The invention of recording sound, video and data on magnetic media has allowed for all kinds of information to be saved. The world has largely moved on to flash/NAND based storage which allow for a flexibility on formats – the main limitation is not what type of data it can hold but the capacity.
Over 100 years worth of ‘magnetic media’ has brought thousands of proprietary storage formats which has left a legacy of incompatibility and urgency in digitising what is left.
The IEEE Press have a book on the standards and how the technology evolved from war-time data storage, Bing Crosby Enterprises developing better audio recording standards, right through to high definition TV broadcasts which were state of the art at time of publication (1999).
Open the Google Drive link pinned to the homepage and search “Magnetic Recording – The First 100 Years.pdf”. Highly recommended reading!
Contents include:
Contents
Acknowledgments xv Contributors xvii
Chapter 1 Introduction 1
C. Denis Mee and Eric D. Daniel
The Growth of Magnetic Recording 1 The Four Enduring Product Formats 2 ALookattheFuture 4
AUDIO RECORDING
Chapter 2 The Magnetic Recording of Sound 6 Mark H. Clark
Oberlin Smith’s Idea 7
Making Magnetic Recording Work 10 Biasing Techniques 11
Media and Head Design 11 Applications 13
Impact 13
References 14
Chapter 3 The Telegraphone 15 Mark H. Clark and Henry Nielsen
Inventing the Telegraphone 15
vii
viii
Contents
Research, Development, and the German Partnerships The Paris Exhibition 18
ConflictinGermany 21
A New Danish Strategy 22
Negotiations with American Investors 23 The American Telegraphone Company 24 Conclusion 28
References 29
Chapter 4 Steel Tape and Wire Recorders 30 Mark H. Clark
Germany 30
The United Kingdom 33 The United States 37
BellTelephoneLaboratories 38
The Brush Development Company 39 The Armour Research Foundation 41
Sweden 43 Japan 44 References 45
Chapter 5 The Introduction of the Magnetophon Friedrich K. Engel
TheBirthofCoatedMagneticTape 47 FritzPfleumer’sInvention 47
The Entry of AEG 49
17
Joint Development of the Magnetophon Recorder and Tape 50 BASFJoinstheTeam 50
TheFirstExperimentalTapeRecorder 50 EduardSchiiller’sInventionoftheRingHead 51
The Development of Coated Tape 52
Improved Laboratory Recorders 53
The Name Magnetophon Is Chosen 54 TheFourthLabModel 55 TheFirstProductionTapeRecorder:MagnetophonK1 56
The Debut of the Magnetophon Tape Recorder 56 TheMagnetophonGoesintoProduction 58
Magnetite Replaces Carbonyl Iron 58
From Magnetophon K1 to Magnetophon K4 60 The Magnetophon Pays a Brief Visit to America 60 APromisingNewOxide:GammaFerricOxide 60
The Main Users of the Magnetophon 61
The Magnetophon’s Recording Performance 62 The Big Leap in Quality: AC Bias Recording 63 Wartime Developments 65
A New Tape Base Material: PVC 65
AEG and BASF Launch Magnetophon GmbH 66
47
Contents ix
Postwar Developments 67
The Birth of the Consumer Market 70 Sources 70
Chapter 6 Building on the Magnetophon 72 Beverley R. Gooch
CoatedTapeDevelopmentintheUnitedStates 73 Early Experiments 73
Tape Improvements 74
Consumer Recorders 76
The Brush Mail-A-Voice 76
The Brush Soundmirror 77 TheExpandingConsumerMarket 79
Semiprofessional Recorders: The Magnecorders 80 Ampex Professional Recorders 83
The Origins of Ampex 83 TheDevelopmentoftheModel200 84 TheIntroductionoftheModel200 87
Other Professional Recorders 89 Conclusion 90
References 90
Chapter 7 Product Diversification 92 Mark H. Clark
Professional Audio Recording 93 High-QualityRecordersforBroadcastUse 93 MasterRecordersforStudioUse 93 MultitrackRecordersforPopularMusic 94
Consumer Audio Recording 96
Open-Reel Recorders 96
The8-TrackCartridge 98
Early Tape Cassettes 101
