By Andrew Cross, president of global research and development at Vizrt
Jenny Priestley 2 days ago
By Andrew Cross, president of global research and development at Vizrt
target=_blank title=Share on LinkedIn class=share-linkedin> By Andrew Cross, president of global research and development at Vizrt
https://www.tvbeurope.com/features/sdvs-telegraph-road title=Share via Email class=share-email>
those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future. John F Kennedy
The future isn't on the horizon, it is well underway. Sitting in our chairs, comfortably immersed in the 21st century, it is all too easy to overlook an incredible revolution changing the world before our very eyes. We can be left behind on the curb wondering what just happened, or ride along as passengers; but do we have an opportunity to take the steering wheel and be part of the transformation.
Let's look back over relatively recent history to gain a wider perspective.
#1 Telegraph Road
Commercial use of the telegraph arrived around 1830. Before that, long-distance communication technology involved dispatch riders and carrier pigeons. We fervently hoped our messages arrived in time, and learned of remote events belatedly if ever. With the magic of the telegraph, messages traversed thousands of miles at virtually the speed of light, even thousands of miles at virtually the speed of light.
Important news and ideas spread like wildfire. It took about 80 years for the telegraph to arrive in the furthest corners of the world, available to nearly every social strata and human pursuit.
This changed the course of history, by delivering a better, more accurate story. We learned of news shortly after it happened, often from multiple sources and in more detail. This changed our reality, affecting our views and actions.
#2 Phoning Home
The next big revolution arrived in the early 1900s.
The telegraph required specialist skills and necessitated a trip to the telegraph office but the telephone allowed anyone to talk and talk back! No longer forced to accept the story as told, we ask questions, discuss details, debate meaning. Since we do so in real-time, the story (or our story) can affect events even as they unfold.
Still, again it took about 80 years before the telephone was a common fixture in most homes. (Despite its wireless advantages, cost and complexity prevented tow-way radio from enjoying a similar adoption.)
Looking back, we see that while the telegraph has been relegated to period dramas, and radio serves only niche applications, the telephone still dominates technological and societal change well over a century later.
#3 The Video Revolution
During the 1950s and 60s we see the rise of television. The 80s and 90s bring personal computing, and the internet.
Accelerated commoditisation delivered these to the masses quickly, over just about four decades. We could argue, though, that compared to the telephonic revolution these play only a supporting role.
The romantic notion many have of The Golden Era of Television', the family basking happily in the glow of a cathode ray tube is really only relevant in the affluent West. As you read this, the majority of the global viewing audience is watching television' on their mobile phones. In this respect, the development of television or the internet that the western world were not the big revolutions often claimed. While they played a role in bringing us to this day, TV, personal computing and the Internet didn't even reach much of the world until the mobile revolution.
Leveraging those advances, mobile' conquered the planet as its devices appeared in every home, hut, pocket and purse.
It's easy enough to identify earlier technical revolutions in hindsight. It is harder to recognise them in their infancy.
We must look deeper to see past countless lesser glitzy details vying for our attention to understand where it's all leading. While significant milestones, rolling out thousands of miles of copper across the seabeds, converting analogue data to zeros and ones by the trillion, and building Clouds to store them all in were not in themselves revolutionary. These were just the building blocks of real transformation. Having laid these foundation cornerstones, what did we erect on it?
#4 A Technology Convergence
In less than a decade beginning around 2010, the confluence of computing power, broadband networks, and software providing stunning integrated video production tools led to this singular moment, when almost anyone in the world can broadcast their story in the blink of an eye using the fastest, most impactful form of communication ever devised (we communicate most effectively face-to-face and visually, evaluating subtle cues impossible to sense when merely hearing or reading humans have literally evolved to communicate face-to-face).
The majority of mankind can now explore the universe and its wonders better and faster than the best-equipped scientists of even the recent past. You can watch your kids play football when far from home, and they can be in their grandparent's daily lives even when oceans separate them. Teenagers in many lands not only have a TV and a camera in their pocket, but are broadcasters with their own personal TV network. And the resulting explosion of content is profoundly affecting our understanding of the world.
(Admittedly this also raises some concerns. It can be a big challenge to distinguish fake news' from truth. And as we have seen, this really matters, because the medium is so potent that the stories directly shape societies, for better or worse.)
Note closely, please, the greatly accelerated pace of this latter revolution. It took many decades and nation-sized budgets to lay wire for the global telephone system under oceans and over mount
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
09/10/2026
September 10 2026, 06:00 (PDT) Dolby Expands Dolby OptiView Platform with New Capabilities at IBC 2026
New Sports Intelligence helps providers better unders...
07/10/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...
29/09/2026
Oak View Group (OVG) has announced Cisco as an Official Technology Partner, with plans to standardize infrastructure across its venue network on Cisco solutions...
