MUSEUM OF OBSOLETE MEDIAABOUTAUDIO FORMATSVIDEO FORMATSDATA FORMATSFILM FORMATSMEDIA PRESERVATION Welcome to the Museum of Obsolete Media. The home for over 725 current and obsolete physical media formats, covering audio, video, film and data storage. The Museum preserves the memory of those objects that held our memories, and every format listed in the Museum is represented by at least one example in the collection. Audiscan. BROADCAST RECORDS (1927 Broadcast records (1927 – 1934) The Broadcast record label was introduced by Vocalion for the UK market in 1927. All Broadcast releases used the recently-introduced electrical recording system. Initially, Broadcast records were 8-inches in diameter but, due to a narrower groove pitch and smaller centre label, were able to offer the

same

LASERKARAOKE (1982

LaserKaraoke (1982 – 2001) LaserKaraoke (also known as LD-G) was introduced by Pioneer in 1982, initially for the Japanese market for use in bars and restaurants. A home player was introduced in 1985, and LaserKaraoke was introduced to the US market around 1988. LaserKaraoke titles consisted of cover version of songs, with on-screen lyrics

M DISC (2011

M DISC is the name for a proprietary design of optical disc that was introduced in 2011 by Millenniata, Inc. The name stands for Millenial Disc (they have also been called M-ARC discs) and it is claimed that M DISCs will safely store data for 1000 years thanks to a data layer that consists of some form of carbon (the exact formulation is a trade secret) that is far less susceptible to

VOICE RECORD (1930S

Voice Record (1930s – early 1940s) Voice Records were small aluminium phonograph discs, intended to be used to record a personal message. They were introduced in the 1930s in the UK, to be recorded in automatic booths operated by the Amusement Equipment Co. Ltd. of Wembley. The booths were placed in places were people might want to

record a

EMIDISC (1946

Emidisc (1946 – mid 1970s) Emidisc was a brand of lacquer disc (sometime known as acetate or instantaneous disc) that was introduced to the UK market perhaps as early as 1946 (when the Emidisc name was trademarked) by EMI. They were made under license from the Pyral company in France that had invented the nitrocellulose lacquer-coated

disc in

RECORDIO DISC (1939

Recordio Discs were a popular brand of home recording discs produced by the Wilcox-Gay Corp. in the US for use on their Recordio machines. Wilcox-Gay began producing Recordio machines in 1939, and as well as being able to play standard 78 rpm records, the machines had a microphone that could be used to transcribe audio onto a blank

Recordio Disc.

SOUNDMIRROR (1948

Soundmirror (1948 – 1954) Soundmirror tape (also known as ‘magic ribbon tape’) was a magnetic tape format for use on the Soundmirror tape recorder made by Thermionic Products in the United Kingdom. What was unusual about it was that was made of paper with an CASSETTE TAPE ADAPTER (1988 The cassette tape adapter was patented in 1988, and was initially designed as a way for owners of portable Compact Disc players to play CDs through in-car cassette players, though they will work in other cassette players.. Most adapters come with a cable with a 3.5 mm stereo mini-jack plug, and work one way only. Inside the cassette shell is a tape head that produces a magnetic signal read by MINOLTA CREATIVE EXPANSION CARD (1988 The Creative Expansion Card system was introduced by Minolta in 1988 for use in its 7000i series of 35mm film SLR cameras, and was used in several subsequent series of Minolta SLR camera.. Each of the cards, of which around 26 were eventually produced, contained software to produce different effects or offer extra functions when inserted into

the camera.

