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HISTORICAL PRESENTATION PROGRAM
| SATURDAY, MAY 8 |
100TH BIRTHDAY ANNIVERSARY of EDUARD SCHUELLER - “FATHER OF TAPE RECORDER TECHNOLOGY”
Presented by: Gerhard Kuper, Consulting Engineer, Wedel, Germany
Abstract:
The year 2004 marks the 100th anniversary of Eduard Schueller’s birthday (2004-01-13); he died 1976-05-19. In his lifetime he applied for nearly 100 patents, several of which were fundamental to modern technologies, e.g. his ‘Ringkopf’ (toroid-shaped tape head) of 1933, which is the basis for all magnetic storage technologies from tape recorders and video recorders up to computer hard disk drives. And his ‘Schrägspur’ patent (helical scan recording), applied for in 1953; the basic principle for all video (and some audio/data) tape recorders all over the world.
The paper deals with Eduard Schueller’s life, especially the part he played in the development of magnetic tape recording technology. Beginning with his diploma, continuing with his meeting with Fritz Pfleumer, the industrial development by AEG under the protection of Hermann Buecher, the cooperation with IG Farben, civil and military tape recorder development and up to the first low noise stereo tape recordings, made by the German RRG (Reichs Rundfunk Gesellschaft) in 1943/44. After the end of WWII and the acquisition of the AEG patents by the allies, the German Magnetophon development and production was continued; in the beginning at AEG in Hamburg, later at Telefunken in Wedel – but always managed by Eduard Schueller.
Reported will be about the very successful first tape recorders for private use as well as for audio broadcasting, TV and film studio applications and, later, for data recording.
The last chapter of the paper will deal with Eduard Schueller’s activities after his retirement, when he contributed his know-how to a team developing a TV disk, similar to a phonograph record. For this particular activity he was awarded the German Order of Merit in 1972.
12:30 h–13:30 h
HANDS ON VINTAGE EQUIPMENT
Demonstrated by: Hans-Otto Hoffmann, Bayerischer Rundfunk, Munich, Germany
Vintage microphones and loudspeakers will be demonstrated and used together with direct cutting on an old record cutting machine.
14:00 h–15:00 h
SOUND AND FILMS – FROM THE HISTORY TO THE FUTURE
Presented by: Ingo Kock, Hochschule für Film und Fernsehen, Babelsberg, Germany
Abstract:
At the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Film and Television College (Hochschule für Film und Fernsehen - HFF) Prof. Ingo Kock describes the over 90 years old history of film sound recording in Berlin, and especially in Babelsberg. The area we now call Studio Babelsberg was founded in 1912. Since this time film recordings always took place together with sound. Film sound with gramophone play-back, optical sound and digital sound were developed here. In connection with the history of the film sound and the location Babelsberg the development of the College for Film and Television is presented.
15:30 h–16:30 h
ON THE ACOUSTICS OF OLD BERLIN STUDIOS FOR FILM AND RADIO
Presented by: Ernst-Jo. Völker, Institute for Acoustics and Building Physics, Oberursel, Germany
Abstract:
A certain acoustical environment was always necessary when sound of an adequate quality had to reach the audience. That applied both for natural sound and for sound reproduction via loudspeakers using electrical or mechanical amplification. Long before microphones, amplifiers and loudspeakers were developed and used, studios in the form of "Glasshouses" were built e.g. in 1911 in the City of Babelsberg near Berlin, using bright sunlight and for sound recordings, huge horns connected to wax-plates or wax-cylinders. Sound had to be absorbed by curtains, carpets and much plush, which was already well known since the first stereophonic transmission during the First Electrical Fair in Paris in 1879. Radio started in the 1920s, in Berlin with the Eugin Reiß carbon microphone in an almost over-damped studio on October 29, 1923. Some years later a "Haus des Rundfunks" was opened with many studios for different use and quality, including a concert hall. Film and radio took their own ways with multichannel reproduction or for a long time only with mono transmission.
Some acoustical aspects of the first studios will be described.
16:30 h–17:30 h
HANDS ON VINTAGE EQUIPMENT
Demonstrated by: Hans-Otto Hoffmann, Bayerischer Rundfunk, Munich, Germany
Vintage microphones and loudspeakers will be demonstrated and used together with direct cutting on an old record cutting machine.
| SUNDAY, MAY 9 |
HISTORY OF AUDIO EFFECT UNITS
Presented by: Udo Zölzer, Helmut Schmidt University, Hamburg, Germany
Abstract:
The presentation will discuss old analogue audio effect devices and their specific development over the past century, towards complete digital implementations. Audio effects are based on physical phenomena of sound production and transmission but are also created by musicians with their specific method of playing a musical instrument. The driving forces for different implementations and the use of different technologies will be explained with several sound examples.
