<s>
Gregorio	O
Y	O
.	O
Zara	O
(	O
8	O
March	O
1902	O
–	O
15	O
October	O
1978	O
)	O
was	O
a	O
Filipino	O
engineer	O
and	O
physicist	O
best	O
remembered	O
for	O
inventing	O
the	O
first	O
two-way	O
video	B-Application
telephone	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Zara	O
’s	O
video	B-Application
telephone	I-Application
invention	O
enabled	O
the	O
caller	O
and	O
recipient	O
to	O
see	O
each	O
other	O
while	O
conversing	O
,	O
laying	O
the	O
foundation	O
for	O
video-conferencing	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Barely	O
two	O
years	O
after	O
the	O
telephone	O
was	O
first	O
patented	O
in	O
the	O
United	O
States	O
in	O
1876	O
by	O
Alexander	O
Graham	O
Bell	O
,	O
an	O
early	O
concept	O
of	O
a	O
combined	O
videophone	B-Application
and	O
wide-screen	O
television	O
called	O
a	O
telephonoscope	O
was	O
conceptualized	O
in	O
the	O
popular	O
periodicals	O
of	O
the	O
day	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
device	O
,	O
among	O
other	O
functions	O
,	O
would	O
allow	O
merchants	O
to	O
transmit	O
pictures	O
of	O
their	O
wares	O
to	O
their	O
customers	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
contents	O
of	O
museum	O
collections	O
to	O
be	O
made	O
available	O
to	O
scholars	O
in	O
distant	O
cities	O
....	O
"	O
In	O
the	O
era	O
prior	O
to	O
the	O
advent	O
of	O
broadcasting	B-Operating_System
,	O
electrical	O
"	O
seeing	O
"	O
devices	O
were	O
conceived	O
as	O
adjuncts	O
to	O
the	O
telephone	O
,	O
thus	O
creating	O
the	O
concept	O
of	O
a	O
videophone	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Fraudulent	O
reports	O
of	O
"	O
amazing	O
"	O
advances	O
in	O
video	B-Application
telephones	I-Application
would	O
be	O
publicized	O
as	O
early	O
as	O
1880	O
and	O
would	O
reoccur	O
every	O
few	O
years	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
episode	O
of	O
"	O
Dr.	O
Sylvestre	O
"	O
of	O
Paris	O
who	O
claimed	O
in	O
1902	O
to	O
have	O
invented	O
a	O
powerful	O
(	O
and	O
inexpensive	O
)	O
video	B-Application
telephone	I-Application
,	O
termed	O
a	O
"	O
spectograph	O
"	O
,	O
the	O
intellectual	O
property	O
rights	O
he	O
believed	O
were	O
worth	O
$	O
5,000,000	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
Dr.	O
Alexander	O
Graham	O
Bell	O
personally	O
thought	O
that	O
videotelephony	B-Application
was	O
achievable	O
even	O
though	O
his	O
contributions	O
to	O
its	O
advancement	O
were	O
incidental	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
April	O
1891	O
,	O
Dr.	O
Bell	O
actually	O
did	O
record	O
conceptual	O
notes	O
on	O
an	O
"	O
electrical	O
radiophone	O
"	O
,	O
which	O
discussed	O
the	O
possibility	O
of	O
"	O
seeing	O
by	O
electricity	O
"	O
using	O
devices	O
that	O
employed	O
tellurium	O
or	O
selenium	B-Library
imaging	O
components	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
discoveries	O
in	O
physics	O
,	O
chemistry	O
and	O
materials	O
science	O
underlying	O
video	O
technology	O
would	O
not	O
be	O
in	O
place	O
until	O
the	O
mid-1920s	O
,	O
first	O
being	O
utilized	O
in	O
electromechanical	B-Architecture
television	I-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
compound	O
term	O
"	O
videophone	B-Application
"	O
slowly	O
entered	O
into	O
general	O
usage	O
after	O
1950	O
,	O
although	O
"	O
video	B-Application
telephone	I-Application
"	O
likely	O
entered	O
the	O
lexicon	O
earlier	O
after	O
video	O
was	O
coined	O
in	O
1935	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Prior	O
to	O
that	O
time	O
there	O