MUSEUM OF OBSOLETE MEDIAABOUTAUDIO FORMATSVIDEO FORMATSDATA FORMATSFILM FORMATSMEDIA PRESERVATION Welcome to the Museum of Obsolete Media. The home for over 725 current and obsolete physical media formats, covering audio, video, film and data storage. The Museum preserves the memory of those objects that held our memories, and every format listed in the Museum is represented by at least one example in the collection. Audiscan. BROADCAST RECORDS (1927 Broadcast records (1927 – 1934) The Broadcast record label was introduced by Vocalion for the UK market in 1927. All Broadcast releases used the recently-introduced electrical recording system. Initially, Broadcast records were 8-inches in diameter but, due to a narrower groove pitch and smaller centre label, were able to offer the

same

LASERKARAOKE (1982

LaserKaraoke (1982 – 2001) LaserKaraoke (also known as LD-G) was introduced by Pioneer in 1982, initially for the Japanese market for use in bars and restaurants. A home player was introduced in 1985, and LaserKaraoke was introduced to the US market around 1988. LaserKaraoke titles consisted of cover version of songs, with on-screen lyrics

M DISC (2011

M DISC is the name for a proprietary design of optical disc that was introduced in 2011 by Millenniata, Inc. The name stands for Millenial Disc (they have also been called M-ARC discs) and it is claimed that M DISCs will safely store data for 1000 years thanks to a data layer that consists of some form of carbon (the exact formulation is a trade secret) that is far less susceptible to

VOICE RECORD (1930S

Voice Record (1930s – early 1940s) Voice Records were small aluminium phonograph discs, intended to be used to record a personal message. They were introduced in the 1930s in the UK, to be recorded in automatic booths operated by the Amusement Equipment Co. Ltd. of Wembley. The booths were placed in places were people might want to

record a

EMIDISC (1946

Emidisc (1946 – mid 1970s) Emidisc was a brand of lacquer disc (sometime known as acetate or instantaneous disc) that was introduced to the UK market perhaps as early as 1946 (when the Emidisc name was trademarked) by EMI. They were made under license from the Pyral company in France that had invented the nitrocellulose lacquer-coated

disc in

RECORDIO DISC (1939

Recordio Discs were a popular brand of home recording discs produced by the Wilcox-Gay Corp. in the US for use on their Recordio machines. Wilcox-Gay began producing Recordio machines in 1939, and as well as being able to play standard 78 rpm records, the machines had a microphone that could be used to transcribe audio onto a blank

Recordio Disc.

SOUNDMIRROR (1948

Soundmirror (1948 – 1954) Soundmirror tape (also known as ‘magic ribbon tape’) was a magnetic tape format for use on the Soundmirror tape recorder made by Thermionic Products in the United Kingdom. What was unusual about it was that was made of paper with an CASSETTE TAPE ADAPTER (1988 The cassette tape adapter was patented in 1988, and was initially designed as a way for owners of portable Compact Disc players to play CDs through in-car cassette players, though they will work in other cassette players.. Most adapters come with a cable with a 3.5 mm stereo mini-jack plug, and work one way only. Inside the cassette shell is a tape head that produces a magnetic signal read by MINOLTA CREATIVE EXPANSION CARD (1988 The Creative Expansion Card system was introduced by Minolta in 1988 for use in its 7000i series of 35mm film SLR cameras, and was used in several subsequent series of Minolta SLR camera.. Each of the cards, of which around 26 were eventually produced, contained software to produce different effects or offer extra functions when inserted into

the camera.

DATA MEDIA TIMELINE

1960s. DEC releases the PDP-1, the first minicomputer (1961) LEO III tape (1962 – 1981) IBM introduces first word processor, the MT/ST (Magnetic Tape/Selectric Typewriter) (1964) IBM MT/ST (1964 – late 1970s) DECtape (1964 – 1980s) IBM releases the System/360 range of commercial mainframe computers (1964)

LASERKARAOKE (1982

LaserKaraoke (1982 – 2001) LaserKaraoke (also known as LD-G) was introduced by Pioneer in 1982, initially for the Japanese market for use in bars and restaurants. A home player was introduced in 1985, and LaserKaraoke was introduced to the US market around 1988. LaserKaraoke titles consisted of cover version of songs, with on-screen lyrics VIDEO TAPE | MUSEUM OF OBSOLETE MEDIA Magnetic tape formats for use in video tape recorders (VTRs) and video cassette recorders (VCRs), including analogue and digital video for consumer and broadcast use. Open reel tapes 2-inch tape 1