11:30 h–12:30 h
VINTAGE GUITAR VALVE AMPLIFIERS
Presented by: Udo Zölzer, Helmut Schmidt University, Hamburg, Germany
Abstract:
Guitar tube amplifiers developed in the fifties and sixties still enjoy high popularity. The original sound of different amplifiers will be presented on the basis of video and sound clips. The circuit designs and the development of these valve amplifiers will be discussed. A perspective towards complete digital implementations will be demonstrated.
12:30 h–13:30 h
HANDS ON VINTAGE EQUIPMENT
Demonstrated by: Hans-Otto Hoffmann, Bayerischer Rundfunk, Munich, Germany
Vintage microphones and loudspeakers will be demonstrated and used together with direct cutting on an old record cutting machine.
14:00 h–15:00 h
92 YEARS SOUND MOVIES FROM BABELSBERG
Presented by: Ulrich Illing, Studio Babelsberg, Babelsberg, Germany
Abstract:
The Babelsberg Studios have been well-known since 1912, when the first “Glasshouse” was built in order to work under optimal daylight conditions. First productions used hand-cranked cameras and gramophones with horns for sound reproduction. The gramophones served as a play-back system for the actors.
In 1926 huge studios were built in Babelsberg, where amongst others the silent film Metropolis was produced. In these days there was much resistance against sound in films. Therefore the Triergon sound film shooting of 1925 on the Ufa site was only of little interest. However, impressed by the boom of sound movies in the USA, Ufa built a new complex with halls using room-in-room-construction for higher sound proofing and better acoustical properties. One of the first light/sound films produced here was the very famous “Der blaue Engel” (The Blue Angel).
In the following years the film production not only increased in Babelsberg, but many important technical developments for film sound recording were introduced. At the end of WWII the Babelsberg film site was in ruins. East-German moviemakers and technicians created with much inventiveness the foundation for the production of nearly 700 DEFA feature films up to 1992. Today the Babelsberg studios are an important film and television center again, both for filming/recording and post production.
15:00 h–16:00 h
HANDS ON VINTAGE EQUIPMENT
Demonstrated by: Klaus Dieter, Bayerischer Rundfunk, Munich, Germany
Vintage microphones and loudspeakers will be demonstrated and used together with direct cutting on an old record cutting machine.
16:00 h–17:00 h
FIRST LOUDSPEAKERS – SOME HISTORICAL ASPECTS
Presented by: Hans-Otto Hoffmann, Bayerischer Rundfunk, Munich, Germany
Abstract:
Loudspeakers can be seen as devices that radiate loud sounds. Speech and music were included from the beginning of sound reproduction. In 1881 the first stereo reproduction was provided during the Electro-technical World Fair in Paris when a transmission took place from the Paris Opera to a demonstration room near the Eiffel Tower. For listening, headphones were installed with left and right information separately for each ear. The door was now open to electromagnetic speaker systems. Meanwhile legendary phonographs invented by Edison and others were used, sometimes in parallel to reach a larger audience in movie theaters. When Lieben invented the amplification tube an important step was achieved towards larger and more powerful loudspeakers following the same electromagnetic transmission method. With the beginning of radio in the early 20’s, the first monitoring speakers appeared for controlling the recorded sound simultaneously with a wireless transmission.
The paper will describe some important inventions and developments, which led to our present high standards in monitoring speakers.
17:00 h–18:00 h
GOLDEN MICROPHONES IN THE OLD DAYS OF RECORDING
Presented by: Norbert Pawera, Com. AKG, Munich, Germany
Abstract:
Neither the contact microphone of Philip Reis in 1861 nor the carbon microphone of Graham Bell became real recording microphones for transmitting speech or music. When Eugen Reis in the twenties proposed his carbon microphone it became very famous and could be called a golden microphone. A real break through came in1928 with the first condenser microphone from Neumann. The quality was much better than that of the recording media such as wax plates. Although condenser microphones existed, the Eugen Reis carbon microphone was still in use in the thirties. Then their time was over. The new high quality ‘magnetophones’ required much better microphones. The standard recording technique used one microphone in front of the orchestra and later a stereophonic microphone was positioned on the same spot. In 1944 Helmut Krüger made tape recordings with condenser microphones suspended above the left and right side of the orchestra to produce a stereophonic sound image. The tapes were captured by the Russians, but were, fortunately, retrieved and could be used for making a CD of the recordings in 1983.
