Naturally, the more time allowed to transmit more picture information, the more detail is delivered to the receiving location. To put this into a clearer perspective, when a normal television picture is viewed, the picture is being dissected, within a few hundredths of a second, into more than 100,000 picture elements. This means that the electrical impulses corresponding to the picture elements must pass through the channel at a rate of several million per second. Moreover, the picture content may vary from simple close up shots having little fine detail to comprehensive distant scenes in which the limiting detail comes into play, the actual rate of transmitting the picture information varies from time to time, from a few impulses per second to several million per second. Video compression is the reason this incredible data rate can occur and still make videoconference meetings happen at a reasonable cost and with high quality performance.
Video compression has a wider range of impact than just videoconference meetings.
The use of video compression means that multiple television channels could now be squeezed into one broadcast channel. The 6 MHz. The video compression technology will make the 500 channel universe a reality to cable systems, offering many more cable channels where there was only one. Finally, in the entertainment field, video compression algorithms bring high definition television closer to the world market. HDTV required a bandwidth much larger than the 6 MHz required for normal television bandwidth requirements.