Video conferencing equipment has evolved through the years from radio-frequency hookups to high-definition Internet connections. Now, video conferencing is accessible to most businesses and works better than ever before.
If you have a well-documented history in business, you could have been involved in some early teleconferences or video meetings. Those early connections between 2 locations are as different to the experience provided by modern video conferencing equipment as a phonograph is from an MP3 player.
Sure, communication occurred on those early connections â" similair to a phonograph, which duplicated the sounds of singers and bands accurately â" but there were definite quality issues with the equipment and the link.
To Date video conferencing equipment has advanced beyond where anybody may have predicted only one or two years back. Let us take a brief glance at the past, present and future. You might be amazed as to how long videoconferencing has been in the works â" and how long it took to produce a technique and setup that would basically get things done.
Like many other things, modern videoconferencing owes a lot to the quality connection between locations offered by the Web.
History of Video Conferencing
A video-conference can be any kind of video-audio connection between various locations. It can be as simple as a conversation between 2 people at 2 different locations or it can involve a large number of people spread over various sites around the globe.
Primitive videophone communication has been used possibly as long as television has been in existence. However it was not available for widespread use until much later on. Still, a video communication network was available by coax cable in Berlin and other German towns as early as 1936.
When space flight began in the United States , NASA maintained video communication with its space-going vessels using UHF and VHF radio-frequency video links going in each direction. Television stations used similair videophones when reporting from the field.
Various attempts to bring similar technology to business conferences, telemedicine and distance learning in the 1950s generally failed however, because picture quality was poor and there was no technique of compression available. Further attempts during the 1970s were not successful either, mostly due to serious costs and the relatively low number of Picture phones being used globally.
When digital telephone technology started to develop in the 1980s, video conferencing started to become a reality. Still, connections were expensive and eccentric. In the 1990s , however , Web based video conferencing turned into a reality, and business-to-business usage soared.
Video Conferencing Equipment Today
Skype and equivalent services have made video conferencing available to everyone, but these services provide sub-standard connections in a few cases, and hookups frequently fail for seconds to minutes at a time.
In 2005, high-definition video conferencing equipment was introduced. Todays modern cameras and sound hardware are combined with fast, stable connections between locations, near-perfect communication is possible as long as the right bits of equipment are installed at each location.
It's difficult to visualize what the future could be holding because today's modern video conferencing equipment is so advanced. But with each new year and each trade show that happens, further refinements are demonstrated.
Today's video conferencing equipment is near perfect nevertheless, it's a perfect time to have it installed in your business. It's a long way from the low-def, low-quality connections of the past and even miles ahead of what Videophones are able to do.
If you have a well-documented history in business, you could have been involved in some early teleconferences or video meetings. Those early connections between 2 locations are as different to the experience provided by modern video conferencing equipment as a phonograph is from an MP3 player.
Sure, communication occurred on those early connections â" similair to a phonograph, which duplicated the sounds of singers and bands accurately â" but there were definite quality issues with the equipment and the link.
To Date video conferencing equipment has advanced beyond where anybody may have predicted only one or two years back. Let us take a brief glance at the past, present and future. You might be amazed as to how long videoconferencing has been in the works â" and how long it took to produce a technique and setup that would basically get things done.
Like many other things, modern videoconferencing owes a lot to the quality connection between locations offered by the Web.
History of Video Conferencing
A video-conference can be any kind of video-audio connection between various locations. It can be as simple as a conversation between 2 people at 2 different locations or it can involve a large number of people spread over various sites around the globe.
Primitive videophone communication has been used possibly as long as television has been in existence. However it was not available for widespread use until much later on. Still, a video communication network was available by coax cable in Berlin and other German towns as early as 1936.
When space flight began in the United States , NASA maintained video communication with its space-going vessels using UHF and VHF radio-frequency video links going in each direction. Television stations used similair videophones when reporting from the field.
Various attempts to bring similar technology to business conferences, telemedicine and distance learning in the 1950s generally failed however, because picture quality was poor and there was no technique of compression available. Further attempts during the 1970s were not successful either, mostly due to serious costs and the relatively low number of Picture phones being used globally.
When digital telephone technology started to develop in the 1980s, video conferencing started to become a reality. Still, connections were expensive and eccentric. In the 1990s , however , Web based video conferencing turned into a reality, and business-to-business usage soared.
Video Conferencing Equipment Today
Skype and equivalent services have made video conferencing available to everyone, but these services provide sub-standard connections in a few cases, and hookups frequently fail for seconds to minutes at a time.
In 2005, high-definition video conferencing equipment was introduced. Todays modern cameras and sound hardware are combined with fast, stable connections between locations, near-perfect communication is possible as long as the right bits of equipment are installed at each location.
It's difficult to visualize what the future could be holding because today's modern video conferencing equipment is so advanced. But with each new year and each trade show that happens, further refinements are demonstrated.
Today's video conferencing equipment is near perfect nevertheless, it's a perfect time to have it installed in your business. It's a long way from the low-def, low-quality connections of the past and even miles ahead of what Videophones are able to do.
About the Author:
Paul Fraser, owner of a video conferencing solutions company is an expert in video conferencing solutions. He enjoys seeing businesses succeed, whether he has an investment in them or not.