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hß · NetworksCurated

Television without an aerial: 20 TV channels on the internet

Summary

In 1996 the TV magazine TV Today announced that it would transmit pictures from 20 German TV stations to the internet around the clock. At launch there was only a still image every five seconds and no sound, plus teletext offerings. Later that year the pictures were to learn to move and speak, which heise classified as the next bandwidth hog after internet telephony.

Ideas

  • A still image every five seconds was the technically feasible start of internet television in 1996.
  • Teletext could be brought onto the net as well without much bandwidth.
  • After internet telephony, video was considered the next stress test for the network.

Insights

  • New forms of media on the net often start as a heavily reduced early version of what they later become.
  • The fear of “clogged lines” accompanies every new application until the infrastructure catches up.

Facts

  • The service was to launch on 28 August 1996 with 20 German stations.
  • At first the pictures came without sound, every five seconds.

References

Critique

  • The report does not address the legal questions of redistributing broadcasters’ pictures.

Recommendations

  • Before launching a streaming service, estimate the bandwidth required per viewer and the peak load.
  • With scarce bandwidth, start with a reduced variant and scale up the quality step by step.

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