AUDIODISC (1938

Audiodisc is a brand of lacquer disc (sometime known as acetate or instantaneous disc) that was introduced to the US market in 1938 by Audio Devices, Inc. They were made under license from the Pyral company in France that had invented the nitrocellulose lacquer-coated disc in 1934 and that also licensed the process to EMI for their Emidisc brand in the UK. ECLIPSE RECORDS (1929 Eclipse records (1929 – 1935) 8-inch 78rpm shellac records were first introduced in 1927 by Vocalion in the UK under the Broadcast label. Their initial success led to a number of other manufacturers introducing similar inexpensive records. These had a slightly narrower groove and smaller centre labels, and so were able to offer the same

LEAPPAD (1999

LeapPad (1999 – 2008) The LeapPad was a popular interactive educational device aimed at children and launched by LeapFrog in 1999. Cartridges were sold with a book that was placed on the device and allowed children to touch areas of the book with a special stylus to hear words or information about the picture. The device used a sensor

to

DC INTERNATIONAL (1965 DC International (1965 – 1967) The DC International cassette was an audio tape cassette launched by the West German Grundig company in 1965. It was slightly larger than the competing Philips Compact Cassette that had been launched a couple of years earlier, and it used a slightly higher speed (2-inches per second). It was double-sided,

and

LEAPSTER (2003

Leapster (2003 – 2012) The Leapster was a handheld video game system aimed at young children, and launched by LeapFrog in 2003. As well as buttons on the device, there was a stylus to use on the 2¼-inch touchscreen display. The Leapster L-MAX was introduced in 2004 and as well as being smaller, provided TV output to allow games to be played SONY CRVDISC (LATE 1980S The Sony CRVdisc (Component Recording Video disc) was a recordable 12-inch optical disc system for professional video or still image use. The system was developed by Sony, and released in the late 1980s for use on their LVR-5000 and LVR-6000 series recorders (which were used in conjunction with the LVS-5000 and LVS-6000 series video

processors).

RED RAVEN MOVIE RECORDS (1956 Red Raven Movie Records (1956 – early 1970s) Red Raven Movie Records were aimed at children and consisted of a phonograph record with a printed animation that could be viewed with a special mirror that sat on the record as it played. The Magic Mirror Movie Company that produced them was based in the US, but the records were also made

under

MUSEUM OF OBSOLETE MEDIAABOUTAUDIO FORMATSVIDEO FORMATSDATA FORMATSFILM FORMATSMEDIA PRESERVATION Welcome to the Museum of Obsolete Media. The home for over 725 current and obsolete physical media formats, covering audio, video, film and data storage. The Museum preserves the memory of those objects that held our memories, and every format listed in the Museum is represented by at least one example in the collection. Audiscan. BROADCAST RECORDS (1927 Broadcast records (1927 – 1934) The Broadcast record label was introduced by Vocalion for the UK market in 1927. All Broadcast releases used the recently-introduced electrical recording system. Initially, Broadcast records were 8-inches in diameter but, due to a narrower groove pitch and smaller centre label, were able to offer the

same

M DISC (2011

M DISC is the name for a proprietary design of optical disc that was introduced in 2011 by Millenniata, Inc. The name stands for Millenial Disc (they have also been called M-ARC discs) and it is claimed that M DISCs will safely store data for 1000 years thanks to a data layer that consists of some form of carbon (the exact formulation is a trade secret) that is far less susceptible to

LASERKARAOKE (1982

LaserKaraoke (1982 – 2001) LaserKaraoke (also known as LD-G) was introduced by Pioneer in 1982, initially for the Japanese market for use in bars and restaurants. A home player was introduced in 1985, and LaserKaraoke was introduced to the US market around 1988. LaserKaraoke titles consisted of cover version of songs, with on-screen lyrics