appeared	O
to	O
be	O
no	O
standard	O
terms	O
for	O
"	O
video	B-Application
telephone	I-Application
"	O
,	O
with	O
expressions	O
such	O
as	O
"	O
sight-sound	B-Application
television	I-Application
system	I-Application
"	O
,	O
"	O
visual	O
radio	O
"	O
and	O
nearly	O
20	O
others	O
(	O
in	O
English	O
)	O
being	O
used	O
to	O
describe	O
the	O
marriage	O
of	O
telegraph	O
,	O
telephone	O
,	O
television	O
and	O
radio	O
technologies	O
employed	O
in	O
early	O
experiments	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Among	O
the	O
technological	O
precursors	O
to	O
the	O
videophone	B-Application
were	O
telegraphic	O
image	O
transmitters	O
created	O
by	O
several	O
companies	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
wirephoto	O
used	O
by	O
Western	O
Union	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
teleostereograph	O
developed	O
by	O
T	O
's	O
Bell	O
Labs	O
,	O
which	O
were	O
forerunners	O
of	O
today	O
's	O
fax	O
(	O
facsimile	O
)	O
machines	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
1927	O
AT&T	O
had	O
created	O
its	O
earliest	O
electromechanical	B-Architecture
television-videophone	I-Architecture
called	O
the	O
ikonophone	O
(	O
from	O
Greek	O
:	O
"	O
image-sound	O
"	O
)	O
,	O
which	O
operated	O
at	O
18	O
frames	O
per	O
second	O
and	O
occupied	O
half	O
a	O
room	O
full	O
of	O
equipment	O
cabinets	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
1930	O
,	O
T	O
's	O
"	O
two-way	O
television-telephone	B-Application
"	O
system	O
was	O
in	O
full-scale	O
experimental	O
use	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Bell	O
Labs	O
 '	O
Manhattan	O
facility	O
devoted	O
years	O
of	O
research	O
to	O
it	O
during	O
the	O
1930s	O
,	O
led	O
by	O
Dr.	O
Herbert	O
Ives	O
along	O
with	O
his	O
team	O
of	O
more	O
than	O
200	O
scientists	O
,	O
engineers	O
and	O
technicians	O
,	O
intending	O
to	O
develop	O
it	O
for	O
both	O
telecommunication	O
and	O
broadcast	B-Operating_System
entertainment	O
purposes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
were	O
also	O
other	O
public	O
demonstrations	O
of	O
"	O
two-way	O
television-telephone	B-Application
"	O
systems	O
during	O
this	O
period	O
by	O
inventors	O
and	O
entrepreneurs	O
who	O
sought	O
to	O
compete	O
with	O
AT&T	O
,	O
although	O
none	O
appeared	O
capable	O
of	O
dealing	O
with	O
the	O
technical	O
issues	O
of	O
signal	B-General_Concept
compression	I-General_Concept
that	O
Bell	O
Labs	O
would	O
eventually	O
resolve	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Signal	B-General_Concept
compression	I-General_Concept
,	O
and	O
its	O
later	O
sibling	O
data	B-General_Concept
compression	I-General_Concept
were	O
fundamental	O
to	O
the	O
issue	O
of	O
transmitting	O
the	O
very	O
large	O
bandwidth	O
of	O
low-resolution	O
black	O
and	O
white	O
video	O
through	O
the	O
very	O
limited	O
capacity	O
of	O
low-speed	O
copper	O
PSTN	O
telephone	O
lines	O
(	O
higher	O
resolution	O
colour	O
videophones	B-Application
would	O
require	O
even	O
far	O
greater	O
capabilities	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
early	O
1936	O
,	O
the	O
first	O
public	O
video	B-Application
telephone	I-Application
service	O
,	O
Germany	O
's	O
Gegensehn-Fernsprechanlagen	O
(	O
visual	B-Application
telephone	I-Application
system	O
)	O
,	O
was	O
developed	O
by	O
Dr.	O
Georg	O
Schubert	O
,	O
who	O
headed	O
the	O
development	O
department	O
at	O
the	O
Fernseh-AG	O
,	O
a	O
technical	O
combine	O
for	O
television	O
broadcasting	B-Operating_System
