The First 'Private' Video Call Happened 50 Years Ago

It is a known fact that video calling has become widespread with 3G technology and has become one of the standard technologies. Alright your first video call Do you know when it was made? We can guarantee it's much older than you think. 

An American telecommunications company that once merged with the Bell Telephone Company, founded by Graham Bell, also known as the inventor of the telephone. AT&Tintroduced the first video calling phone at the 1964 New York World's Fair in Disneyland. picturephoneHe announced.

As you can imagine, the Picturephone was one of the revolutionary products of its time. However, with Picturephone you can only access New York, Washington D.C. and you could make calls from stations in Chicago and 3 minutes for a meeting 16 dollars You had to pay ($132 in today's money).

The fact that access to Picturephone was difficult and the calls were very expensive prevented Picturephone from becoming popular. However, AT&T did not give up on its project. Picturephone IIintroduced and the second generation video phone was built in companies' own facilities. video calling system It allowed him to set up.

Performed with Picturephone II first video call, between Pittsburgh mayor Pete Flaherty and Alcoa president John Harper 30 June 1970 It took place on . So yes, the first 'private' video call from today 50 years ago It had happened.

The first video call made with Picturephone II was also first commercial video call Because it was recorded, you can understand the seriousness of the meeting in the video below from the number of suits.

AT&T monthly for Picturephone II $30 set a subscription fee. With this subscription, which is equivalent to $ 198 in today's money, you can 30 minutes video call You could make it happen. Yes, 50 years ago, the cost of a 30-minute video call was on par with today's entry-to-midrange smartphones.

Video of the first video call with Picturephone II