Audio Recording History

1. Audio Recording History By Marten Kasselt and Matt Hinson

2. 1877 – Thomas Edison • Developed the phonograph, which recorded onto tin foil and wax • This was the first recording instrument that allowed for sound playback • Recorded the words “Mary had a little lamb” Click this!

3. 1888 – Emile Berliner • Discovered easier method of recording onto discs, which allowed for the mass production of recordings • These discs were known as “Seventy-Eights”, because they played at 78 revolutions per minute • Also created the gramophone to play his discs, which became the standard in audio recording for decades

4. 1925 – Maxfield & Harrison • Developed the Orthophonic, a device to play new records recorded by microphones, a new technology • Also used a loudspeaker, which allowed listeners to change the volume for the first time • Had much better quality Click Here! This clip from the movie “O Brother Where Art Thou” shows an early microphone

5. 1948-1949 – New Discs • In 1948, CBS Records developed long playing discs that rotated at 33.3 revolutions per minute, which tripled playing time to 10 minutes • The next year, RCA records produced a smaller disc that played at 45 revolutions per minute 1948 1949

6. 1960’s – Magnetic Tapes • Recording began on magnetic strips that were packaged into cassettes known as “8 Tracks” • Soon after came smaller packaging and better quality, simply known as “cassettes” • By the 1970’s these had taken over and marked the end of the vinyl records 8-track Cassette Tape

7. 1960’s – Magnetic Tapes (Continued)

8. 60’s & 70’s - Portability • Beginning with 8 tracks and cassettes, recording really started becoming portable • This was most notably in the automobile • The Sony Walkman was designed in 1978 • This was the precursor to recording as simple as in this clip from “Home Alone” on a Tiger Talkboy (developed in early 1990’s)

9. 1983 – Compact Discs • In 1983, the compact disc was released • It used digital recording which improved quality and eliminated many recording errors • Quickly replaced almost every single form of audio recording technology

10. 1994 – Mp3 Files • Around 1994, the actual mp3 audio file became the preferred way to store, transport, and play audio files • By 2005, there were more than 40 million mp3 players in use, and CD sales have fallen in the last 7 out of 8 years • It has become as easy to record as pressing a few buttons on a cell phone

11. Works Cited www.youtube.com http://www.soc.duke.edu/~s142tm01/history.html http://www.recording-history.org/ http://library.thinkquest.org/19537/Timeline.html www.google.com/images