technology	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Schubet	O
's	O
higher-performance	O
system	O
employed	O
a	O
Nipkow	O
disk	O
flying-spot	B-Algorithm
scanner	I-Algorithm
for	O
its	O
transmitter	O
(	O
a	O
form	O
of	O
mechanical	B-Architecture
television	I-Architecture
)	O
and	O
a	O
20cm	O
(	O
8	O
inch	O
)	O
cathode	B-Device
ray	I-Device
display	I-Device
tube	I-Device
with	O
a	O
resolution	O
of	O
150	O
lines	O
(	O
180	O
lines	O
in	O
later	O
versions	O
)	O
running	O
at	O
25	O
frames	O
per	O
second	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Point-to-point	O
video	B-Application
calling	I-Application
required	O
swapping	O
connections	O
on	O
a	O
telephone	B-Device
switchboard	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
videophones	B-Application
were	O
integrated	O
within	O
large	O
public	O
videophone	B-Application
booths	O
,	O
with	O
two	O
booths	O
provided	O
per	O
city	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
video	B-Application
telephone	I-Application
equipment	O
used	O
in	O
Berlin	O
was	O
designed	O
and	O
built	O
by	O
the	O
German	O
Post	O
Office	O
Laboratory	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Videophone	B-Application
equipment	O
used	O
in	O
other	O
German	O
cities	O
were	O
developed	O
by	O
Fernseh	O
A.G.	O
,	O
partly	O
owned	O
by	O
Baird	O
Television	O
Ltd	O
.	O
of	O
the	O
U.K.	O
,	O
inventors	O
of	O
the	O
world	O
's	O
first	O
functional	O
television	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
videophones	B-Application
were	O
offered	O
to	O
the	O
general	O
public	O
,	O
which	O
had	O
to	O
visit	O
special	O
post	O
office	O
Fernsehsprechstellen	O
(	O
video	B-Application
telephone	I-Application
booths	O
,	O
from	O
"	O
far	O
sight	O
speech	O
place	O
"	O
)	O
simultaneously	O
in	O
their	O
respective	O
cities	O
,	O
but	O
which	O
at	O
the	O
same	O
time	O
also	O
had	O
Nazi	O
political	O
and	O
propagandistic	O
overtones	O
similar	O
to	O
the	O
broadcasting	B-Operating_System
of	O
the	O
1936	O
Olympic	O
Games	O
in	O
Berlin	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
German	O
post	O
office	O
announced	O
ambitious	O
plans	O
to	O
extend	O
their	O
public	O
videophone	B-Application
network	O
to	O
Cologne	O
,	O
Frankfurt	O
and	O
Vienna	O
,	O
Austria	O
,	O
but	O
expansion	O
plans	O
were	O
discontinued	O
in	O
1939	O
with	O
the	O
start	O
of	O
the	O
Second	O
World	O
War	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
Germany	O
subsequently	O
became	O
fully	O
engaged	O
in	O
the	O
war	O
its	O
public	O
videophone	B-Application
system	O
was	O
closed	O
in	O
1940	O
,	O
with	O
its	O
expensive	O
inter-city	O
broadband	O
cables	O
converted	O
to	O
telegraphic	O
message	O
traffic	O
and	O
broadcast	B-Operating_System
television	O
service	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Deutsche	O
Bundespost	O
postal	O
service	O
would	O
decades	O
later	O
develop	O
and	O
deploy	O
its	O
BIGFON	O
(	O
Broadband	O
Integrated	O
Glass-Fiber	O
Optical	O
Network	O
)	O
videotelephony	B-Application
network	O
from	O
1981	O
to	O
1988	O
,	O
serving	O
several	O
large	O
German	O
cities	O
,	O
and	O
also	O
created	O
one	O
of	O
Europe	O
's	O
first	O
public	O
switched	O
broadband	O
services	O
in	O
1989	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
United	O
States	O
,	O
T	O
's	O
Bell	O
Labs	O
conducted	O
extensive	O
research	O
and	O
development	O
of	O
videophones	B-Application
,	O
eventually	O
leading	O
to	O
public	O
demonstrations	O
of	O
its	O