Introduction of the Philips Compact Cassette 102 Licensing Tactics 103
Cassette Tape Improvements 104 Electronic Noise Reduction 105 DuplicationofPrerecordedCassettes 106 Other Cassette Applications 107
Conclusions 108 References 109
Chapter 8 The History of Digital Audio 110 John R. Watkinson
Principles of Digital Audio 110 Advantages of Digital Audio 114 Digital Audio Recording Principles 115
Practical Digital Recorders 118
Digital Audio Based on a Hard Disk 119 Stationary-Head Digital Audio Recording 119 Rotary-Head Digital Audio Recording 120 Conclusions 122
References 122
VIDEO RECORDING
Chapter 9 The Challenge of Recording Video 124 Frederick M. Remley
The Nature of Video Signals 125 AddingColortoTelevision 126
Recording Video Signals on Film 127
Magnetic Video Recording: Early Experiments 129
The First Broadcast-Quality Magnetic Video Recorder 130 Video Recorders for Home Use 131
Operational Factors Affecting Video Recorder Design 131 Television Production Requirements for Recording Systems 132
Television Production Processes 132
Program Exchange and Recording Standards 133 Summary 135
References 136
Chapter 10 Early Fixed-Head Video Recorders 137 Finn Jorgensen
The Main Players 137
Approaches to Recording a Black-and-White Video Improved Recorders Appear in 1954, with Color 144 Technology Advances, 1947-1956 145
BetterTapeHandling 146
True Phase Equalization atHigh Frequencies 147 Improved Heads 148
From the Mid-1950s to Now 148 Acknowledgments 151 References 152
Chapter 11 The Ampex Quadruplex Recorders 153 John C. Mallinson
Early Rotary-Head Video Recorder Attempts 154 The First Quadruplex Recorder (VRX-1000) 155 Subsequent Developments 160 —
The VR-1000 160
The VR-2000 162
Related Developments 165
The Videofile 165
The Tera-Bit Memory 166
Signal 141
Contents
Contents
xi
The Digital Cassette Recording System (DCRS) The Demise of Quadruplex Video Recorders Conclusions 168
Acknowledgments 168
References 169
vd 167!
Chapter 12 Helical-Scan Recorders for Broadcasting 170 Hiroshi Sugaya
Video Recorders for Educational and Institutional Use 170 The Beginning of Competition for the Ampex Quad Recorder The First Helical-Scan Recorder to Replace the Quad Recorder A Broadcast Video Recorder for Electronic News Gathering
173 175
177
Competition in the Broadcast Video Recorder Industry A New Concept: Automatic Cassette Recorders 180 TheDigitalVideoEra 181
References 181
Chapter 13 Consumer Video Recorders 182 Hiroshi Sugaya
178
The Challenge of Fixed-Head Consumer Video Recorders TheDevelopmentofHelicallyScannedHomeVideoRecorders 183 Cassette (Two Reels) or Cartridge (One Reel)? 186
Betamax (Beta) Versus VHS in Japan 189 BetaVersusVHSintheUnitedStates 191
Beta Versus VHS in Europe 192
The First 8mm Video Format Conference 193
The VHS Compact Cassette (VHS-C) 195
The Development of Video Tape 196
Home Digital Video Cassette Recorders 197
Tape Duplication 199
References 200
Chapter 14 Digital Video Recording 201 Koichi Sadashige
DigitalRecordingofAnalogSignals 201 TheFirstProposalforDigitizationofanAnalogSignal 201 Attempts to Digitize Sound Recording 202 DigitalConversionofaVideoSignal 203 DigitalIslandsintheAnalogSea 204
High-Density Recording Technology 205
Instrumentation Recording 205 RunningonaMile-LongBridgeThatIsOnly2FeetWide 205
The Road to D-1 206
Initial Experimentation on Digital Video Recording 206 DigitalVideoRecorderStandardizationActivities 208 The First Digital Video Recorder 209
CompositeVideoDigitalRecording 210
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xii
Contents
TheNeedforaCompositeVideoDigitalRecorder 210
TheQuestforaSingleRecordingFormatforAllBroadcastApplications 211 Data Compression 211 ,
EmergingNeedsforDataCompression 211
