As you know, I frequently have posts of futuristic items and what we have to look forward to, for this edition of Off the Beaten Path, I’m going to look at the past.
This is an interesting website that shows some movie locations that have been used in the past, and how they look today.
This is a great interview with one of the people who were innovators in the area of cable TV. Part of the reason for posting this is because I was fortunate to work for Tim, the son, of the innovator. This is an old recording of Claude Stevanus who brought cable TV to Ohio. Though it originated in Pennsylvania and California, Mr. Stevanus is credited with being one of the earliest implementers of this technology and bringing it to Ohio in 1952. To add some more interesting history, the Stevanus family recognized that these cable systems were in areas where the large market TV stations generally didn’t send news crews or have local coverage. Maybe he deserves credit as well for “local origination”? Here’s an early picture of “TV-2,” his local production for one of the areas of Ohio.
Here’s a fun look at things from the past, and how they are sometimes seen today. It starts with Luke Skywalker. I think you’ll enjoy this.
This was in the Radio World daily NewsBytes (if you haven’t signed up, you can get daily email of timely stories related to radio and cool stuff like this). The year was 1885, and the audio you’ll hear has been “magically” restored from Bell’s (not Edison’s) “Graphophone.” This story tells of the cool process used to bring the sound back out of this 130+ year old recording.
The Young Photos of Early World Leaders
Here are pics of world leaders (or, maybe more appropriately recognized as “people in positions of authority”) as some are famous and other infamous. It’s interesting to see youthful faces of these well-known people.
Early Audio Processing for Radio
We all know the big names in audio processors today, and there are some incredible processors out there! Early radio started with an engineer on a “master volume control” turning it up or down appropriately to become “the living Level Devil” (“Level Devil was an early AGC system for radio, hence the reference). This PDF explains the history of audio processing.
Since this IS Radio World, we shouldn’t ignore our past. Though most of us know the history of radio (or I hope we do), here’s a website that reflects on the people who received credit for the innovation and early development. Yes, some of these could be disputed, but certainly recognizable names to our industry.
And finally …
“Come on dowwwnnnn!” We’ve all seen TV game shows and those “faaabulous prizes,” but have you ever wondered what happens AFTER you win those prizes? Here’s the story.
If you stumble across a good or unusual website that might be of interest, please don’t hesitate to send me the link and any info you might have about it. My email address is [email protected].
