tape player

Spinning into the 20th Century: Magnetic Melodies and Celluloid Tapes:

The 20th century witnessed the tape player truly find its voice. Valdemar Poulsen’s 1900 invention of the “telegraphone” employed magnetic wire, a technological leap that paved the way for the iconic reel-to-reel format. German engineers, captivated by the possibilities, further refined magnetic tape – a thin, flexible ribbon coated with metal particles – culminating in the 1935 debut of the AEG Magnetophon, the first commercially available reel-to-reel recorder.

Meanwhile, a parallel track in audio recording technology emerged with the rise of optical sound on film. Franklin C. Goodale’s 1908 “Celluloid Strip Recorder” utilized photographic film to capture sound, offering an alternative to magnetic recording for early sound-on-film applications and even influencing the design of the Hiller talking clock. However, while its contributions to film technology and early sound recording are noteworthy, optical film-based audio formats like celluloid tapes didn’t enjoy the widespread adoption or lasting impact of later magnetic tape formats like reel-to-reel and cassettes.

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