11 Yeh agree with that

[@wisteela]

Good point ​@@maltronics

[@user-ub1dz8js7s]

Fun Fact: Alan Whicker was almost cast as 'Lobot' - Lando Carlrissian's personal assistant in Cloud City in The Empire Strikes Back.

[@hoofie2002]

Made by Hughes in California so it was obviously a spin off or demo of a military project

[@Deearepee1963]

‘Electrocula’ sounds like a robot vampire

[@mollyfilms]

Look up on Wikipedia Alan Wickers life story. You will be astounded to what this chap did in his life.

[@MVEProducties]

Google Glass loves this!! Haha

[@stephen9453]

£350 = $1,000 - shows you how much the pound has been devalued over the years 😯

[@sharpvidtube]

The dollar has lost most of its value too. £350 in 1962 is the equivalent of £6,291, after inflation. $1,000 would be $10,342.

[@kevfit4333]

It was decimalised. There used to be 240p in a pound, not 100. That's 20 shillings which are 12p each. You could buy a lot of stuff for a pound back then.

[@THE-X-Force]

@@kevfit4333 When did they do that .. and why?

[@brianquigley1940]

Any kind of fiat money is a ponzi scheme that will eventually collapse, as will the dollar when other countries stop shoring it up as the "reserve currency" and buying US treasuries.

[@sharpvidtube]

The average wage was £800pa in 1962, so this is a large chunk of money.

[@PlanetImo]

That was a quick comercial break!

[@syedalamgir5838]

Great invention of that time.

[@johnmclean1601]

Electroncular, excellent name for it 😀

[@brianquigley1940]

Also known as a heads-up display... originally intended for jet pilots.

[@KB-lz3gq]

Exciting prospect,can't wait 😊

[@rogerc7960]

Apache helicopter pilots: [restricted]

[@W2APS]

It does appear to be made by Hughes, who developed and made those sight systems. They also worked with JVC and from that we have their excellent D-ILA projector products.

[@hopebgood]

Reminds me of that smary git Weyoun piloting a Dominion ship from ST:DS9

[@agingmillennialmainer]

This eventually developed into the targrting monocle used in the Apache helicopter.

[@richardhawkins4621]

It will never take of when you can get a full sized tv for a quarter of the price

[@AtheistOrphan]

But it’s a bit difficult to balance that on your face!😀

[@THE-X-Force]

Absolutely hilarious!

[@wisteela]

Almost predicting wearable tech

[@drsigh]

Crikey, Whicker was good!

[@CricketEngland]

Apple and Facebook eat your heart out

[@danielavaca4414]

I see you

[@lazymansload520]

Vault Tec presents…

[@davidrenton]

the most shocking thing was $1000 was £350

[@Matty112uk]

As I understand them, CRTs emit X-rays and low-frequency electromagnetic fields. Not really enough to cause long term health damage. But, I still wouldn't wear one on my head! 😂

[@BrassLock]

Imagine all those deadly Cathode Rays next to your brain for hours on end while watching the Football 😲

[@Lettuce-and-Tomatoes]

Deadly? 🤣

[@Nyzackon]

@@Lettuce-and-Tomatoes"Harmful radiation is generated when an image is created on a CRT screen. In order to shield viewers from this radiation, a substantial amount of lead is incorporated into the glass used to manufacture the various glass components of a CRT (approximately 4 pounds of lead per CRT)."

[@Nyzackon]

@@Lettuce-and-Tomatoes"One [danger] is that the tube when used have a very high operating anode voltage which can go up to the neighborhood of 35,000 volts or more for large tube TVs. That can give a severe jolt that can cause injuries from the muscle contractions and possible cardiac arrest. The voltage can persist for quite a while after the unit is off. perhaps several hours and even then you may still get a jolt if you touch the wrong place."

[@MichaelBosley]

@@Nyzackon Thanks to the shielding, this radiation doesn't leave the unit. In fact, the lead and other chemicals in a TV are more harmful to health than any radiation that actually leaves the screen. In fact, you get far more harmful radiation exposure just stepping outside on a sunny day.

[@maybud60]

Adjusted for inflation, £350 in 1962 is equivalent to about £6300 in 2024. To Apple: your Vision Pro is too cheap 👍😅

[@handsoffmycactus2958]

It’s SO funny they’ve been trying and still are trying to make these a thing and have failed ever since to get them onto the mass market and in every house

[@ubuntugeek]

$1000 or about £350 or if Apple sold it $1000 or about £1000

[@b.h.6307]

still sold more than google glass.

[@bardo0007]

So we have not progressed much , the principles of the technology is the same. And here we are in 2024, but I need a very expensive virtual helmet to be able to watch TV like that.

[@vertujoe2886]

Why did he attach a camera viewfinder to his glasses and consider it a television?

[@mrpositronia]

It's not his invention. He's just describing what he sees. A television screen reflected on the lens.

[@vertujoe2886]

@@mrpositronia well seems no one got the joke and makes me look like harsh on him. Actually the whole point is when in 1962 this camera viewfinder looking device is at least 10 years ahead any camera have equipped the same miniturized CRT tube as the viewfinder. It's surely a technical breakthrough at the time.

[@unnamedchannel1237]

This had to have been an April fool back in the day .

[@user-rd8mt8yv5r]

Bet his really watching 60's hairy pawn on that badboy why the wife does the dishes.