VOICE RECORD (1930S

Voice Record (1930s – early 1940s) Voice Records were small aluminium phonograph discs, intended to be used to record a personal message. They were introduced in the 1930s in the UK, to be recorded in automatic booths operated by the Amusement Equipment Co. Ltd. of Wembley. The booths were placed in places were people might want to

record a

EMIDISC (1946

Emidisc (1946 – mid 1970s) Emidisc was a brand of lacquer disc (sometime known as acetate or instantaneous disc) that was introduced to the UK market perhaps as early as 1946 (when the Emidisc name was trademarked) by EMI. They were made under license from the Pyral company in France that had invented the nitrocellulose lacquer-coated

disc in

RECORDIO DISC (1939

Recordio Disc (1939 – 1963) Recordio Discs were a popular brand of home recording discs produced by the Wilcox-Gay Corp. in the US for use on their Recordio machines. Wilcox-Gay began producing Recordio machines in 1939, and as well as being able to play standard 78 rpm records, the machines had a microphone that could be used to

transcribe

SOUNDMIRROR (1948

Soundmirror (1948 – 1954) Soundmirror tape (also known as ‘magic ribbon tape’) was a magnetic tape format for use on the Soundmirror tape recorder made by Thermionic Products in the United Kingdom. What was unusual about it was that was made of paper with an CASSETTE TAPE ADAPTER (1988 The cassette tape adapter was patented in 1988, and was initially designed as a way for owners of portable Compact Disc players to play CDs through in-car cassette players, though they will work in other cassette players.. Most adapters come with a cable with a 3.5 mm stereo mini-jack plug, and work one way only. Inside the cassette shell is a tape head that produces a magnetic signal read by MINOLTA CREATIVE EXPANSION CARD (1988 Minolta Creative Expansion Card (1988 – 1997) The Creative Expansion Card system was introduced by Minolta in 1988 for use in its 7000i series of 35mm film SLR cameras, and was used in several subsequent series of Minolta SLR camera. Each of the cards, of which around 26 were eventually produced, contained software to produce different MUSEUM OF OBSOLETE MEDIAABOUTAUDIO FORMATSVIDEO FORMATSDATA FORMATSFILM FORMATSMEDIA PRESERVATION Welcome to the Museum of Obsolete Media. The home for over 725 current and obsolete physical media formats, covering audio, video, film and data storage. The Museum preserves the memory of those objects that held our memories, and every format listed in the Museum is represented by at least one example in the collection. Audiscan. BROADCAST RECORDS (1927 Broadcast records (1927 – 1934) The Broadcast record label was introduced by Vocalion for the UK market in 1927. All Broadcast releases used the recently-introduced electrical recording system. Initially, Broadcast records were 8-inches in diameter but, due to a narrower groove pitch and smaller centre label, were able to offer the

same

M DISC (2011

M DISC is the name for a proprietary design of optical disc that was introduced in 2011 by Millenniata, Inc. The name stands for Millenial Disc (they have also been called M-ARC discs) and it is claimed that M DISCs will safely store data for 1000 years thanks to a data layer that consists of some form of carbon (the exact formulation is a trade secret) that is far less susceptible to

LASERKARAOKE (1982

LaserKaraoke (1982 – 2001) LaserKaraoke (also known as LD-G) was introduced by Pioneer in 1982, initially for the Japanese market for use in bars and restaurants. A home player was introduced in 1985, and LaserKaraoke was introduced to the US market around 1988. LaserKaraoke titles consisted of cover version of songs, with on-screen lyrics

VOICE RECORD (1930S

Voice Record (1930s – early 1940s) Voice Records were small aluminium phonograph discs, intended to be used to record a personal message. They were introduced in the 1930s in the UK, to be recorded in automatic booths operated by the Amusement Equipment Co. Ltd. of Wembley. The booths were placed in places were people might want to

record a

EMIDISC (1946

Emidisc (1946 – mid 1970s) Emidisc was a brand of lacquer disc (sometime known as acetate or instantaneous disc) that was introduced to the UK market perhaps as early as 1946 (when the Emidisc name was trademarked) by EMI. They were made under license from the Pyral company in France that had invented the nitrocellulose lacquer-coated

disc in

RECORDIO DISC (1939

Recordio Disc (1939 – 1963) Recordio Discs were a popular brand of home recording discs produced by the Wilcox-Gay Corp. in the US for use on their Recordio machines. Wilcox-Gay began producing Recordio machines in 1939, and as well as being able to play standard 78 rpm records, the machines had a microphone that could be used to