trademarked	O
"	O
Picturephone	O
"	O
product	O
in	O
the	O
1960s	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Bell	O
Labs	O
early	O
experimental	O
model	O
of	O
1930	O
had	O
transmitted	O
uncompressed	B-Device
video	I-Device
through	O
multiple	O
phone	O
lines	O
,	O
a	O
highly	O
impractical	O
and	O
expensive	O
method	O
unsuitable	O
for	O
commercial	O
use	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
1	O
)	O
had	O
public	O
evaluation	O
displays	O
at	O
Disneyland	O
and	O
the	O
1964	O
New	O
York	O
World	O
's	O
Fair	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
first	O
transcontinental	O
videocall	B-Application
between	O
the	O
two	O
venues	O
made	O
on	O
April	O
20	O
,	O
1964	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Demonstration	O
units	O
were	O
available	O
at	O
the	O
fairs	O
for	O
the	O
public	O
to	O
test	O
,	O
with	O
fairgoers	O
permitted	O
to	O
make	O
videophone	B-Application
calls	O
to	O
volunteer	O
recipients	O
at	O
other	O
locations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
United	O
States	O
would	O
not	O
see	O
its	O
first	O
public	O
videophone	B-Application
booths	O
until	O
1964	O
,	O
when	O
AT&T	O
installed	O
their	O
earliest	O
commercial	O
videophone	B-Application
units	O
,	O
the	O
Picturephone	O
"	O
Mod	O
I	O
"	O
,	O
in	O
booths	O
that	O
were	O
set	O
up	O
in	O
New	O
York	O
's	O
Grand	O
Central	O
Terminal	O
,	O
Washington	O
D.C.	O
,	O
and	O
Chicago	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
reservation	O
time	O
slots	O
and	O
their	O
cost	O
of	O
US$16	O
(	O
Washington	O
,	O
D.C.	O
,	O
to	O
New	O
York	O
)	O
to	O
$27	O
(	O
New	O
York	O
to	O
Chicago	O
)	O
(	O
equivalent	O
to	O
$118	O
to	O
$200	O
in	O
2012	O
dollars	O
)	O
for	O
a	O
three-minute	O
call	O
at	O
the	O
public	O
videophone	B-Application
booths	O
greatly	O
limited	O
their	O
appeal	O
resulting	O
in	O
their	O
closure	O
by	O
1968	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
2	O
)	O
,	O
which	O
served	O
as	O
the	O
basis	O
for	O
T	O
's	O
launch	O
of	O
the	O
first	O
true	O
video	B-Application
conferencing	I-Application
service	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unlike	O
earlier	O
systems	O
,	O
in	O
which	O
people	O
had	O
to	O
visit	O
public	O
videophone	B-Application
booths	O
,	O
any	O
company	O
or	O
individual	O
could	O
pay	O
to	O
be	O
connected	O
to	O
the	O
system	O
,	O
after	O
which	O
they	O
could	O
call	O
anyone	O
in	O
the	O
network	O
from	O
their	O
home	O
or	O
office	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
inaugural	O
video	B-Application
call	I-Application
occurred	O
on	O
June	O
30	O
,	O
1970	O
,	O
between	O
Pittsburgh	O
Mayor	O
Peter	O
Flaherty	O
and	O
Chairman	O
and	O
CEO	O
John	O
Harper	O
of	O
Alcoa	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Thirty	O
minutes	O
of	O
video	B-Application
calling	I-Application
was	O
included	O
with	O
each	O
Picturephone	O
,	O
with	O
extra	O
minutes	O
costing	O
25	O
cents	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
AT&T	O
later	O
reduced	O
the	O
price	O
to	O
$75	O
per	O
month	O
with	O
forty-five	O
minutes	O
of	O
video	B-Application
calling	I-Application
included	O
to	O
stimulate	O
demand	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Picturephone	O
's	O
video	O
bandwidth	O
was	O
1	O
MHz	O
with	O
a	O
vertical	O
scan	O
rate	O
of	O
30Hz	O
,	O
horizontal	B-General_Concept
scan	I-General_Concept
rate	I-General_Concept
of	O
8kHz	O
,	O
and	O
about	O
250	O
visible	O
scan	O
