The History of IFE Systems
With the many in-flight entertainment options that we have at our disposal today, it is interesting to think that most of them have not been around for very long. In-Flight Entertainment (IFE) traces its history all the way back to the 1920’s with the screening of Howdy Chicago for passengers as a means of advertising the movie. IFE was not the biggest concern of the aviation industry, and the technology to successfully implement it did not exist. Zeppelin flights such as the Hindenburg offered entertainment to its passengers, including a piano, bar, lounge, dining room, and more. Meanwhile, aircraft had much less means to provide such pleasures.
The first major IFE breakthrough came in 1926 when Imperial Airways screened The Lost World to their passengers during flight while the sound was provided via radio by a live orchestra performing on the ground. Through the next few decades, notable IFE events included the first television event in-flight in 1932, and Stagecoach being screened in 1948 for Pan American World Airways for media coverage. Many of these were very limited events, and it was not until the 1960’s that IFE became more normalized with TWA regularly presenting films on flights with the use of projectors. For a long time, projectors became the standard.
One of the first digital IFE systems came in the 1990’s when Interactive Flight Technologies (IFT) pitched a system to the airline Alitalia to provide entertainment for passengers, and they touted revenue increases with pay per view movies and gambling. In 1997, IFT installed the system for all seating classes, being the first of its kind. While this was a major breakthrough, airways were not happy as the systems required a tremendous amount of power, generated a lot of heat, and required constant processing unit replacement. These systems had a rocky start, but the idea prevailed and this type of digital IFE quickly became the standard. From shared screens to the introduction of screens on the back of seats, IFE rapidly evolved.
One of the first digital IFE systems came in the 1990’s when Interactive Flight Technologies (IFT) pitched a system to the airline Alitalia to provide entertainment for passengers, and they touted revenue increases with pay per view movies and gambling. In 1997, IFT installed the system for all seating classes, being the first of its kind. While this was a major breakthrough, airways were not happy as the systems required a tremendous amount of power, generated a lot of heat, and required constant processing unit replacement. These systems had a rocky start, but the idea prevailed and this type of digital IFE quickly became the standard. From shared screens to the introduction of screens on the back of seats, IFE rapidly evolved.
At Aviation Axis, owned and operated by ASAP Semiconductor, we can help you find In-Flight Entertainment (IFE) parts and avionic parts you need, new or obsolete.
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