Video conferencing enables people in two or more locations to communicate with each other. The technology used in video conferencing combines both audio and video components so that everyone involved in the conference can see and hear the other participants. Through its development, video conferencing has greatly enhanced international trade as it allows for groups to confer about routine matter without having to travel. This saves both time and money and allows for an increase in productivity. The history of video conferencing begins during the 1950s and spans over six decades of advancement and innovation.
Early Developments
In 1956, AT&T created the first system for two-way videoconferencing called the PicturePhone. With the system, two people could have a continuous conversation with a still picture that updated every two seconds. At the 1964 World's Fair in New York, AT&T unveiled a revised model to fair goers. After using the phone to call across the country to exhibits in Disneyland, the guests were asked to provide feedback about the experience. Due to the large amount of criticism, developers at AT&T returned to developing the phone. Six years later, updated PicturePhone service was offered to residents of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The cost of the service was $160 per month and was unwieldy in size, which led to AT&T discontinuing the program.
1970s
In 1971, Ericsson demonstrated the first Transatlantic phone call with its own video conferencing system, and in 1974, a large research program began at Information Science Institute (ISI) at the University of South Carolina laboratories. In 1976, Danny Cohen of the ISI published a landmark paper concerning the use of Network Video Protocol. Network Video Protocol was a technological advance that Cohen began work on in 1973. Its invention greatly aided in the development of video conferencing. In 1976, Nippon Telegraph also released an industrial video conferencing system that linked Osaka and Tokyo.
1980s
ISI released a second innovation in the field of video conferencing in 1981 with Randy Cole's publication concerning Video Protocol. The COST 211 research group built upon Cole's work, developing encoding for communication lines that would become integral for video conferencing. In 1982, VCR systems released a $250,000 version of video conferencing unit for public sale whose phone lines cost $1,000 per hour. PictureTel released a less pricey model in 1986, but the equipment was still costly at $80,000 with $100 per hour lines. Later in the year, Mitsubishi released a $1500 phone that allowed users to view one still picture of the other party throughout the call.
1990s
ISI's video conferencing research continued through the first half of the 1990s with its innovations being used by products sold through PictureTel and DartNet. Meanwhile, IBM developed its own video conferencing technology, and in 1991, the company demonstrated the first video conference using a personal computer. AT&T departed from its PicturePhone design in releasing a video conferencing system for home use in 1992. From 1992 to 1998, video conferencing units were released by a variety of companies, including INRIA, Macintosh, UCB, Novell and VocalTec. In 1996, Microsoft launched video conferencing software that utilized the Internet to hold audio and video based meetings. The software was called NetMeeting, and Microsoft updated the program twice during the late 1990s.
2000s
The first hand-held video conferencing device was released by Samsung in 2001. Video conferencing was also used in television news reporting and online classrooms during the same year. The next landmark in video conferencing technology occurred the following year when French surgeons used video conferencing to conduct a gall bladder removal surgery in Strasbourg, France from a location in New York City. Yearly advancements in Voice Over Internet Protocol occurred from 2005 to 2008, all of which continually improved the quality of video conferences while lowering their cost.
Tags: video conferencing, video conferencing, conferencing system, video conferencing system, Video Protocol
