How Edison Got His Groove Back - KQED QUEST

Researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory are pioneering a new way to recover 100-year-old recordings. Found on fragile wax cylinders and early lacquer records, the sounds reveal a rich acoustic heritage, including languages long lost.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• pbs
• kqed
• wax
• cylinders
• edison
• engineering
• audio
• sound

[sn1pe352]

I know how Edison got his groove back

By ripping off Nikola Tesla and using him as a tool, i sincerely doubt edison ever had an original idea

brings me back to "war of the currents" and Edisons repugnant propaganda...one day you academicians will stop perpetuating ignorance and take notice of great minds like Nikola Tesla,Walter Russell,Viktor Schauberger,John Worrell Keely etc etc

but hey these arguments arent constructive and what do I know,i'm justa lonely illiterate with 0 credentials

[riqzster]

Part 5 of 5

The entire symposium was recorded on 7" reels of 1/4" analog tape by one of the University students who was working in the audio archive -- a rather self-assured fellow who made many remarks of his own, including one that extolled the RCA Victor Vintage Series of LP's. If anyone would like to hear that symposium, it is probably available through the Belfer Archive at Syracuse University.

[riqzster]

Part 4 of 5

As I look back on it, it was a very historic occasion -- for many reasons too numerous to mention here -- although none of us seemed to realize it at the time. Among the many scientific/scholarly types present was Peter Carl Goldmark, who was killed in an automobile accident almost exactly one month later.

[riqzster]

Part 3 of 5

At one point, one of the attendees stood up and said something to the effect, "Isn't it interesting that nobody here has brought up the subject of quadrophonic sound reproduction?" (silent pause) "And I'm sorry to be the one who did." As he sat down, everyone broke out laughing, and the next question was entertained.

[riqzster]

Part 2 of 5

Some of the ideas that were tossed around during that symposium involved as-yet untried audio preservation techniques. One of those present suggested the photographing of lateral-cut discs on high-resolution film. Digital technology was on the horizon, and it was briefly discussed -- but nobody foresaw the revolution that lie just around the corner.

[riqzster]

Part 1 of 5

This video is of particular interest to me because I foresaw this technology, as applied to lateral-cut discs, while my mind wandered during a session of the 1993 ARSC convention that was held in Chicago (arsc-audioDOTorg). On November 4 and 5, 1977, Walter L. Welch arranged a symposium at Syracuse University to commemorate the phonograph centenary.

[riqzster]

@lumabi25 Don't lose any sleep over it. Everything, everywhere, that has ever occurred has been, and continues to be, recorded; and nothing will ever be lost.  I'm not trying to discourage the type of work herein described. Quite the contrary! You earthlings just don't know what a real library is -- yet . . .

[lumabi25]

I think I've seen a similar story elsewhere and it's very interesting. What these guys are doing is certainly worthwhile, and by the look of it, they need to act quickly before the cylinders disintegrate, just like a lot of early films sadly.

[freemind89]

wow thats some high qualitiy documentary

[anmoose]

This is absolutely fascinating!