Thomas Edison’s Kinetoscope displayed moving images to one viewer through a rotating shutter and film loop.
The Kinetoscope was developed in Edison’s laboratory during the early 1890s. Film moved continuously inside a cabinet, while a viewer looked through a peephole at the top. A rotating shutter interrupted the light so the rapidly changing images appeared as motion.
The machine was designed for individual viewing rather than projection onto a screen. Commercial Kinetoscope parlors opened in 1894, where customers could watch short films by looking into separate cabinets. This business model helped introduce motion pictures to paying audiences.
The Kinetoscope is often confused with the Kinetograph. The Kinetograph was the camera used to record films, while the Kinetoscope was the playback machine. Later cinema systems used projectors that allowed groups to watch together.