lines	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Cable	O
amplifiers	O
were	O
spaced	O
about	O
a	O
mile	O
apart	O
(	O
1.6	O
kilometres	O
)	O
with	O
built-in	O
six-band	O
adjustable	O
equalization	B-Algorithm
filters	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
distances	O
of	O
more	O
than	O
a	O
few	O
miles	O
,	O
the	O
signal	O
was	O
digitized	O
at	O
2MHz	O
and	O
3	O
bits	O
per	O
sample	O
DPCM	B-General_Concept
,	O
and	O
transmitted	O
on	O
a	O
T-2	O
carrier	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
Picturephone	O
units	O
packaged	O
Plumbicon	O
cameras	O
and	O
small	O
CRT	B-Device
displays	I-Device
within	O
their	O
housings	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
To	O
deploy	O
Picturephone	O
service	O
,	O
new	O
wideband	O
crossbar	O
switches	O
were	O
designed	O
and	O
installed	O
into	O
the	O
Bell	O
System	O
's	O
5XB	B-Device
switch	I-Device
offices	O
,	O
this	O
being	O
the	O
most	O
widespread	O
of	O
the	O
relatively	O
modern	O
kind	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Hundreds	O
of	O
technicians	O
attended	O
schools	O
to	O
learn	O
to	O
operate	O
the	O
Cable	O
Equalizer	B-Algorithm
Test	O
Set	O
and	O
other	O
equipment	O
,	O
and	O
to	O
install	O
Picturephones	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
AT&T	O
would	O
later	O
market	O
its	O
VideoPhone	B-Application
2500	O
to	O
the	O
general	O
public	O
from	O
1992	O
to	O
1995	O
with	O
prices	O
starting	O
at	O
US$	O
1,500	O
(	O
approximately	O
$	O
in	O
current	O
dollars	O
)	O
and	O
later	O
dropping	O
to	O
$	O
1,000	O
( $	O
in	O
current	O
dollars	O
)	O
,	O
marketed	O
by	O
its	O
Global	O
VideoPhone	B-Application
Systems	O
unit	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
VideoPhone	B-Application
2500	O
was	O
designed	O
to	O
provide	O
low-frame	O
rate	O
compressed	O
color	O
video	O
on	O
ordinary	O
Plain	O
Old	O
Telephone	O
Service	O
(	O
POTS	O
)	O
lines	O
,	O
circumventing	O
the	O
significantly	O
higher	O
cost	O
ADSL	O
telephone	O
service	O
lines	O
used	O
by	O
several	O
other	O
videoconferencing	B-Application
manufacturers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
VideoPhone	B-Application
2500	O
used	O
proprietary	O
technology	O
protocols	O
,	O
including	O
T	O
's	O
Global	O
VideoPhone	B-Application
Standard	O
(	O
GVS	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Despite	O
T	O
's	O
various	O
videophone	B-Application
products	O
meeting	O
with	O
commercial	O
failure	O
,	O
they	O
were	O
widely	O
viewed	O
as	O
technical	O
successes	O
which	O
expanded	O
the	O
limits	O
of	O
the	O
telecommunications	O
sciences	O
in	O
several	O
areas	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Its	O
videotelephony	B-Application
programs	O
were	O
critically	O
acclaimed	O
for	O
their	O
technical	O
brilliance	O
and	O
even	O
the	O
novel	O
uses	O
they	O
experimented	O
with	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
research	O
and	O
development	O
programs	O
conducted	O
by	O
Bell	O
Labs	O
were	O
highly	O
notable	O
for	O
their	O
beyond-the-state-of-the-art	O
results	O
produced	O
in	O
materials	O
science	O
,	O
advanced	O
telecommunications	O
,	O
microelectronics	O
and	O
information	B-General_Concept
technologies	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
T	O
's	O
published	O
research	O
additionally	O
helped	O
pave	O
the	O
way	O
for	O
other	O
companies	O
to	O
later	O
enter	O
the	O
field	O
of	O
videoconferencing	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
company	O
's	O
