the history of video conferencing

The History of

Video Conferencing

A publication of

From Yesterday to Today

1936-1940

1950-1970

1991

1992

video telephone network, first used commercially serving German cities

‘Picture Phone’, the first video conferencing system, by AT&T Company during the World’s Fair held in NY.

IBM introduced the first PC-based video conferencing system, named

Macintosh revolutionized the world with its CU-SeeMesystem, which was by far the best video system developed to date, making VC available to most businesses.

2001The first video conferencing portable devices were released and television reporters brought them into war zones for live footage

1995The first public videoconference between North America and Africa took place

Important Developments

• Relatively low cost

• High capacity broadband telecommunication services

• Powerful computing processors

• Video compression techniques

1. Cost

1982

1984

1986

1991

Compression Labs’ VC Product

Equipment:

$250,000

Each Line per Hour:

$1,000

Concept

Communication’s VC

Product

(a circuit board fitting

into standard personal

computers)

Equipment:

$12,000

PictureTel's VC system

Equipment:

$80,000

Each Line per Hour:

$100

IBM’s Black-and-white VC

system

Equipment:

$20,000

Each Line per Hour:

$30

2015Cloud-based

services reduce

monthly costs to

less than the cost

of a domestic

flight.

2. Quality

1950s

1980s

2000s

2010s

Used normal telephony

networks to transmit

slow-scan video, with

poor picture quality

Doubled video frame

from 15 to 30 frames

per second

In 2005, the first HD VC

system achieved 30

frames per second at

1280 by 720 display

resolution.

High definition resolution

has become a standard

video feature.

3. Size

Early

1984

1990s

2010s

100 pound computers

necessary for

teleconferencing

A circuit board

fitting into standard

personal computers

From very expensive

proprietary equipment to

desktop or PC-based VC

From broad room VC to

mobile, wearable devices

4. Data Transfer Capability

1970s

1982

1990s

PicturePhone

• 1 MHz

• 6 Megabit Rate

IBM Japan’s internal

videoconferencing

links

• 48,000 bps

Development in

High Capacity Broadband

Telecommunications

Services

5. Protocols

1976

1981

1990s

2014

Network Video Protocol

(NVP)

Packet Video

Protocol

(PVP)

Integrated Services for

Digital Network (ISDN)

A maximum of 128 Kbit/s

H.325

“Advanced

Multimedia System”

video, voice, app

sharing, file

exchange, and more

1982H.120

1990H.261

1996H.263

1996SIP & H.323

Only possible

on an IP

network

6. Multi-Point Video

1968

1993

2010s

First multiple user VC

demonstrated with

Stanford Research

Institute’s NLS

computer technology

Mac introduced

Multipoint Video

Conferencing

Multipoint bridging

became a standard

feature.

7. Technology Advancements

1980s

1990s

2000s

2010s

Digital Telephony

Transmission Networks

Audio Echo

Cancellation

• Lower Costs in Video

Capture and Display

• High Speed Internet

Access

• Cloud-Based Services

• Mobile Devices

Visit us at: www.Telemerge.ca!

Interested in learning

more about

video conferencing and

how it can benefit you?