Tomorrow’s World | First Video Phone Call made in Britain (1986)
It has been a mainstay of science fiction for decades, and the Holy Grail of telecommunication for much of the twentieth century, now the video phone is a reality!
1986-02-13 19:00:00 - BBC Archive
But just how on earth do you transmit a video image through a standard copper telephone wire? The answer is by employing some extremely nifty digital compression techniques. Tomorrow's World explains.
Legend has it that when Alexander Graham Bell made the very first telephone call, to his assistant, he uttered the immortal words "Mr. Watson come here, I want to see you."
A mere 110 years later, Howard Stableford and Maggie Philbin made Britain's first video phone call, with the equally memorable line "Hello there Howard, I love your shirt!"
Originally broadcast 13 February, 1986.