Educational screen & audio-visual guide (c1956-1971])

AUDIO by Max U. Bildersee Stability Vs Volatility It has often been said, particularly n the field of the motion picture proector, that today's machine is so very Tiuch like those of many years ago that there is an indication of design "reezing. We have heard accusations ii mental stagnation, of failure to ntrodiice new ideas to save film wear ind tear and of plain downright ilmost smug satisfaction with "that ivhich is" to the end that technical, mechanical progress in film projection has been at a standstill. This is unfair! Unquestionably every major manufacturer of equipment has setter means of film transport, superior film gates and higher quality picture ind sound projection. Every effort is made to improve equipment— even to redesign equipment— to be beneficial to schools. The vast library of 16mm sound films, each of which was produced to be projected on a 'standard' machine at a 'standard' speed must limit the potential of such research. And yet if a new machine came on the market immediately embodying entirely new principles of film movement it would die aborning because we, as schoolmen, would immediately denounce it because the library of available materials would have to be re-made at great cost. True, the cost would fall on the producer, but it would be passed on to the schools in higher sales prices, higher rental prices and the great costs of conversion. No! It is not any one group's failure which has caused this standardization; rather it is the nature of the medium and the great costs and risks involved and inherent in any change. Audio equipment, on the other hand, has been anything but stagnant. And additional changes are forecast. Does this mean that we will (or did?) stop buying the materials we needed? No ... it meant that we adapted rapidly and successfully to changes. Let's examine the record of those changes. We need go back only a generation ago to find that there were no magnetic recorders available to schools. There were universally disliked and distrusted disc recorders which none of us used to any great extent. And there were central sound systems which were instructional monstrosities, mere pieces of furniture. And finally, there were recordings. These were in short supply in terms of variety, they were delicate and fragile, being easily broken as well as rapidly worn out, and they lasted too short a time for effective instructional use. Still, schools bought them and used them for there are ever pioneers in struction. These recordings were of the old '78' variety. They were shellac and, unlike a famous brand of coffee, 'good to the first drop' only. True, there were automatic record changers, but even these were unreliable and many records were chipped sliding down a spindle, or as the three ounce or heavier tone arm plopped into place. Then came the introduction of LP records-both 33 1/3 and 78 rpm. This, it was forecast, would either revolutionize the record industry and immediately antiquate every 78 rpm machine, or it would introduce the ultimate decline and downfall of the industry. Obviously, looking backward, we know that pessimism was unrealistic. We know that schools bought machines— and more machines— and that the old phonographs were not antiquated— they were jimked! Realistic observers today predict the early demise of the 78 rpm speed! And we are not inclined to disagree, for practically every recording today is produced at 33 1/3 rpm. To appease phonograph record collectors, for a while, records were produced at three .speeds-78, 33 1/3 and 45. But no longer. Automatic record changers have changed, and now the record is protected through superior changers and through the internal manufacture of the disc itself. Vinylite has replaced shellac and now to clean records you merely dip them in appropriate water/ soap solution and 'drip-dry' them! We could go on, but suffice it to say that record longevity is now guaranteed, barring too rough treatment, by superior materials, superior pressing, thickened lips to give added strength and tone arms whose pressure is measured now in grams as against ounces of not so many years ago. So the record industry was reborn through modernization and today every school, or nearly so, has record players as well as record collections to speed and enrich learning. And along came a new development —magnetic recording! This was first introduced as wire recording ... remember? These were spool driven and there was constant speed only at the hub of the take-up reel. If you never untangled a 'bird's nest' of your favorite wire recording, you were fortunate. And repair of the broken wire was so simple! Just tie a bow (preferably a square knot because a 'granny' might slip) in the wire and then anneal it with the end of a cigarette. Long after World War II major companies were trying to redesign and improve the wire recorder for the school market. Early 'Portables' But magnetic tape took over. And there were a few machines on the market— a very few. We can recall stopping off in Cleveland and marvelling at the first 'push-button' machine developed by Brush which later became a temporary standard for the schools. This was a portable machine —requiring two men and a small truck to transport it— but we are reliably /Judia CARDALOG® Record Reviews on Cards 943 INDIVIDUAL CROSS-INDEXED CARDS ALREADY ISSUED! SUBSCRIBE NOW $25.00 a year Audio CARDALOG Box 1771, Albany 1, New York A WORLD OF SOUND ON FILE Educational Screen and Audiovisual Guide — September, 1960 499