Exploring the Photophone CP220 Videoconferencing System from 1985

A Look into the History of Videoconferencing

The concept of distant video calls was developed during the time when Bell's telephone company began promoting the transition from telegraphs to real-time voice calls. However, commercial solutions only became viable with the advent of digital video and real-time video compression. A notable early example is the Photophone CP220, created by Image Data Corporation in 1985.

This device is extremely rare, with an initial cost of around $25,000, adjusted for inflation. A teardown and repair showcased on the [SpaceTime Junction] channel offered a unique experience. One impressive feature is that the manual is integrated into the firmware, allowing users to navigate through it on a monochrome CRT.

Unfortunately, after a period of normal operation, the device failed, releasing a magical smoke due to the use of Rifa capacitors. As a result, a complete teardown was necessary, and the power supply was removed to replace these capacitors. After the repair, the device restarted, happily accepting a video signal and saving captures onto a floppy drive, before being replaced with an FDD emulator running FlashFloppy firmware.

Regrettably, no video call was made, likely due to the absence of a camera and the need to install an appropriate POTS line for the integrated modem. We hope to see this in a future video, to understand what ordinary people were missing out on at that time.