transcribe

SOUNDMIRROR (1948

Soundmirror (1948 – 1954) Soundmirror tape (also known as ‘magic ribbon tape’) was a magnetic tape format for use on the Soundmirror tape recorder made by Thermionic Products in the United Kingdom. What was unusual about it was that was made of paper with an CASSETTE TAPE ADAPTER (1988 The cassette tape adapter was patented in 1988, and was initially designed as a way for owners of portable Compact Disc players to play CDs through in-car cassette players, though they will work in other cassette players.. Most adapters come with a cable with a 3.5 mm stereo mini-jack plug, and work one way only. Inside the cassette shell is a tape head that produces a magnetic signal read by MINOLTA CREATIVE EXPANSION CARD (1988 Minolta Creative Expansion Card (1988 – 1997) The Creative Expansion Card system was introduced by Minolta in 1988 for use in its 7000i series of 35mm film SLR cameras, and was used in several subsequent series of Minolta SLR camera. Each of the cards, of which around 26 were eventually produced, contained software to produce different

DATA MEDIA TIMELINE

1960s. DEC releases the PDP-1, the first minicomputer (1961) LEO III tape (1962 – 1981) IBM introduces first word processor, the MT/ST (Magnetic Tape/Selectric Typewriter) (1964) IBM MT/ST (1964 – late 1970s) DECtape (1964 – 1980s) IBM releases the System/360 range of commercial mainframe computers (1964)

LASERKARAOKE (1982

LaserKaraoke (1982 – 2001) LaserKaraoke (also known as LD-G) was introduced by Pioneer in 1982, initially for the Japanese market for use in bars and restaurants. A home player was introduced in 1985, and LaserKaraoke was introduced to the US market around 1988. LaserKaraoke titles consisted of cover version of songs, with on-screen lyrics VIDEO TAPE | MUSEUM OF OBSOLETE MEDIA Magnetic tape formats for use in video tape recorders (VTRs) and video cassette recorders (VCRs), including analogue and digital video for consumer and broadcast use. Open reel tapes 2-inch tape 1

SOUNDMIRROR (1948

Soundmirror (1948 – 1954) Soundmirror tape (also known as ‘magic ribbon tape’) was a magnetic tape format for use on the Soundmirror tape recorder made by Thermionic Products in the United Kingdom. What was unusual about it was that was made of paper with an RIBS RECORDINGS (1950S Ribs recordings (1950s – 1970s) Ribs recordings (also known under other names such as music on ribs, bones music and roentgenizdat) were clandestine records made in the Soviet Union using discarded X-ray film. They were sold on the black market and were a way of distributing copies of smuggled-in banned music, mostly Western

artists, but also

LEAPPAD (1999

LeapPad (1999 – 2008) The LeapPad was a popular interactive educational device aimed at children and launched by LeapFrog in 1999. Cartridges were sold with a book that was placed on the device and allowed children to touch areas of the book with a special stylus to hear words or information about the picture. The device used a sensor

to

DC INTERNATIONAL (1965 DC International (1965 – 1967) The DC International cassette was an audio tape cassette launched by the West German Grundig company in 1965. It was slightly larger than the competing Philips Compact Cassette that had been launched a couple of years earlier, and it used a slightly higher speed (2-inches per second). It was double-sided,

and

RED RAVEN MOVIE RECORDS (1956 Red Raven Movie Records (1956 – early 1970s) Red Raven Movie Records were aimed at children and consisted of a phonograph record with a printed animation that could be viewed with a special mirror that sat on the record as it played. The Magic Mirror Movie Company that produced them was based in the US, but the records were also made

under

DTS 5.1 MUSIC DISC (1997 DTS 5.1 Music Disc (1997 – early 2000s) The DTS 5.1 Music Disc was a Compact Disc format offering surround sound audio, usually in the 5.1 configuration. The discs would play in a standard Compact Disc player, but without the use of a DTS decoder all that would be heard is white noise. The potential confusion between DTS 5.1 Music Discs and EXTENDED DEFINITION BETA (1988 Extended Definition Beta (1988 – early 1990s) ED (Extended Definition) Beta was introduced in 1988 and was the last variation of the Betamax format that Sony created for the consumer market (the Betacam family of formats for professional use went on to have much greater success). It was announced shortly after JVC ‘s rival S-VHS

format.