videophones	B-Application
also	O
generated	O
significant	O
media	O
coverage	O
in	O
science	O
journals	O
,	O
the	O
general	O
news	O
media	O
and	O
in	O
popular	O
culture	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
France	O
's	O
post	O
office	O
telecommunications	O
branch	O
had	O
earlier	O
set	O
up	O
a	O
commercial	O
videophone	B-Application
system	O
similar	O
to	O
the	O
German	O
Reichspost	O
public	O
videophone	B-Application
system	O
of	O
the	O
late	O
1930s	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1972	O
the	O
defense	O
and	O
electronics	O
manufacturer	O
Matra	O
was	O
one	O
of	O
three	O
French	O
companies	O
that	O
sought	O
to	O
develop	O
advanced	O
videophones	B-Application
in	O
the	O
early	O
1970s	O
,	O
spurred	O
by	O
T	O
's	O
Picturephone	O
in	O
the	O
United	O
States	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Studies	O
of	O
applications	O
of	O
videotelephony	B-Application
were	O
conducted	O
by	O
CNET	O
in	O
France	O
in	O
1972	O
,	O
with	O
its	O
first	O
commercial	O
applications	O
for	O
videophones	B-Application
appearing	O
in	O
1984	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
problem	O
was	O
solved	O
worldwide	O
by	O
the	O
creation	O
of	O
software	O
for	O
data	O
encoding	O
and	O
compression	O
via	O
video	B-Application
coding	I-Application
and	I-Application
decoding	I-Application
algorithms	I-Application
,	O
also	O
known	O
as	O
codecs	B-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
Sweden	O
,	O
electronics	O
maker	O
Ericsson	O
began	O
developing	O
a	O
videophone	B-Application
in	O
the	O
mid-1960s	O
,	O
intending	O
to	O
market	O
it	O
to	O
government	O
,	O
institutions	O
,	O
businesses	O
and	O
industry	O
,	O
but	O
not	O
to	O
consumers	O
due	O
to	O
T	O
's	O
lack	O
of	O
success	O
in	O
that	O
market	O
segment	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Their	O
initial	O
attempt	O
at	O
a	O
first	O
generation	O
commercial	O
videophone	B-Application
later	O
led	O
to	O
the	O
British	O
Telecom	O
Relate	O
2000	O
,	O
which	O
was	O
released	O
for	O
sale	O
in	O
1993	O
,	O
costing	O
between	O
£	O
400-	O
£500	O
each	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Its	O
second	O
generation	O
videophone	B-Application
thus	O
also	O
proved	O
to	O
be	O
commercially	O
unsuccessful	O
,	O
similar	O
to	O
T	O
's	O
VideoPhone	B-Application
2500	O
of	O
the	O
same	O
time	O
period	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
time	O
period	O
saw	O
the	O
research	O
,	O
development	O
and	O
commercial	O
roll-out	O
of	O
what	O
would	O
become	O
powerful	O
video	O
compression	O
and	O
decompression	B-General_Concept
software	I-General_Concept
codecs	B-General_Concept
,	O
which	O
would	O
eventually	O
lead	O
to	O
low	O
cost	O
videotelephony	B-Application
in	O
the	O
early	O
2000s	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Advances	O
in	O
video	O
compression	O
allowed	O
digital	O
video	O
streams	O
to	O
be	O
transmitted	O
over	O
the	O
Internet	O
,	O
which	O
was	O
previously	O
difficult	O
due	O
to	O
the	O
impractically	O
high	O
bandwidth	O
requirements	O
of	O
uncompressed	B-Device
video	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
To	O
achieve	O
Video	B-Protocol
Graphics	I-Protocol
Array	I-Protocol
(	O
VGA	B-Protocol
)	O
quality	O
video	O
(	O
480p	O
resolution	O
and	O
256	O
colors	O
)	O
with	O
raw	O
uncompressed	B-Device
video	I-Device
,	O
it	O
would	O
require	O
a	O
bandwidth	O
of	O
over	O
92Mbps	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
