The video communications decade

Video entertainment in the home grew tremendously during the 1970s and 1980s, but the 1990s will be the video communications decade. The video material — coordinated images and sound — will move from mostly passive presentation to interactive origination and selection. The technology and infrastructure that already support all modern telecommunications will be used to communicate this video material to homes and businesses for personal, business, educational, and entertainment use. This paper provides an overview of some of the image- and sound-compression standards, components, and AT&T products and services that will enable the video communications decade to occur. Greater detail is presented elsewhere in this issue of the AT&T Technical Journal.