MUSEUM OF OBSOLETE MEDIAABOUTAUDIO FORMATSVIDEO FORMATSDATA FORMATSFILM FORMATSMEDIA PRESERVATION Welcome to the Museum of Obsolete Media. The home for over 725 current and obsolete physical media formats, covering audio, video, film and data storage. The Museum preserves the memory of those objects that held our memories, and every format listed in the Museum is represented by at least one example in the collection. Audiscan.

VIDEO DISCS

Disc formats for video playback or recording, including analogue and digital video formats. With the exception of Professional Disc, all of these were aimed at the consumer market. VIDEO TAPE | MUSEUM OF OBSOLETE MEDIA Magnetic tape formats for use in video tape recorders (VTRs) and video cassette recorders (VCRs), including analogue and digital video for consumer and broadcast use. Open reel tapes 2-inch tape 1 BROADCAST RECORDS (1927 Broadcast records (1927 – 1934) The Broadcast record label was introduced by Vocalion for the UK market in 1927. All Broadcast releases used the recently-introduced electrical recording system. Initially, Broadcast records were 8-inches in diameter but, due to a narrower groove pitch and smaller centre label, were able to offer the

same

VOICE RECORD (1930S

Voice Record (1930s – early 1940s) Voice Records were small aluminium phonograph discs, intended to be used to record a personal message. They were introduced in the 1930s in the UK, to be recorded in automatic booths operated by the Amusement Equipment Co. Ltd. of Wembley. The booths were placed in places were people might want to

record a

CASSETTE TAPE ADAPTER (1988 The cassette tape adapter was patented in 1988, and was initially designed as a way for owners of portable Compact Disc players to play CDs through in-car cassette players, though they will work in other cassette players.. Most adapters come with a cable with a 3.5 mm stereo mini-jack plug, and work one way only. Inside the cassette shell is a tape head that produces a magnetic signal read by

RECORDIO DISC (1939

Recordio Disc (1939 – 1963) Recordio Discs were a popular brand of home recording discs produced by the Wilcox-Gay Corp. in the US for use on their Recordio machines. Wilcox-Gay began producing Recordio machines in 1939, and as well as being able to play standard 78 rpm records, the machines had a microphone that could be used to

transcribe

LEAPPAD (1999

LeapPad (1999 – 2008) The LeapPad was a popular interactive educational device aimed at children and launched by LeapFrog in 1999. Cartridges were sold with a book that was placed on the device and allowed children to touch areas of the book with a special stylus to hear words or information about the picture. The device used a sensor

to

SOUNDMIRROR (1948

Soundmirror (1948 – 1954) Soundmirror tape (also known as ‘magic ribbon tape’) was a magnetic tape format for use on the Soundmirror tape recorder made by Thermionic Products in the United Kingdom. What was unusual about it was that was made of paper with an DC INTERNATIONAL (1965 DC International (1965 – 1967) The DC International cassette was an audio tape cassette launched by the West German Grundig company in 1965. It was slightly larger than the competing Philips Compact Cassette that had been launched a couple of years earlier, and it used a slightly higher speed (2-inches per second). It was double-sided,

and

MUSEUM OF OBSOLETE MEDIAABOUTAUDIO FORMATSVIDEO FORMATSDATA FORMATSFILM FORMATSMEDIA PRESERVATION Welcome to the Museum of Obsolete Media. The home for over 725 current and obsolete physical media formats, covering audio, video, film and data storage. The Museum preserves the memory of those objects that held our memories, and every format listed in the Museum is represented by at least one example in the collection. Audiscan.

