Before flat screens, before even cathode-ray tubes, people watched television programs at home thanks to the Nipkow disk. Ninety years ago in places like England and Germany, broadcasters transmitted to commercially produced black-and-white electromechanical television sets, such as the Baird Televisor, which used these disks to produce moving images. This early programming established many of the formats we take for granted today, such as variety shows and outside broadcasts.