kinescope

1 of 2

noun

ki·​ne·​scope ˈki-nə-ˌskōp 

also ˈkī-

1

: a cathode-ray tube on which the picture appears in a television set : picture tube

2

: a movie made by filming the images displayed on a picture tube

Before the perfection of videotape, the only means of preserving a live television show was to film it as it appeared on a monitor—the so-called "kinescope."

—James Monaco

kinescope

2 of 2

verb

kinescoped; kinescoping

transitive verb

: to make a kinescope of

Did you know?

Kinescope, originally a trademark for the cathode-ray tube in a TV, later became the name for a film of a TV screen showing a live broadcast. In order for a program to be seen beyond New York in the early days of TV, a kinescope had to be shipped from station to station. Though grainy and fuzzy, these were for a time the only way of capturing live shows. But in 1951 Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball decided to film their comedy show rather than to broadcast it live, and in a few years live broadcast comedy and drama had vanished from the airwaves.

Examples of kinescope in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The kinescopes allowed for last-minute reprises of old sketches—say, when something else wasn't funny or had suddenly fallen through. — CBS News, 19 Mar. 2026

Scene transitions and even more ambiance are provided by a singer (Georgia Heers, sublime) performing period tunes with a cool combo as well as the presentation of kinescopes of ’50s commercials shown on monitors on each side of the stage. — Frank Rizzo, Variety, 4 Apr. 2025

Arnaz asked to shoot using 35-millimeter film, rather than the lesser-quality kinescope. — Raj Tawney, Smithsonian Magazine, 18 Sep. 2024

For me, watching Hayes as Levant — like watching kinescopes of Levant himself — is excruciatingly sad. — Jesse Green, New York Times, 24 Apr. 2023

In order to produce the best quality, Desi also asked to shoot with the costlier 35mm film rather than grainy kinescope technology. — Raj Tawney, Fortune, 4 Jan. 2022

Maria Riva, the only child of Marlene Dietrich who as a rare contract player with CBS was one of the top television personalities in the medium’s early days of live, kinescope broadcasts, died Wednesday. — Mike Barnes, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2019

On the surface the old episodes—some of them represented by clips from fuzzy black-and-white kinescopes—are charming antiques, what with their leisurely pace and production values that seemed quaintly retro even way back when. — Joe Morgenstern, WSJ, 7 June 2018

It was captured via kinescope, a primitive technique that aimed a camera at a TV screen to record the broadcast on film. — Paul Sullivan, chicagotribune.com, 15 Apr. 2018

Word History

Etymology

Noun

from Kinescope, a trademark

First Known Use

Noun

1930, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1949, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for kinescope

• antelope
• bronchoscope
• cantaloupe
• cystoscope
• endoscope
• envelope
• epitope
• gyroscope
• horoscope
• isotope
• microscope
• misanthrope