Other golden microphones followed such as high-directivity microphones and wireless microphones. Many old microphones are still very well known today. They will be shown and explained.
| MONDAY, MAY 10 |
HISTORY OF THE TONMEISTER TECHNOLOGY IN RUSSIA
Presented by: Pavel Ignatov, Student member of Russian Section
Abstract:
The history of sound recording in Russia dates to the end of the 19th century. Due to this fact it is possible to find some wax disks with voices of great Russian writers such as Tolstoy and Chekhov. The creation of the first sound recording studios began in the 20s and 30s. Although the technical facilities which were used seemed to be quite primitive, the work of an outstanding tonmeister such as M. G. Khustov, A. B. Grossman, and D. G. Gakhlin made it possible to create wonderful recordings of classical music and live concerts. The main feature of the 2nd period (1950-1980) is the great development of the TV-, radio-, and recording studios. (292 large television centers and radio studios had been built by the 1980’s). Due to the work of tonmeisters the masterpieces of Russian and world musical culture were preserved. Today the new digital technologies and surround sound systems are used in tonmeister practice. Masters such as S. G. Shugal, V. V. Vinogradov, P. K. Khondrashin, V. G. Dinov and many others create new methods of digital sound recording. The main periods of the development of tonmeister technology are investigated in this report.
11:00 h–12:00 h
ACOUSTIC RECONSTRUCTION OF BUILDINGS IN THE ANCIENT CITY OF OLYMPIA
Presented by: John Mourjopoulos, University of Patras, Greece
Abstract:
Two famous buildings, which are now in ruins, in the ancient Greek city of Olympia (birthplace of the Olympic Games) are the Temple of Zeus and the Echo Hall, and these are reconstructed as 3D computer models. Their acoustic properties are analyzed via computer-aided prediction and auralization, so that detailed and in-depth conclusions for their acoustic performance are derived and presented, together with audio demonstrations.
Such a methodology introduces a form of acoustical archaeology, since it presents novel findings for these ritual buildings’ acoustic behavior, especially with respect to the modes of speech communication and general functionality.
14:30 h–15:30 h
WAS THE CD ALREADY THERE? OLDER IDEAS REVIEWED
Presented by: Werner Hinz, Retired Chief Engineer of WDR, Bergisch Gladbach, Germany
Abstract:
Sometimes inventions are made twice because the subject is very timely. Several people come up with very similar ideas. However, some inventions are not followed by practical applications. Instead other scientists achieve the breakthrough and the financial success. This description may well apply to the well-known Compact Disc, the CD.
At the beginning of the 1980’s the Philips Company introduced the complete system. By 1983 the production of the CD exploded. The so-called black disk became unimportant. Meanwhile the CD is already an old product and is replaced by DVD or Mini Disk.
Recently the work of Jim Russel, an American physicist, came to light. He already had invented CD technology around 1965, long before Philips in the years between 1980 and 1983. Russel invented the optical track of digital signals on thin disks. The bits were in the micrometer range. Optical read-out was part of the system.
At that time Russel worked for the Batelle Institute. Batelle had no interest in this optical CD. That is why the revolutionary invention was not introduced at the time.
In his Paper Werner Hinz will describe the work of Russel and will include the first “Optophone” which already was invented in 1931.
15:30 h–16:30 h
THE ACOUSTICS OF ANCIENT GREEK ODEA
Presented by: Christos Goussios, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece
Abstract:
Apart from the world famous ancient Greek theaters, whose acoustics often attracted engineers, smaller closed amphitheatric halls - called Odea (plural of the Greek word odeion) - had been constructed and used through the Greek and Roman period. The acoustical characteristics for most of them and information concerning their location, use, history and architectural elements are presented. An effort for the modeling and estimation of their acoustics was made. Results of measurements that had been also carried out are discussed.
16:30 h–17:30 h
HANDS ON VINTAGE EQUIPMENT
Demonstrated by: Klaus Dieter, Bayerischer Rundfunk, Munich, Germany
Vintage microphones and loudspeakers will be demonstrated and used together with direct cutting on an old record cutting machine.
| TUESDAY, MAY 11 |
HANDS ON VINTAGE EQUIPMENT
Demonstrated by: Hans-Otto Hoffmann, Bayerischer Rundfunk, Munich, Germany
Vintage microphones and loudspeakers will be demonstrated and used together with direct cutting on an old record cutting machine.
12:00 h-13:00 h
HANDS ON VINTAGE EQUIPMENT
Demonstrated by: Klaus Dieter, Bayerischer Rundfunk, Munich, Germany
Vintage microphones and loudspeakers will be demonstrated and used together with direct cutting on an old record cutting machine.
