Recording: Technology & Industry

Early Times Oral Tradition –Prone to inaccuracies Written Language

Phonautograph Developed by Leon Scott, 1857 Directed sound through horn to diaphragm Scratched sound waves on rotating cylinder

Ear Phonautograph Experiment by Alexander Graham Bell Used actual human ear to capture sound

Phonograph / Graphophone Thomas Edison, 1877 Scratched sound waves onto cylinder coated in wax paper Originally marketed to replace handwriting, but popularized for entertainment Competition catalyzed improvement and commercialization

Phonograph / Graphophone

Magnetic Tape Easier to edit Lower production cost Conducive to automobile/portability

Cassettes Popularized by advent of stereo sound Dolby’s hiss-reduction technology Greater storage capacity

Digital Recording Predecessor: The Laserdisc Compact discs –Introduced in the 1980’s but not popularized until the 90s –Information processed by shooting a laser through a polycarbonate layer and observing the change in pit depths to read binary data Digital Formats: mp3

Recording Today CDs –Storage Capacity: MB / 74.5 min –Low production cost –Digital format enables searching mechanisms –Usable for all types of data recording

Recording Today DVD – Digital Video Disc –Storage Capacity: 4.7 GB (25x CD capacity) –More accurate lens = more pits Mp3 –Encoding allows for selectable tradeoff between quality and size –File sharing more feasible –Increased portability: Users have 1000s songs at fingertips

Current Issues Censorship –Debate over acceptable content –No current laws, but independent agencies (ESRB) and corporate policy (Walmart) Copyright –Ease of file sharing –RIAA: aggressive legislative campaign

Future of Recording High Density Tape Drives –Hitachi: 230 Gb/square in = 20 Gb – 1 Tb on 3.5in disk Holographic Media –Uses intersecting signal/reference beams to store data in 3D binary image –5 ¼ in disk: 1.6 Tb (63x DVD) Democratization of editing and production utilities –Personal computers able to run large-scale editing software –Rewritable media allows full production ability for almost anyone –File Sharing technology makes music available at no cost on a global scale