Data Compression in Broadcast and Teleproduction Recorders 212 HDTV Digital Recording 213
DigitalRecordingofaHigh-DefinitionTelevisionSignal 213
Compressed Data Recording of an HDTV Signal 214 DV, Digital Video 214
DV, Universal Digital Recording Format for Consumers and Professionals 214
Broadcast-QualityVHSDerivativewithDV-BasedDataCompression 215 D-VHS, The Latest Member of the VHS Family 216
Disk Recorders for Digital Video Applications 216 LookingintotheFuture 218
References 219 DATA RECORDING
Chapter 15 Capturing Data Magnetically 221 James E. Monson
StoringData 221
Computer Applications 221 OtherApplications 222
Data Storage Requirements 223 Short-Term Versus Long-Term Memory 223 TransferRate,Speed,andAccessTime 223 Storage Density 224
Reliability 225
OperatingEnvironments 225
Cost 225
Removability and Portability 226 Archivability 226
Early Computer Storage Systems 227
The Memory Hierarchy 228 TheDigitalMagneticRecordingProcess 230
StorageofBitsofInformationonMagneticMedia 230 Writing 230
Reading 231
Head—Medium Interface 231
Tracking and Accessing Data Mechanically 232
Storing and Retrieving Data from Magnetic Memory 233 Conclusion 235
References 236
Chapter 16 Data Storage on Drums 237 Sidney M. Rubens
The Development of Magnetic Drum Technology 237
Contents
xiii
Recording Media 239
Magnetic Drums at Harvard University 246 The University of Manchester Computer 246 Magnetic Drum Developments atIBM 247 DrumsforPeripheralStorage 248 References 251
Chapter 17 Data Storage onTape 252 William B. Phillips
FiveDecadesofHalf-InchTapeStorage 253
The Uniservo I: The First Digital Tape Recorder 254 IBM Enters the Computer Market 255
The IBM 726 Tape Drive 256
Improvements in Half-Inch Tape Systems 260
IBM Tape Drives Using 10.5-Inch Reels 260 NewFormFactorsforDataTapeStorage 261 TheIBM3480TapeCartridgeFamily 261 Consumer Recorder Applications 263
Low-Cost Solutions 265 TapeLibrariesandAutomation 266
Other Impacts on Tape Storage System Design 268 Summary 269
References 269
Chapter 18 Data Storage on Hard Magnetic Disks 270 Louis D. Stevens
The Development of RAMAC 271 ProcessingDataFilesStoredonMagneticTape 272 Starting aNew Laboratory 273 TheSourceRecordingProjectandtheChoiceofDisks 274 A Broader View of Disk Storage 275 TheDiskProjectGetsMovingonSomeHardware 276 Designing the 350 RAMAC Disk Drive 278
A Decision to Build Machines for Field Testing 280 RAMAC IsHeaded forAnnouncement 280
TheEvolutionofMagneticDiskStorage 281 Self-Acting Hydrodynamic Sliders 281
The Removable Disk Pack 284 Track-Following Servo 286
Low-Mass, Lightly Loaded Sliders 287
Return to Fixed Disks 289
Thin-Film Heads 290
Smaller Diameter Disks 292
Magnetoresistive Read Heads, Thin-Film Disks, and PRML Channels
Summary 298 References 298
Xiv Contents
Chapter 19 Data Storage on Floppy Disks 300 David L. Noble
Computer Operations 301 Fundamental Concepts 302 The Write Requirement 305 The Personal Computer 309 High-Capacity Designs 313 References 314
Chapter 20 Instrumentation Recording on Magnetic Tape 316 Finn Jorgensen
Early Data Recording Using Modified Audio Recorders (1935-1950) 316 The First Multichannel Instrumentation Recorders (1950-1980s) 317 Technology Refinements to Instrumentation Recorders Used in Space Telemetry (1960-1990) 322
SignalLinearity 323
Amplitude Variations 323 WidebandSignalSpectrum 323 Signal-to-Noise Ratio 324 PhaseVersusFrequencyResponse 325 PrecisionTapeTransport 326 TimingErrorsBetweenTracks 327
High-Density Digital Recording (1970-Current) 327 Digital Video Tape Recorders in Instrumentation 328 An Era Fades Away 330
Acknowledgment 331
References 331
Index 333
About the Editors 341
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