VIDEO DISCS

Disc formats for video playback or recording, including analogue and digital video formats. With the exception of Professional Disc, all of these were aimed at the consumer market. VIDEO TAPE | MUSEUM OF OBSOLETE MEDIA Magnetic tape formats for use in video tape recorders (VTRs) and video cassette recorders (VCRs), including analogue and digital video for consumer and broadcast use. Open reel tapes 2-inch tape 1 BROADCAST RECORDS (1927 Broadcast records (1927 – 1934) The Broadcast record label was introduced by Vocalion for the UK market in 1927. All Broadcast releases used the recently-introduced electrical recording system. Initially, Broadcast records were 8-inches in diameter but, due to a narrower groove pitch and smaller centre label, were able to offer the

same

VOICE RECORD (1930S

Voice Record (1930s – early 1940s) Voice Records were small aluminium phonograph discs, intended to be used to record a personal message. They were introduced in the 1930s in the UK, to be recorded in automatic booths operated by the Amusement Equipment Co. Ltd. of Wembley. The booths were placed in places were people might want to

record a

CASSETTE TAPE ADAPTER (1988 The cassette tape adapter was patented in 1988, and was initially designed as a way for owners of portable Compact Disc players to play CDs through in-car cassette players, though they will work in other cassette players.. Most adapters come with a cable with a 3.5 mm stereo mini-jack plug, and work one way only. Inside the cassette shell is a tape head that produces a magnetic signal read by

RECORDIO DISC (1939

Recordio Disc (1939 – 1963) Recordio Discs were a popular brand of home recording discs produced by the Wilcox-Gay Corp. in the US for use on their Recordio machines. Wilcox-Gay began producing Recordio machines in 1939, and as well as being able to play standard 78 rpm records, the machines had a microphone that could be used to

transcribe

LEAPPAD (1999

LeapPad (1999 – 2008) The LeapPad was a popular interactive educational device aimed at children and launched by LeapFrog in 1999. Cartridges were sold with a book that was placed on the device and allowed children to touch areas of the book with a special stylus to hear words or information about the picture. The device used a sensor

to

SOUNDMIRROR (1948

Soundmirror (1948 – 1954) Soundmirror tape (also known as ‘magic ribbon tape’) was a magnetic tape format for use on the Soundmirror tape recorder made by Thermionic Products in the United Kingdom. What was unusual about it was that was made of paper with an DC INTERNATIONAL (1965 DC International (1965 – 1967) The DC International cassette was an audio tape cassette launched by the West German Grundig company in 1965. It was slightly larger than the competing Philips Compact Cassette that had been launched a couple of years earlier, and it used a slightly higher speed (2-inches per second). It was double-sided,

and

VIDEO MEDIA TIMELINE A brief history of video recording and playback, from the 1950s onward, including details of all the video media in the Museum in chronological order of introduction. See also the galleries of video

DATA MEDIA TIMELINE

1960s. DEC releases the PDP-1, the first minicomputer (1961) LEO III tape (1962 – 1981) IBM introduces first word processor, the MT/ST (Magnetic Tape/Selectric Typewriter) (1964) IBM MT/ST (1964 – late 1970s) DECtape (1964 – 1980s) IBM releases the System/360 range of commercial mainframe computers (1964)

M DISC (2011

M DISC is the name for a proprietary design of optical disc that was introduced in 2011 by Millenniata, Inc. The name stands for Millenial Disc (they have also been called M-ARC discs) and it is claimed that M DISCs will safely store data for 1000 years thanks to a data layer that consists of some form of carbon (the exact formulation is a trade secret) that is far less susceptible to

LASERKARAOKE (1982

LaserKaraoke (1982 – 2001) LaserKaraoke (also known as LD-G) was introduced by Pioneer in 1982, initially for the Japanese market for use in bars and restaurants. A home player was introduced in 1985, and LaserKaraoke was introduced to the US market around 1988. LaserKaraoke titles consisted of cover version of songs, with on-screen lyrics

SOUNDMIRROR (1948

Soundmirror (1948 – 1954) Soundmirror tape (also known as ‘magic ribbon tape’) was a magnetic tape format for use on the Soundmirror tape recorder made by Thermionic Products in the United Kingdom. What was unusual about it was that was made of paper with an

