Entertainment technology is the discipline of using manufactured or created components to enhance or make possible any sort of entertainment experience. Because entertainment categories are so broad, and because entertainment models the world in many ways, the types of implemented technology are derived from a variety of sources. Thus, in theatre, for example, entertainment technology practitioners must be able to design and construct scenery, install electrical systems, build clothing, use motors if there is scenery automation, and provide plumbing (if functioning kitchen fixtures are required, or if "singing in the rain"). In this way, the entertainment technology field intersects with most other types of technology.

Entertainment technology helps people relax and enjoy some free time. The latest technology has revolutionized daily entertainment. Old ways such as recording on records, tapes, and CDs, have made music more accessible across the world. Movies are brought into living rooms through photography, film, and video. With the emergence of computer technology, ways of being entertained have been optimized greatly. Many households are now having computers, consoles, or any other kind of hand-holding computer game. The diversity and complexity of entertainment technology will bring endless joy and convenience to people's spare time. Traditionally, entertainment technology is derived from theatrical stagecraft, and stagecraft is an important subset of the discipline. However, the rise of new types and venues for entertainment, as well as rapidly advancing technological development, has increased the range and scope of its practice.

In animation and game design, the phrase "entertainment technology" refers to the entertainment experiences made possible by the advent of primarily computer-mediated digital technologies.

Entertainment technology dates back to at least Antiquity, with the development of tools and Automatons by Hero of Alexandria which were used to enhance and automate aspects of theatric performances.

Popular entertainment (technology) began with the invention of the phonograph by Thomas Edison, which was used to record and playback sound. This was followed by other media such as silent films, broadcast media, and different formats of pre-recorded music and other entertainment. This in turn impacted society, as this technology became a large part of everyday life and allowed people, governments, and organizations a way to communicate their ideas and creations with others.

Since the 19th century, the production, regulation, and dissemination of entertainment technology have been the core of controversies over the waft of information and cultural products. These technologies include video games, virtual worlds, online role-playing games and recreational social networking technologies. In addition, there are two fundamental emphases in the scholarly cure of entertainment technologies. At the stage of audience consumption and participation, media outlets considered as entertainment applied sciences can be discussed as the capacity for acquiring statistics and cultivating attitudes and as a "space" for interaction. At the "macro" level of and production, illustration can work to fortify modes of belonging, identity, and attitudes.

In the 1980s, consumers first adapt digital entertainment in the form of audio CDs, and then at the beginning of the 1990s, the DVD format came into people's lives, at the same time, the direct-to-home satellite had already started to provide customers with digital TV services. The satellite TV boxes that many households had at that time could be their earliest digital entertainment technology.

United States Analog television broadcast ended on June 12, 2009. Television broadcast at most of the regions in the United States and Europe turned into digital with high-definition videos and digital sound. It was a big challenge at that time to switch to digital. As the approaching to millennium years, portable mobile devices were becoming popular among consumers. iPod published by Apple in 2001 could be a good example. Being one of the icons in the twenty-first century, it was a portable digital music player and started a revolution for mobile devices. iPod could be a very personal belonging, as time passes by, such personal digital devices would have the chance to replace the usage of personal computers, TV, DVR, and old mobile phones. Under some circumstances, consumers would prefer small-screen portable digital entertainment.