The History of AV Production
and
Associated Technologies
Advanced AV
Production Practicum
Dawn of the Digital Age
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Dawn of the Digital Age (Audio)
1976
Dr. Stockham of Soundstream makes
the first 16-bit digital recording in the
U.S. at the Santa Fe Opera.
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Dawn of the Digital Age (Audio)
1978
"Apocalypse Now" became the first
formal movie release in cinemas
with three channels in the front and
two in the rear - Surround Sound!
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Dawn of the Digital Age (Audio)
1980
Sony invents the “Walkman”.
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Dawn of the Digital Age (Audio)
1981
Philips demonstrates the
Compact Disc (CD).
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Dawn of the Digital Age (Audio)
1988
The CD surpasses the LP in sales.
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Dawn of the Digital Age (Audio)
1999
A record company called SubPop is the
first to distribute music tracks in the MP3
format. Portable MP3 players appear.
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Dawn of the Digital Age (Audio)
2001
Apple introduces Ipod.
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Dawn of the Digital Age (Video)
1971
Sony introduces the U-matic system,
the world's first commercial
videocassette format.
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Dawn of the Digital Age (Video)
1976
JVC in Japan introduces the
VHS format VCR for $885
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Dawn of the Digital Age (Video)
1976
Sony introduced a Betamax
VCR deck for $1300
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Dawn of the Digital Age (Video)
1976 The Video Tape Format Wars Begin
Aggressive advertising by both manufacturers
claimed that “it can actually videotape
something off one channel while you're
watching another channel" and "build a
library of your favorite shows.”
VHS Wins
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Dawn of the Digital Age (Video)
1980
Pioneer begins selling
home LaserDisc players.
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Dawn of the Digital Age (Video)
1997
Mini DV is introduced as a new, higher
definition, digital recording format.
Perfect copies can be made from them
without losing any quality.
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Dawn of the Digital Age (Video)
2000
The year of the Digital Disc, aka DVD.
After years of speculation, the DVD finally
takes hold and DVD movies are as
common as those on VHS tape.
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Dawn of the Digital Age (Video)
2006
Blu-Ray DVD's are
released in the
middle of the year.
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Dawn of the Digital Age (Video)
2010
3D movies and 3D television sets
arrive. Discovery Communications
and Sony announce plans to
launch 3D TV channels in US.
Copyright © Texas Education Agency, 2015. All rights reserved.
Dawn of the Digital Age
(Associated Technologies)
1971 The computer floppy disc is invented.
The microprocessor is invented
The U.S. Congress declares sound
recordings worthy of copyright
protection and pass the 1971 Sound
Recording Amendment to the 1909
Copyright Statute.
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Dawn of the Digital Age
(Associated Technologies)
1972
HBO invents pay-TV service for cable.
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Dawn of the Digital Age
(Associated Technologies)
1976
The home computer is invented.
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Dawn of the Digital Age
(Associated Technologies)
1976
First nationwide programming - via
satellite: Ted Turner’s WTBS, Atlanta,
becomes a "superstation" to
viewers in much of the U.S. via
cable TV.
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Dawn of the Digital Age
(Associated Technologies)
1979
ESPN, a total sports network, makes
its debut on cable. It becomes the
largest and most successful basic
cable channel, carried by virtually
every cable system, and reaches
more than 57 million households.
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Dawn of the Digital Age
(Associated Technologies)
1980
Ted Turner's Cable News Network
(CNN) is born.
MTV: Music Television makes its
debut in August.
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Dawn of the Digital Age
(Associated Technologies)
1983
First cellular phone network started in
the United States.
Copyright © Texas Education Agency, 2015. All rights reserved.
Dawn of the Digital Age
(Associated Technologies)
1985
Amiga 1000 launched. The first real
multimedia computer with ground
breaking A/V facilities: 4096 color
graphics, 4 channel 8 bit sound, and
a proper pre-emptive multitasking
OS. The beginning of Desktop Video.
Copyright © Texas Education Agency, 2015. All rights reserved.
Dawn of the Digital Age
(Associated Technologies)
1988
Moving Pictures Expert Group
(MPEG) working group is formed.
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Dawn of the Digital Age
(Associated Technologies)
1993 Digital HDTV Grand Alliance was formed
in May of 1993 under the auspices of the
FCC and was tasked with producing a
single set of standards that would allow
HDTV transmission to be phased into use
in the United States. Members of the
Grand Alliance included General
Instrument, Zenith, Sarnoff Labs (RCA),
the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology (MIT), AT&T Labs, and Philips.
Copyright © Texas Education Agency, 2015. All rights reserved.
Dawn of the Digital Age
(Associated Technologies)
1994
American government releases control
of internet (ARPANET)
The WWW (World Wide Web) is born.
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Dawn of the Digital Age
(Associated Technologies)
2003
Skype is launched
Apple introduces ITunes store.
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Dawn of the Digital Age
(Associated Technologies)
2010
Hi-def is everywhere as all
manufacturers release high definition
TV's and monitors. Almost all sets now
have the capability of displaying high
resolution images. 1080 is considered
the standard in the industry as the must
have number of lines of resolution.
Copyright © Texas Education Agency, 2015. All rights reserved.
Dawn of the Digital Age
(Associated Technologies)
How do you think the
development of these new digital
technologies will influence society
today and tomorrow?
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