The History of Video Conferencing and How it Has Developed Overtime

Author: Jamie Simpson

The idea of sitting in a boardroom and having your peers visible to you, but contained on a single video screen or teaching a class to hundreds of students that are stationed throughout the world seemed a thing of science fiction for a long time. Prior to the 1980s, scenes of video conferencing involved walls of televisions, or unwieldy equipment that wouldn't work in a common business setting. Thankfully, video conferencing has become a standard in business operations these days, but with only a minor amount of equipment or software necessary.

When video conferencing was introduced at the 1964 World's Fair, nobody could imagine just how far it would come. From its initial tube television beginnings, it seemed far-fetched that we would get to where it was easy as turning on your Lifesize equipment and running a piece of software. It wasn't until over a decade later that protocols were put into place that allowed this sort of technology to enter the private sector. At this time, only the creators of the technology such as IBM and Nippon had the power to hold meetings in this fashion.

The breakthrough occurred in the 1980s with Compression Labs and competitor PictureTel started offering video conferencing packages that were accessible to the biggest businesses out there. The future had finally arrived, but was still only available to the upper echelons of business. Between the high cost of the lines that were necessary to carry the video signal and the specific equipment, it was possible for any business to video conference, but it wouldn't be cost effective for another few years.

As the world entered the 1990s, a few very important pieces of the puzzle finally were put into place. The growth of Internet Protocol (IP) along with the new ease in which everybody was connected started to make this fantasy into a reality. People all over the world were now able to not only send email and private messages, but video. The world of video conferencing exploded. Everybody now had the ability to offer a budget video conferencing package. Companies sprouted up all over the world offering their version of the perfect VC system.

As with all technology wars, true standards and systems were eventually put into place. Nowadays, most video conferencing takes place using high speed internet and can rely on a simple webcam to convey your video stream. Of course, a professional package like Lifesize is going to offer you a lot more freedom and ease in connecting a large group of people, but video conferencing is as much a part of our personal lives as it is the professional world. Packages that would previously have cost in the six figure range are now easily available in the thousands.

Video conferencing may have started as a fantastic futuristic concept, but it now is a part of our every day lives, both professional and personal.Video conferencing equipment such as LifeSize enables facial expressions, body language and gestures to transcend geography.

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