Footage from 1950s shows precursor to the video phone

We may take it for granted now, but only a few decades ago the ability to see a person through a phone was a novelty.

Now, fascinating footage from the 1950s has resurfaced that shows the amazement the public felt at what appears to be a very early precursor to the video phone. 

The clip was taken in a Bell Labs office in San Francisco and features a woman using a phone that cost £33,000 ($46,000) in today’s money.

The footage was part of a newsreel in 1955 and shows the woman using a dial-up phone with two small screens in front of her.

The male commentator notes that the video phone provides a reason for women to spend time ‘primping’ before making calls.

 

Fascinating footage from the 1950s showing what appears to be a very early precursor to the video phone has resurfaced this week

The woman can be seen in one of the screens and, after adjusting her make-up and dialling the required number, a man suddenly appears on the other screen picking up the receiver at the other end of the line.

The two then proceed to have a short conversation before hanging up. 

The video phone, which was made by Bell Labs, was at the cutting edge back in 1955.

The footage shows a large crowd gathered round to witness the first test of the innovative technology at the western electronics’ convention.

And, in a sexist way that was typical of the time period, the narrator explains exactly how the system operated to the audience.

‘How does it work?’ he asks rhetorically. 

HISTORY OF THE VIDEO PHONE

The first public demonstration of a one-way videophone happened in 1927. 

It was between Herbert Hoover – the US secretary of commerce – and officials of the American Telephone & Telephone company in Washington.  

In 1955 a phone made by Bell Labs would cost $5,000 (£3,600).

That would be the equivalent of roughly $46,000 (£33,000) in today’s money.

By 1956 Bell Labs had created an early videophone that could be used over existing telephone circuits. 

In 1963 engineers developed a first complete experimental videophone known as a Picturephone.

By 1971 a second-generation Picturephone was in public service. 

It was designed to be a complete system that could support two-way video communication over telephone circuits.

The Picturephone used video transmission similar to that used in television broadcasting, writes Britannica.

The screen was 5.5 by 5 inches (14 by 12.5cm).

It had a free-standing microphone and a separate video display.

Eventually AT&T decided that the videophone would be nothing more than a ‘concept looking for a market’. 

In the late 1970s it was discontinued.

‘Just lift the receiver and you see your own image. This feature’s for the girls, at long last a reason for the primping that usually precedes a women’s phone call.

‘No picture is transmitted over the line though since no call is placed.

‘Then dial your number just as with an obsolete old ’55 model phone, and when your party answer*there he is, almost as big as life on the ten-inch video screen.’

The narrator goes on to explain that the phone, while certainly impressive, would cost $5,000 (£3,600) back in 1955.

The clip, taken as part of a newsreel in 1955, is taken in a technology laboratory in San Francisco using a phone that cost a whopping £33,000 ($46,000) in today's money

The clip, taken as part of a newsreel in 1955, is taken in a technology laboratory in San Francisco using a phone that cost a whopping £33,000 ($46,000) in today’s money

The footage shows that the idea for face-to-face conversations over the phone predated those from multinational companies such as Apple, Samsung and Sony

The footage shows that the idea for face-to-face conversations over the phone predated those from multinational companies such as Apple, Samsung and Sony

That would be the equivalent of roughly $46,000 (£33,000) in today’s money.

It would be some years before the technology became both portable and affordable, though most mobile phones today have the ability to make video calls.

The first public demonstration of a one-way videophone happened in 1927. 

It was between Herbert Hoover – the US secretary of commerce – and officials of the American Telephone and Telephone company in Washington.

By 1956 Bell Labs had created an early videophone that could be used over existing telephone circuits.

In 1963 engineers developed a first complete experimental videophone known as a Picturephone.

By 1971 a second-generation Picturephone was in public service.

It features a woman sat down at a huge computer desk with a dial-up phone and two small screens sat directly in front of her

It features a woman sat down at a huge computer desk with a dial-up phone and two small screens sat directly in front of her

The video phone was at the cutting edge back in 1955, with a large crowd gathered round to witness the first test of the innovative technology at the western electronics' convention

The video phone was at the cutting edge back in 1955, with a large crowd gathered round to witness the first test of the innovative technology at the western electronics’ convention

It was between Herbert Hoover - the US secretary of commerce - and officials of the American Telephone & Telephone company in Washington. Pictured is a second-generation AT&T Picturephone in public service in 1972 - 73

It was between Herbert Hoover – the US secretary of commerce – and officials of the American Telephone & Telephone company in Washington. Pictured is a second-generation AT&T Picturephone in public service in 1972 – 73



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