Getting the message across – fast
Physics Bulletin · 1979
Transmitting a picture across the world to an electronic facsimile machine presents problems both in forming an unambiguous signal and in sending the information quickly enough. Digital coding wins over analogue in both these areas: but while it is quite possible to scan the picture from left to right and from top to bottom as a series of picture elements (or pels) and set one for black and zero for white for each pel, it is also extremely time-consuming.