common	O
compression	O
technique	O
used	O
to	O
significantly	O
reduce	O
bandwidth	O
requirements	O
in	O
videotelephony	B-Application
and	O
videoconferencing	B-Application
is	O
the	O
discrete	B-General_Concept
cosine	I-General_Concept
transform	I-General_Concept
(	O
DCT	B-General_Concept
)	O
,	O
developed	O
by	O
Nasir	O
Ahmed	O
,	O
T	O
.	O
Natarajan	O
and	O
K	O
.	O
R	O
.	O
Rao	O
in	O
1973	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
DCT	B-General_Concept
algorithm	O
was	O
the	O
basis	O
for	O
the	O
first	O
practical	O
video	B-Algorithm
coding	I-Algorithm
standard	I-Algorithm
that	O
was	O
useful	O
for	O
online	O
videoconferencing	B-Application
,	O
H.261	B-Algorithm
,	O
standardised	O
by	O
the	O
ITU-T	O
in	O
1988	O
,	O
and	O
subsequent	O
H.26x	B-Application
video	B-Algorithm
coding	I-Algorithm
standards	I-Algorithm
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
promoted	O
as	O
a	O
"	O
videophone	B-Application
"	O
,	O
it	O
operated	O
similar	O
to	O
Bell	O
Labs	O
 '	O
early	O
experimental	O
image	O
transfer	O
phone	O
of	O
1956	O
,	O
transmitting	O
still	O
images	O
every	O
3	O
–	O
5	O
seconds	O
over	O
analog	O
POTS	O
lines	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Much	O
later	O
the	O
Kyocera	O
Corporation	O
,	O
an	O
electronics	O
manufacturer	O
based	O
in	O
Kyoto	O
,	O
conducted	O
a	O
two-year	O
development	O
campaign	O
from	O
1997	O
to	O
1999	O
that	O
resulted	O
in	O
the	O
release	O
of	O
the	O
VP-210	O
VisualPhone	O
,	O
the	O
world	O
's	O
first	O
mobile	O
colour	O
videophone	B-Application
that	O
also	O
doubled	O
as	O
a	O
camera	O
phone	O
for	O
still	O
photos	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
camera	O
phone	O
was	O
the	O
same	O
size	O
as	O
similar	O
contemporary	O
mobile	O
phones	O
,	O
but	O
sported	O
a	O
large	O
camera	O
lens	O
and	O
a	O
5cm	O
(	O
2	O
inch	O
)	O
colour	O
TFT	B-Device
display	I-Device
capable	O
of	O
displaying	O
65,000	O
colors	O
,	O
and	O
was	O
able	O
to	O
process	O
two	O
video	O
frames	O
per	O
second	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Significant	O
improvements	O
in	O
video	B-Application
call	I-Application
quality	O
of	O
service	O
for	O
the	O
deaf	O
occurred	O
in	O
the	O
United	O
States	O
in	O
2003	O
when	O
Sorenson	B-Application
Media	I-Application
Inc	I-Application
.	I-Application
(	O
formerly	O
Sorenson	O
Vision	O
)	O
,	O
a	O
video	O
compression	B-General_Concept
software	I-General_Concept
coding	O
company	O
,	O
developed	O
its	O
VP-100	O
model	O
stand-alone	O
videophone	B-Application
specifically	O
for	O
the	O
deaf	O
community	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
designed	O
to	O
output	O
its	O
video	O
to	O
the	O
user	O
's	O
television	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
lower	O
the	O
cost	O
of	O
acquisition	O
,	O
and	O
to	O
offer	O
remote	O
control	O
and	O
a	O
powerful	O
video	O
compression	O
codec	B-General_Concept
for	O
unequaled	O
video	O
quality	O
and	O
ease	O
of	O
use	O
with	O
a	O
video	O
relay	O
service	O
(	O
VRS	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Coupled	O
with	O
similar	O
high-quality	O
videophones	B-Application
introduced	O
by	O
other	O
electronics	O
manufacturers	O
,	O
the	O
availability	O
of	O
high	O
speed	O
Internet	O
,	O
and	O
sponsored	O
video	O
relay	O
services	O
authorized	O
by	O
the	O
U.S.	O
Federal	O
Communications	O
Commission	O
in	O
2002	O
,	O
VRS	O
services	O
for	O
the	O
deaf	O
underwent	O
rapid	O
growth	O
in	O
that	O
country	O
.	O
</s>