EMIDISC (1946

Emidisc (1946 – mid 1970s) Emidisc was a brand of lacquer disc (sometime known as acetate or instantaneous disc) that was introduced to the UK market perhaps as early as 1946 (when the Emidisc name was trademarked) by EMI. They were made under license from the Pyral company in France that had invented the nitrocellulose lacquer-coated

disc in

DC INTERNATIONAL (1965 DC International (1965 – 1967) The DC International cassette was an audio tape cassette launched by the West German Grundig company in 1965. It was slightly larger than the competing Philips Compact Cassette that had been launched a couple of years earlier, and it used a slightly higher speed (2-inches per second). It was double-sided,

and

MINOLTA CREATIVE EXPANSION CARD (1988 The Creative Expansion Card system was introduced by Minolta in 1988 for use in its 7000i series of 35mm film SLR cameras, and was used in several subsequent series of Minolta SLR camera.. Each of the cards, of which around 26 were eventually produced, contained software to produce different effects or offer extra functions when inserted into

the camera.

AKAI VK (1977

Akai VK (1977 – early 1980s) VK was an analogue helical-scan video cassette format introduced by Akai in 1977. Initially it could only record B&W, with colour being made available later. However only one length of tape was made available, the VK-30, with just 30 minutes of recording time on a cassette almost the same size as Betamax. KODAK INSTANT FILM (1976 Kodak instant film (1976 – 1986) Kodak launched two instant film cameras in 1976, the EK4 and EK6, along with an integral instant film pack, the PR10, containing 10 exposures. Kodak’s new film was similar in some respects to Polaroid’s SX-70 film that had been launched in 1972. Kodak had manufactured instant film for Polaroid in

the 1960s

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* Motion-Picture Photography * Media Preservation * Media Stability Ratings * Obsolescence Ratings * Transcription services WELCOME TO THE MUSEUM OF OBSOLETE MEDIA The home for over 725 current and obsolete physical media formats, covering audio , video

, film

and data

storage.

The Museum preserves the memory of those objects that held our memories, and every format listed in the Museum is represented by at least one example in the collection.

Audiscan

Action Replay movie file cartridge Imation Odyssey drive and 40 GB cartridge

Quick Disk

Keystone Junior Stereograph

Orrtronic Tapette

Milky Princess for the Super Lady Cassette Vision

InterDyne MicroReel

Vogue - The Picture Record

828 film

Olivetti Programma magnetic card

Akai MK

Polaroid Type 47 instant film

CompactFlash

3M Sound-on-Slide

Video Cassette Recording (VCR) 9.5 mm 'Bing British safety cinemas' film roll Columbia brown wax cylinder

Agfa Rapid film

Quadruplex video tape Hard disk drive comparison

DECtape

Super 8 (unexposed cartridge) Brother Micro Disc and MD-200 drive

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MORE ABOUT THE COLLECTION Find out more about the collection , how it started in 2006, and the answers to some common questions. WHEN DOES MEDIA BECOME OBSOLETE? What makes a format obsolete? Read more

about the

criteria used by the Museum to provide dates for obsolescence, or visit the complete list of formats in the Museum by date

of obsolescence.

MEDIA STABILITY AND OBSOLESENCE RATINGS How long will examples of media be readable before they degrade, and how easy is it to find the equipment to read them even if they aren't degraded? See the ratings for formats commonly found in archives and personal collections.

ABOUT

* About the Collection

* Credits

* Media Wanted

* Contact the Curator

* Privacy Policy

NEW AND UPDATED

* MVI (2007 – 2012) * Double Density Compact Disc (2001 – 2004) * Wang laser printer font cartridge (1980s) * IGC Telemax (1970s – early 1980s) * VTech V.Flash (2006 – 2007) * Audiscan (late 1960s – early 1980s) * Quadraphonic Compact Disc (1982 – early 1990s) * Gakken Toy Record Maker (2020 – ) * Action Replay (1992) * Zettler tape cartridge (1970 – early 1980s)

POPULAR TAGS

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3.5-inch

33â…“ rpm

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analogue

audio

blue laser

broadcasting

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children

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open reel

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Rainbow Books

rigid disk

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second generation

Sega

shellac

single

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stereoscopic

tape

third generation

video

voice

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