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Music and sound effects with motion picture
1925 - Vitaphone introduces a sound system to synchronize music and sound effects with a
motion picture; It uses a 16-inch disc turntable that is connected by gears to the
projector mechanism. Operators have to continuously adjust the synchronization of
the grooves to the picture, which was not perfect. Later the speed and size of these
discs (16-inches running at approximately 33rpm) is utilized by some radio stations
stations and netw -
Mechanical television
1926 - Scotsman John Logie Baird invents mechanical television which he calls a "Televisor",
a postcard-sized black and pink (not black and white) image with 30 scan lines running
at a flickering 12 1/2 frames per second. -
33 1/3 rpm Disk system
1926 - Bell Laboratories develops a 33 1/3 rpm disk system to synchronize a music track for
the Warner Brothers film "Don Juan" containing music composed by William Axt. This
system is similar to the Vitaphone system introduced months earlier. Both competing
systems -- the "Vitaphone system" and the "Bell/Warner Bros. system", as well as the
use of transcription discs by radio stations/networks, inspire the introduction of
33rpm disks l -
Orange Network
1927 - The NBC Pacific Coast "Orange network" debuts April 5, 1927 with its flagship station
KGO in San Francisco. -
Movie tone news
1927 - "Movie-Tone News" talking theatrical newsreels debut May 25th in New York City. -
First Electric television
1927 - On Sept. 7th -- Philo Farnsworth transmits the first "electric television" picture (about
the size of a postage stamp, an inch and a half square) in his San Francisco Laboratory. -
First music chart of preformed songs
1928 - Billboard magazine publishes its first music chart of performed songs. -
Laugh tracks used for the first time
The NBC-TV series "Hank McCune Hall" used laugh tracks from other shows on
its soundtrack since it was filmed without a studio audience, and the era of "canned
laughter" began; later that year a CBS-TV engineer named Charlie Douglas made a
device that could produce a "laugh track" using multiple tape loops, which could be
played like a "laugh organ", and began a company to supply this service to producers. -
ID jingle
The first ID jingle company to "sing-over" pre-recorded backgrounds - PAMS, Inc. is
formed in Dallas, Texas by former radio studio musician Bill Meeks on August 20, 1951. -
CBS Eye
The "CBS Eye" network logo debuts on September 10, 1951, designed by network art
director William Golden. An animated version debuted on the air on October 17th. -
Pre-recorded reel-to-reel
The first pre-recorded reel-to-reel tape (at 7 1/2 ips) is offered for sale. -
First color compatible broadcast
The First public RCA "compatible-color" TV broadcast was an episode of NBC's
"Kukla, Fran and Ollie" on August 30th; The first regularly scheduled prime-time
series in RCA compatible color was on Nov. 22nd (NBC's "Colgate Comedy Hour".) -
First color telivision sets
On March 25, the first color television sets rolled out of the RCA Victor factory
in Bloomington, Indiana; (The model CT-100 had a 12-inch screen, and a suggested
retail price of $1000. A total of 5,000 model CT-100 sets were made.) -
First Transistor Radio
The First "transistor radio" went on sale in the U.S. named The Regency TR-1
(it had 4 transistors and cost $49.99.) -
First T.V dinner
Swanson employee Gerry Thomas invents the frozen "T. V. Dinner" to get rid of extra
turkey. He received a $1000 bonus from the company and a pay increase to $300 per month.
At first the company received letters from irate husbands who wanted their wives to continue
"cooking from scratch" like their mothers. But soon the idea was widely accepted, and the
segmented aluminum dinner compartments (inspired by airline food containers) fit nicely -
NBC radio network format called MONITOR
NBC debuts a weekend radio network format called MONITOR on Sunday, June 12th,
a creation of Pat Weaver, who also created NBC's Today and Tonight Shows. -
New LP size
Larger 12" LP's overtake 10" LP's as the preferred size for long-playing records. -
First video tape
Ampex Co. of Redwood City, CA demonstrates the first videotape system in February -
NBC Peacock Logo
The "NBC Peacock" logo (symbol of compatible "Living Color") debuts in July,
designed by Fred Knapp and the NBC graphics department under John J. Graham. -
Compatible stereo disks
Compatible Stereo disks and record players are offered for sale (33 1/3 and 45rpm.) -
Solid state TV set
Sony introduces the first "solid-state" TV set, using transistors instead of vacuum tubes. -
FM gains respect
FM Stereo radio broadcasting begins and FM slowly starts to gain respect. -
Multitrack analog tape used in recording studios
Multitrack analog tape recording starts being used in recording studios. -
thesis on interactive computer graphics
Ivan Sutherland does his M.I.T. Doctoral Thesis on Interactive Computer Graphics
creating a "Sketchpad" program using an interactive light pen instead of a mouse;
which leads to the first practical uses of interactive graphics on computers. -
CASSETTES
Compact tape cassettes and players are developed by Phillips originally for dictation.
Despite a sneak preview at a Berlin fair on August 30, its "official" introduction
to the world was at Phillips headquarters in Amsterdam on September 13.
Who would have thought its use as a portable music medium would still be alive
and well in some countries 50 years later. -
first disco record on radio
Gloria Gaynor records "Never Can Say Goodbye" -- the first disco record on US radio -
First cell phone system
Martin Cooper of Motorola conceived the first cellular phone system, and led the
10-year process of bringing it to market. -
First hip hop record to reach top 40 radio
The Sugarhill Gang's "Rapper's Delight", is the first hip-hop record to reach Top 40 radio.
