Internationale Funkausstellung Berlin
Encyclopedia
The IFA or Internationale Funkausstellung Berlin (International radio exhibition Berlin, aka 'Berlin Radio Show') is one of the oldest industrial exhibitions in Germany. Between 1924 and 1939 it was an annual event, but as from 1950 it was organized on a two yearly basis until 2005. Since then it has become an annual event again, held in September. Today it is one of world's leading trade shows for consumer electronics and home appliances.
It offers the opportunity to exhibitors to present their latest products and developments to the general public. As a result of daily reporting in almost all the German media, the radio exhibition achieves a large spreading of the information – and advertising messages and has also become international. In the course of its history, a large number of world innovations were first seen at the exhibition. The next IFA will be held from August 31, to September 5, 2012 in Berlin.
gave a public demonstration of a television system using a cathode ray tube
for both transmission (using flying-spot image scans, not a camera) and reception, at the 1931 show.
In 1933 The Volksempfänger
(VE 301 W), a Nazi-sponsored radio receiver design, was introduced. Ordered by Dr. Joseph Goebbels
, designed by Otto Griessing
, sold by Gustav Seibt, it was presented at the tenth Berliner Funkausstellung on 18 August 1933 its price fixed at 76 Reichsmark (RM). 100,000 units were sold during the exhibition.
The importance of radio as a mass medium for the dissemination of propaganda and entertainment throughout Germany had long been clear to Goebbels.
In 1938 the DKE 38 (Deutscher Kleinempfänger 38, i.e. German miniature receiver 1938) followed, the price fixed at 35 RM.
AEG
, founded in 1883 by Emil Rathenau
, showed the first practical audio tape recorder
, the Magnetophon
K1, at the August 1935 show.
In 1939 the exhibition was called Grosse Deutsche Funk- und Fernseh-Ausstellung (Great German Radio and Television Exhibition). The Einheits-Fernseh-Empfänger E1
, a TV set designed to be affordable for everybody, was introduced. The physical display size was 7.68" × 8.86". Plans for large-scale manufacture were thwarted by the outbreak of WWII. Color TV was also introduced (a prototype), based on an invention by Werner Flechsig (cf. shadow mask
).
Multinational Dutch
electronics corporation Philips
introduced the compact audio cassette
medium for audio storage
at the 1962 show.
It offers the opportunity to exhibitors to present their latest products and developments to the general public. As a result of daily reporting in almost all the German media, the radio exhibition achieves a large spreading of the information – and advertising messages and has also become international. In the course of its history, a large number of world innovations were first seen at the exhibition. The next IFA will be held from August 31, to September 5, 2012 in Berlin.
History
German physicist and inventor Manfred von ArdenneManfred von Ardenne
Manfred von Ardenne was a German research and applied physicist and inventor. He took out approximately 600 patents in fields including electron microscopy, medical technology, nuclear technology, plasma physics, and radio and television technology...
gave a public demonstration of a television system using a cathode ray tube
Cathode ray tube
The cathode ray tube is a vacuum tube containing an electron gun and a fluorescent screen used to view images. It has a means to accelerate and deflect the electron beam onto the fluorescent screen to create the images. The image may represent electrical waveforms , pictures , radar targets and...
for both transmission (using flying-spot image scans, not a camera) and reception, at the 1931 show.
In 1933 The Volksempfänger
Volksempfänger
The Volksempfänger was a range of radio receivers developed by engineer Otto Griessing at the request of Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels....
(VE 301 W), a Nazi-sponsored radio receiver design, was introduced. Ordered by Dr. Joseph Goebbels
Joseph Goebbels
Paul Joseph Goebbels was a German politician and Reich Minister of Propaganda in Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945. As one of Adolf Hitler's closest associates and most devout followers, he was known for his zealous oratory and anti-Semitism...
, designed by Otto Griessing
Otto Griessing
Otto Griessing was a German electronics engineer. He became known following his design of the so-called Volksempfänger , one of the sets on display at the 10th German Radio Show in August 1933...
, sold by Gustav Seibt, it was presented at the tenth Berliner Funkausstellung on 18 August 1933 its price fixed at 76 Reichsmark (RM). 100,000 units were sold during the exhibition.
The importance of radio as a mass medium for the dissemination of propaganda and entertainment throughout Germany had long been clear to Goebbels.
In 1938 the DKE 38 (Deutscher Kleinempfänger 38, i.e. German miniature receiver 1938) followed, the price fixed at 35 RM.
AEG
AEG
Allgemeine Elektricitäts-Gesellschaft was a German producer of electrical equipment founded in 1883 by Emil Rathenau....
, founded in 1883 by Emil Rathenau
Emil Rathenau
Emil Moritz Rathenau was a German entrepreneur and industrialist, a leading figure in the early European electrical industry.- Biography :...
, showed the first practical audio tape recorder
Tape recorder
An audio tape recorder, tape deck, reel-to-reel tape deck, cassette deck or tape machine is an audio storage device that records and plays back sounds, including articulated voices, usually using magnetic tape, either wound on a reel or in a cassette, for storage...
, the Magnetophon
Magnetophon
Magnetophon was the brand or model name of the pioneering reel-to-reel tape recorder developed by engineers of the German electronics company AEG in the 1930s, based on the magnetic tape invention by Fritz Pfleumer...
K1, at the August 1935 show.
In 1939 the exhibition was called Grosse Deutsche Funk- und Fernseh-Ausstellung (Great German Radio and Television Exhibition). The Einheits-Fernseh-Empfänger E1
Einheitsempfänger
On 1 September 1939, Germany introduced a 441-line, 50 interlaced frames per second television system.The project started in 1938, associating the Reichspost and several companies, including Bosch, Blaupunkt, Loewe, Lorenz, TeKaDe and Telefunken...
, a TV set designed to be affordable for everybody, was introduced. The physical display size was 7.68" × 8.86". Plans for large-scale manufacture were thwarted by the outbreak of WWII. Color TV was also introduced (a prototype), based on an invention by Werner Flechsig (cf. shadow mask
Shadow mask
The shadow mask is one of two major technologies used to manufacture cathode ray tube televisions and computer displays that produce color images. The other approach is aperture grille, better known by its trade name, Trinitron. All early color televisions and the majority of CRT computer monitors...
).
Multinational Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
electronics corporation Philips
Philips
Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. , more commonly known as Philips, is a multinational Dutch electronics company....
introduced the compact audio cassette
Compact Cassette
The Compact Cassette, often referred to as audio cassette, cassette tape, cassette, or simply tape, is a magnetic tape sound recording format. It was designed originally for dictation, but improvements in fidelity led the Compact Cassette to supplant the Stereo 8-track cartridge and reel-to-reel...
medium for audio storage
Sound recording and reproduction
Sound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...
at the 1962 show.
Facts
- In 2003, IFA was the world's largest Consumer Electronics trade fair, attended by 273,800 visitors. Over 1,000 exhibitors attended the fair.
- 2.4 billion euroEuroThe euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
of placed orders. - Attended by over 6,800 accredited journalists from 78 countries.