Otter Mii-kun
Member
- Joined
- Aug 8, 2005
- Messages
- 81
- Reaction score
- 6
I made a poll like this very early this year on P-C
There have been many analog formats for recording sound over the past century.
CDs, DVD-A, MP3, and the like are not included since they are digital formats.
Broadcasting transmissions are also not included, nor are video formats.
The "cassette tapes" option also includes 8-track cartridges
Here's some descriptions of each of the formats (other than cassette)
Cylinders (1876-1929):
The first format introduced by Thomas Edison along with the invention of the Phonograph in the 1870s. As one of the first pratical methods for recording sound, the medium continued until 1929, when the Edison Phonograph busniess succummed. Most cylinder records are made of wax. On most of these, the grooves are recorded in "hill and dale" or vertical mode.
There was also a variant of this format, known as the "dictaphone". It died out by the 1950s and is considered obsolete.
78 RPM (1895-1960):
The first disc records and their playback system, the gramophone, invented by Emil Berliner around 1890. This format entered the mainstream market around 1900, when Berliner's company basically died out. Until the 1920's the rotational speeds were not standardized, varying between 60 and 130 RPM. By that time, the standard was 78.261 RPM in 60hz AC countries, 77.922 RPM in 50hz AC countries.
Most standard 78 RPM discs are either 10 or 12 inches in diameter. As the poll says, they are made mainly of shellac compounds, so they are very fragile and therefore, can break easily.
Most disc records are lateral cut, except for deviants like Edison Diamond Discs and early Path�s.
Unlike modern LPs and 45's the grooves on these records are much wider. Because of this, a typical 10 inch record cannot hold much more than three minutes per side. These are also known as "coarse groove" discs.
This format officially died out in the United States and UK in 1960. Some other parts of the world continued the format until the mid 1960's, however. Equipment to properly play these discs is becoming harder to find. Although there are phonograph units capable of playing at 78 RPM, they are meant for vinyl microgrooves made starting in the 1950s, (read: early Elvis Presely 78s, early-day Cameo-Parkway selections) perhaps as transistion into 45 RPM.
Vinyl 33 & 45 RPM:
The 33 1/3 RPM LP, which originated off of radio transcriptions and movie soundtrack discs, came into being from Columbia in 1948. It was intended to replace albums consisting of several 78 RPM discs. They are pressed of vinyl, which is far harder to break than shellac.
As for 45 RPM discs, they came into existence from RCA Victor a year later. Most (but not all) of these records have a larger spindle hole. The main reason is said to be a motion taken by RCA to avoid competition with Columbia. Their primary intent in the beginning was to replace the 78RPM single.
Home Recording discs:
Since the introduction of the Phonograph into the consumer market, there has been demand from consumers for recording their own records. Early attempts used blank metal discs, which consumers could record on most phonographs, and play back their "recording", without the need for a special cutting tonearm or lathe. The sound was recorded by one speaking or singing loudly near the needle so it could vibrate to record the sound. Early home recording discs were usually made of aluminum or steel. (http://www.wfmu.org/MACrec/metal.html)
Later, an improved system was introduced that used blank discs made of acetate, that had to be cut under special equipment. Most home-recording discs as people know them are of these kind. They typically run at 78 RPM, and were intended for playback on most, if not all, standard phonographs.
This method for recording is no longer considered mainstream today.
Radio Transcriptions:
Radio stations and networks could pre-record commercials, announcements, and other things to be played over the air on these discs. Like home recording discs, these are typically made of acetate (or lacquer). They run at 33 1/3 RPM, and either are started inside the disc (towards the center label) or at the edge, depending on how the disc was recorded. Many of these were cut in hill-and-dale, like Edison's cylinders.
This format is no longer in mainstream use today.
I didn't intend for the post to be this long, but there's a lot of information in this post that most people don't know, unfortunately.
There have been many analog formats for recording sound over the past century.
CDs, DVD-A, MP3, and the like are not included since they are digital formats.
Broadcasting transmissions are also not included, nor are video formats.
The "cassette tapes" option also includes 8-track cartridges
Here's some descriptions of each of the formats (other than cassette)
Cylinders (1876-1929):
The first format introduced by Thomas Edison along with the invention of the Phonograph in the 1870s. As one of the first pratical methods for recording sound, the medium continued until 1929, when the Edison Phonograph busniess succummed. Most cylinder records are made of wax. On most of these, the grooves are recorded in "hill and dale" or vertical mode.
There was also a variant of this format, known as the "dictaphone". It died out by the 1950s and is considered obsolete.
78 RPM (1895-1960):
The first disc records and their playback system, the gramophone, invented by Emil Berliner around 1890. This format entered the mainstream market around 1900, when Berliner's company basically died out. Until the 1920's the rotational speeds were not standardized, varying between 60 and 130 RPM. By that time, the standard was 78.261 RPM in 60hz AC countries, 77.922 RPM in 50hz AC countries.
Most standard 78 RPM discs are either 10 or 12 inches in diameter. As the poll says, they are made mainly of shellac compounds, so they are very fragile and therefore, can break easily.
Most disc records are lateral cut, except for deviants like Edison Diamond Discs and early Path�s.
Unlike modern LPs and 45's the grooves on these records are much wider. Because of this, a typical 10 inch record cannot hold much more than three minutes per side. These are also known as "coarse groove" discs.
This format officially died out in the United States and UK in 1960. Some other parts of the world continued the format until the mid 1960's, however. Equipment to properly play these discs is becoming harder to find. Although there are phonograph units capable of playing at 78 RPM, they are meant for vinyl microgrooves made starting in the 1950s, (read: early Elvis Presely 78s, early-day Cameo-Parkway selections) perhaps as transistion into 45 RPM.
Vinyl 33 & 45 RPM:
The 33 1/3 RPM LP, which originated off of radio transcriptions and movie soundtrack discs, came into being from Columbia in 1948. It was intended to replace albums consisting of several 78 RPM discs. They are pressed of vinyl, which is far harder to break than shellac.
As for 45 RPM discs, they came into existence from RCA Victor a year later. Most (but not all) of these records have a larger spindle hole. The main reason is said to be a motion taken by RCA to avoid competition with Columbia. Their primary intent in the beginning was to replace the 78RPM single.
Home Recording discs:
Since the introduction of the Phonograph into the consumer market, there has been demand from consumers for recording their own records. Early attempts used blank metal discs, which consumers could record on most phonographs, and play back their "recording", without the need for a special cutting tonearm or lathe. The sound was recorded by one speaking or singing loudly near the needle so it could vibrate to record the sound. Early home recording discs were usually made of aluminum or steel. (http://www.wfmu.org/MACrec/metal.html)
Later, an improved system was introduced that used blank discs made of acetate, that had to be cut under special equipment. Most home-recording discs as people know them are of these kind. They typically run at 78 RPM, and were intended for playback on most, if not all, standard phonographs.
This method for recording is no longer considered mainstream today.
Radio Transcriptions:
Radio stations and networks could pre-record commercials, announcements, and other things to be played over the air on these discs. Like home recording discs, these are typically made of acetate (or lacquer). They run at 33 1/3 RPM, and either are started inside the disc (towards the center label) or at the edge, depending on how the disc was recorded. Many of these were cut in hill-and-dale, like Edison's cylinders.
This format is no longer in mainstream use today.
I didn't intend for the post to be this long, but there's a lot of information in this post that most people don't know, unfortunately.
Last edited: