The pictures were grainy, the movements jerky. But when CNN transmitted live pictures by videophone of a U.S. spy plane crew taking off from Hainan to freedom on April 11, it marked a pivotal moment for television news technology. The company that makes the equipment used by CNN has since been inundated with inquiries and orders by other television news organizations and is trying to keep up with demand. The pictures were better quality than those through the videophone, but came 25 minutes afterward, a clear disadvantage in the competitive world of 24-hour news networks.
Journalists carry the videophone equipment in a box the size of a briefcase.
They use a video camera to take pictures and a small dish antenna beams the data via satellite to an earth station linked to their home office. The data is transmitted at up to 128 kilobits per second, or about twice as fast as a standard telephone modem. Eason Jordan, CNN's chief news executive, said the picture quality, or lack of it, might actually be an advantage. E-mail this story to a friend. All rights reserved.