The potential data base for electronic processing has recently been enlarged significantly to include static and dynamic visual information. Emergence of the videodisk and other technology now enables computer-assisted instruction to be audiovisual and audiovisual communication to be interactive. One consequence, now that audiovisual display has been wedded to computer systems, is that computer-assisted instruction (CAI) in many medical subjects should no longer be considered acceptable unless it includes pictorial data. Therefore, the computer scientist must now master the principles and become knowledgeable in the skills of audiovisual communication to cope successfully with the impending revolution in education and to make good use of the newly available technology. Similarly, in planning storage and retrieval systems, images must be considered as part of the data. This presentation traces the development of interactive multimedial self-instruction by describing the innovative functions that have appeared in equipment during the past 13 years culminating in the QuadraSync. The low cost of some of these devices encourages their adoption.