29/09/2026
SportsNet Pittsburgh (SNP) won three honors at the 2026 Mid-Atlantic Emmy Awards.
Program awards went to Bucs BP in the Sports Program Live category (produced ...
29/09/2026
The Professional Women's Hockey League has announced home openers for all 12 teams for the 2026-27 season, along with a broadcast partnership with CBC under...
29/09/2026
Manifold technologies has been recognized as a contributor to the Media eXchange...
29/09/2026
FuboTV has announced My Local Sports, allowing subscribers in select markets to add their local regional sports network (RSN) as an add-on to a Fubo Sports subs...
29/09/2026
Asian News International (ANI), a wire agency and video news provider based in India, has deployed Grass Valley's AMPP Media Operating System and Framelight...
29/09/2026
South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) has deployed Ikegami UHK-X600 cameras as part of an upgrade to IP-based production infrastructure. The deployment ...
29/09/2026
REMI, REMCO models will drive the bulk of the broadcaster's NHL productions ...
29/09/2026
Three years in, the facility is supporting more centralized race production, com...
29/09/2026
NBC, Peacock, and NBSN are carrying all four Wild Card series with a production ...
29/09/2026
19 Nonfiction Projects Across All Stages of Production to Receive More Than $1 million in Support as Documentary Film Program Approaches 25th Anniversary
LOS ...
29/09/2026
Two new plug-ins launch alongside updated bundles
Zynaptiq have just announced the launch of two new plug-ins, alongside new and improved versions of two of...
29/09/2026
All-in-one bus processor revealed
Wes Audio's ng product range has come a long way since it was first introduced, and now includes a tasty selection of ...
29/09/2026
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({ content_source:......
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Ikegami announces that the South African Broadcasting Corporation, SABC, has chosen Ikegami UHK-X600 camera systems as part of an advance to IP-based operation ...
29/09/2026
Blendkit Offers 20% Discount to Celebrate Crossing 150K Asset Milestone
Brie Clayton September 29, 2026
0 Comments
Blendkit, the largest 3D asset libr...
29/09/2026
Interactive streaming specialist Ease Live supported more than 76.5 million fan sessions across three major European media operators during this summers FIFA Wo...
29/09/2026
Ease Live has added support for VAST (Video Ad Serving Template) to its graphical overlay technology, opening up new ways for broadcasters, streamers and rights...
29/09/2026
Rise AV has announced the launch of the inaugural Rise AV Awards, a new global awards programme celebrating the women, advocates and organisations across the AV...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Clear-Com announced that First Baptist Nashville has upgraded its production communications with a Clear-Com intercom solution as part of a comprehensive sanct...
29/09/2026
Blackmagic Cinema Camera 6K Captured Action Shots for Sketch
Brie Clayton September 28, 2026
0 Comments
Camera's portable design and dynamic range...
29/09/2026
Kean Production Services Deploys AJA ColorBox to Deliver Consistent, Accurate Co...
29/09/2026
Berklee Alumni and Faculty Nominated for the 2026 Latin Grammy Awards A total of 28 Berklee alumni and faculty earned nominations across 20 categories this ye...
29/09/2026
Berklee's K-Pop & Beyond Explores Connections Between K-Pop and Hip-Hop Now in its fifth year, the series brings together artists, industry leaders, and s...
29/09/2026
We tend to think we live in a digital world, with hopes and fears around artificial intelligence (AI), quantum computing, data centres and the next big technolo...
29/09/2026
Today, in partnership with the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), Apple relea...
29/09/2026
Final Cut Camera, the professional filming app for iPhone, receives a major upda...
29/09/2026
RT lyric fm is proud to announce the annual Choirs for Christmas competition callout. Warm up those vocal chords and join us on RT lyric fm for a celebration ...
28/09/2026
The NHL has announced Adobe as an Official Creative, Marketing and AI Partner beginning with the 2026-27 season. The partnership will provide the league and its...
28/09/2026
MultiDyne will exhibit at CABSAT 2026 (October 5-7, Dubai Exhibition Centre), showcasing an expanded technology portfolio following its June 2026 acquisition of...
28/09/2026
ARRI and HONOR have announced the HONOR Magic9 Pro Max, a flagship smartphone carrying ARRI branding on the device and packaging as the first product-level expr...
28/09/2026
Net Insight has added the Nimbra 1020G to its pan-Asian live media trial network, giving customers and partners in the region a way to evaluate ST 2110 and JPEG...
28/09/2026
Vindral has been named a recipient of a 2026 Technology and Engineering Emmy Award by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences in the category of We...
28/09/2026
Interra Systems will exhibit at CABSAT 2026 (Stand B2-37, Dubai Exhibition Centre, October 5-7), demonstrating its BATON QC platform, ORION monitoring solutions...
28/09/2026
Two years into its new production facility, the TOUR is expanding centralized wo...
By Andrew Cross, president of global research and development at Vizrt
