Short answers, pulled from the story.
The first true high-definition television format was introduced in 1939 as a 405-line system. This electronic scanning system stood as the first true high-definition television format, leaving mechanical predecessors far behind in the dust.
The Federal Communications Commission mandated 525 lines for the US in 1941. This mandate followed experiments with 605 and 441 lines by Europe and the United States.
The French abandoned their 819-line standard by 1984 in favor of the more conventional 625-line color broadcast on the TF1 network. This decision marked the end of the dream of ultra-high definition in analog form for that country.
Sony unveiled the HighVision 1,125-line interlaced TV standard at an international meeting of television engineers in Algiers in April 1981. This system, also known as MUSE, ran at a smooth 60 frames per second.
The Federal Communications Commission officially adopted the ATSC transmission standard in 1996. This standard included both HD and SD video standards and was part of the advanced television process initiated in 1987.
Toshiba announced it was abandoning the HD DVD format on the 19th of February 2008. The company would discontinue development, marketing, and manufacturing of HD DVD players and drives.