Christopher Wilkie remained in prison while his case was heard at the Court of Criminal Appeal in Edinburgh with video conferencing technology used for the first time to allow him to follow proceedings at a distance.
A split screen showed the judges and clerk, the lawyers taking part in the appeal and Wilkie, 23, in a room in Glasgow's Barlinnie prison.
Wilkie was seated behind a desk accompanied by an off-screen prison officer but stood as the judges entered the court.
He was originally jailed for 40 months after being found guilty of a serious assault to the danger of his victim's life but had his prison term cut to 16 months after his conviction was altered.
Up until now prisoners appealing against convictions or sentences are brought into the dock for their cases.
Wilkie originally stood trial at Dundee Sheriff Court earlier this year charged with assaulting Paul Scroggie in the city on November 1 last year. It was alleged he had pursued Mr Scroggie, kicked and punched him and stabbed him with scissors or similar instrument to the danger of life.
The jury deleted the allegations Wilkie kicked or stabbed the victim but left in the aggravations of serious injury and danger to life.
Chris Fyffe, defending, said the verdict of the jury was one which no reasonable jury properly directed could return and asked the appeal judges to substitute a lesser charge of assault to injury.
Mr Fyffe said that the only injuries that could be categorised as severe or posing a danger to life were stab injuries suffered by the victim.
Lord Carloway, sitting with Lord Mackay and Lord Brodie, said they had little difficulty in substituting a conviction for assault to injury.
