Back to the future

1972: AV Magazine launched by Maclaren Publishers as a replacement for Film User magazine, which had been published since 1946. First videocassette recorder, the Philips N1500, is launched. Video Arts releases its first training film.

1973: Sony U-matic videocassette recorders become available to the corporate market (at £625 each). Multiscreen projection starts to make an impact.

1974: Videocassette starts to take over from film for ‘sponsored film’ and training film distribution. First AV exhibition launched – AV at Work at the Metropole, Brighton. Philips shows its first videodisc system.

1975: Electrosonic launches the ES3601 twin slide projector presentation system.  Advent launches first CRT-based television projector, the Videobeam. 

1976: AV holds first video dealer summit. AV at Work exhibition moves to London. AVL shows first micro-processor based multi-projector controller, ShowPro III.

1977: VHS launches in Japan. Caribiner installs first major multi-image visitor attraction, The London Experience. First Vision Ball held.

1978: NAVA says the a-v business in the USA is worth $2.2bn and predicts it will be worth $31bn worldwide by 2000. VHS and Betamax battle hots up in the UK. International Television Association (ITVA) sets up UK chapter.

1979: Barclays Bank now has 150 corporate video playback machines in branches. Multi-image production The Association for Multi-Image (AMI) holds its first big USA event. In the UK, the new Association of Video Dealers has 40 members.

1980: First live satellite video transmissions for corporate use pioneered in the USA by Texas Instruments. Panasonic launches the Industrial VHS format and Sony launches the high band U-matic (BVU) format.

1981: Barclays now has machines in 500 branches and NatWest plans a 1,000-branch U-matic network. First computer graphics slide-making services established.

1982: First commercial videoconferencing services set up by BT, using satellite. Barco shows its first video projection system, Barcovision. 

1983. BMW installs interactive training system (based on tape) at UK dealerships. UK multi-image production worth £53m, according to the Audio Visual Association (AVA).

1984: Education funds the setting up of the National Interactive Video Centre. Corporate video production starts moving to the Betacam format. First Images multi-image festival held at The Barbican.

1985: High definition systems star at Montreux Television Symposium and vendors launch PC-based computer animation systems.

1986:  Videowalls widely used for conferences and West End musicals, such as Chess, which used 128 monitors.

1987: BBC Domesday project launches on videodisc. BISFA and the ITVA join (after a year of talks) to form the International Visual Communications Association (IVCA), headed up by Stuart Appleton.

1988: ISDN now widely available and videoconferencing tipped as the technology of the future. JVC buys Bell&Howell and launches S-VHS. Kodak shows its first portable LCD video projector.

1989: IVCA values corporate video production at £150m, growing at 20 per cent a year. Top multi-image shows use 6cm x 6cm slides and Hasselblad projectors.

1990: Retailers now using satellite to transmit business television (BTV ) to stores. IVCA values corporate video at £377m. 

1991: Recession is hitting a-v hard. Corporate video has fallen to £270m, says IVCA and CBI report. Growth areas include interactive video at the point of sale, videoconferencing (given a boost by the first Gulf War) and second-generation LCD projectors.

1992: PC-based videoconferencing over ISDN comes to the market. IBC moves to Amsterdam. LCD ‘light valves’ are launched to target the staging market, with outputs of 2,500 lumens. 

1993: Infocomm sees the launch of the first $999 portable LCD projectors. HM Prison Service trials the use of videoconferencing between jails and courtrooms. 

1994: Ford launches daily employee communications television project. At IBC, online editing changes from tape to computers. 

1995: Trade distributor Maverick is a year old and has a £7m turnover. World videoconferencing revenues quoted at £500m and expected to double in a year. TexasInstruments announces first DLP products.

1996: DVCPRO, DVCAM and Digital-S digital video formats battle for supremacy. DVD format commercially available. First SVGA projectors launched in USA. First AV Trade Convention held at Heathrow.

1997: AV’s first interactive whiteboard survey features DisplayMate, Microfield, Smart Technologies, TDS and Tegrity. PictureTel launches videoconferencing over LANs. Tandberg moves into top echelon of vcon providers. Corporate communications rental market worth £170m. 

1998: UK projector sales running at 34,000 units a year. LED light valve projectors now capable of 15,000 lumens. Consumer DVD disks and players on sale in Europe. Crestron links equipment using TC/ICP.

1999: UK a-v market tops £2bn for the first time, with 60 per cent of turnover coming from production services and production hardware. First AV Awards event runs at London’s Café Royal and Grand Prix goes to Saville AV. UK videoconferencing market worth £90m.

2000: World projector market worth $5.5bn. Business TV market peaks at 50 UK networks and 1,700 hrs of programming a year. Chancellor Gordon brown uses webcasting for first time. ICIA launches first European training courses.

2001: World sales of micro-portable projectors top 330,000. UK a-v systems market worth £200m and growing at 25 per cent pa. UK a-v market worth £2.6bn. 

2002: Vcon booms as US firms cut back on travel. UK interactive whiteboard market tops £35m. UK live event market estimated at £520m. IP videoconferencing starts to be widely adopted. 2003: Network connectivity a ‘must have’ for a-v devices, says ICIA. TescoTV trials start.

2004: Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) show launched in Geneva. 100,000 interactive whiteboards installed in UK schools. Large format flat panel displays top 230,000 units. World projector market worth $7bn. UK videoconferencing end point market reaches £100m.

2005: Digital signage booming, with 22,000 screens deployed in UK outlets and ad sales up by 80 per cent year-on-year to £19.6m. Tesco has 5,000 screens in 100 stores. UK a-v systems market worth £390m. 

2006: UK a-v market worth £2.76bn. World professional projector sales top 1m units. Blu-Ray and HD DVD go head to head. European a-v market worth Euro11bn. 

2007: World broadcast technology market worth $11.6bn. Sales of digital signage screens to corporates and education overtake sales to retail sector. World displays market tops $100bn, UK systems market worth £430m. 

2008: Olympic Games broadcast in HD. 3D projection vendors aim at corporate market. UK corporate video market worth £510m. Telepresence system sales worth $74m worldwide. Live event market worth £600m. Credit crunch starts to affect user confidence.