Record formats ...

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Record formats ...

Postby Hugh-AR » 15 Jun 2019 23:08

As I was growing up, we had 78rpm records (made of shellac). Then came vinyl records, with 45rpm records (Singles) and the LP (Long Play) which spun at 33⅓rpm. And I remember EPs (Extended Play). These were 7" in diameter, had a couple of songs on each side, and were also played at 33⅓rpm. And I was aware too that the first practical sound recording and reproduction device was the mechanical phonograph cylinder, invented by Thomas Edison in 1877.

But I had no idea that there were other record 'formats' going around which didn't really catch on.



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Re: Record formats ...

Postby Hugh-AR » 15 Jun 2019 23:29

The other two recording/playback devices I had (Mixers) used Cassette Tape and Mini Disk. Cassette Tape had some 'Shhhh' behind the recordings (not ideal for recording music), whereas Mini Disk recordings were 'digital' and didn't suffer from this problem. And then there were CDs. In the early days it wasn't really possible to make one's own CDs of music, whereas it was easy to do this with the Mini Disk. I am sure this is why the music industry made sure the Mini Disk didn't succeed. They didn't like people being able to make 'copies' of the music they marketed. These days of course we can 'make' a CD relatively easily.

Cassettes - better than you don't remember
Note: This video plays for 22mins



MiniDisc - An Appreciation
Note: This video plays for 45mins



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Re: Record formats ...

Postby dragon » 16 Jun 2019 09:17

Interesting and mainly new to me. .. Fred
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Re: Record formats ...

Postby Hugh-AR » 17 Jun 2019 00:51

So far we haven't mentioned those 'reel to reel' tape players/recorders.

Comment by Techmoan:
Is Reel to Reel the new Vinyl? Short answer: No. Long answer: It's complicated - Press Play.
In this video I'll be playing pre-recorded tapes from 1957 & 2017 The first half concentrates on the history & background, and the second moves onto the current day and the most expensive pre-recorded music format available for the home.

The most expensive music format (in the world)
Note: This video plays for 28 minutes



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Re: Record formats ...

Postby Rev Tony Newnham » 17 Jun 2019 08:58

Hi

I think I've got a couple of pre-recorded open reel tapes lurking somewhere - not seen them for a while, so they're probably in a box
somewhere.

Talking about recording formats, there were 2 attempts to replace the compact cassette - Digital Audio Tape (DAT) by Sony, and another format by Phillips whose name escapes me at present. The Phillips one looked very similar to ordinary cassettes, and the players could replay them. DAT has more in common with video recording, the tapes are a little smaller than compact cassettes. It became a widely used professional format (I used it for a series of recordings of the Rye Wurlitzer that I made many years ago). I still have a handful of DAT tapes of things I've recorded, but no means of playing them.

Another failed format - again by Sony, was Elcassette. The tapes looked like overgrown compact cassettes, running at 3 3/4 ips (twice the speed of ordinary cassettes). Reputedly, the quality was very good. I saw a couple of decks in a shop back in the 1970's, but have never used one.

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Re: Record formats ...

Postby Hugh-AR » 25 Aug 2019 21:18

Here's an interesting one. A very unusual 'ear'y' cassette tape.

It’s not a cassette - so what is it?



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Re: Record formats ...

Postby Hugh-AR » 25 Aug 2019 21:34

And here's a format that was supposed to replace the 'Audio Cassette Tape' with a 'digital' equivalent, in much the same way that CDs were a 'digital' format of 45rpm & 33⅓rpm records.

Digital Audio Tape: The one DAT got away



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