Video

Video is an electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, which were quickly replaced by cathode-ray tube (CRT) systems which, in turn, were replaced by flat panel displays of several types. Video systems vary in display resolution, aspect ratio, refresh rate, color capabilities and other qualities. Analog and digital variants exist and can be carried on a variety of media, including radio broadcasts, magnetic tape, optical discs, , and network streaming. The word video comes from the Latin videre, meaning "I see" or "to see", with the added suffix -eo denoting to audio. Thus, it literally means "seeing audio". History of television Analog television and Videotape Video was invented decades after film, which records a sequence of miniature images visible to the eye when the film is physically examined. Video, by contrast, encodes images with electromagnetic waves. Video technology was first developed for mechanical television systems, which were quickly replaced by cathode-ray tube (CRT) television systems. Video was originally exclusively a live technology. Charles Ginsburg led an Ampex research team developing one of the first practical video tape recorders (VTR). In 1951, the first VTR captured live images from television cameras by writing the camera's electrical signal onto magnetic videotape. Video recorders were sold for US$50,000 in 1956, and videotapes cost US$300 per one-hour reel. However, prices gradually dropped over the years; in 1971, Sony began selling videocassette recorder (VCR) decks and tapes into the consumer market. Digital video Digital television and Video coding format Digital video is capable of higher quality and, eventually, a much lower cost than earlier analog technology. After the invention of the DVD in 1997, and later the Blu-ray Disc in 2006, sales of videotape and recording equipment plummeted.