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Playing the Unplayable Records
Researchers and scientists work together together to find a way to play recordings made by the studio of inventor Alexander Graham Bell (3:39)
Produced by: Ryan R. Reed
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Comments (12)
I'm disappointed; we only got 10 seconds worth of sound, recorded acoustically by the camera, which makes it very difficult to hear clearly. I was hoping for links to the actual audio recordings themselves.
Posted by Gerald Uhlan on July 18,2012 | 07:53 AM
Hi. You can clean 78 RPM records in the sink with just a couple drops of dishwashing liquid in cool water. First, flush the record's grooves with a stream of tap water (not HOT). Then use a lint-free cloth (I like a "micro-fiber" cloth) wash the record with the soapy solution, gently rubbing in a circular motion. DON'T wet the paper label or you will damage it. After washing, rinse the record in a stream of water and dry with another micro-fiber cloth. That's it.. wait until the record dries before you play it.
Posted by David S. on June 6,2012 | 04:39 PM
What an amazing updated adaptation of the cold war spy technology...I saw a documentary of how the Americans learned with a laser to transfer vibration waves from the windows of the Russian embassy into audible sounds. I used to work on an MRI study, and I wish our government would stop wasting money on wars, and get back to funding historical research, and science based projects like this. I've been collecting records for almost 40 years now, and Smithsonian made my day!
Posted by Stan Henderson on May 8,2012 | 12:08 PM
It is very interesting. I have about 1000 78th jazz records. Some of them need cleening. How can You help me with this? You cut Your information after couple of minuts.My records are very unknown(Edison about 200 pcs.) Please answer me. Best Regards Dymitr Markiewicz
Posted by Dymitr Markiewicz on April 25,2012 | 05:13 AM
I could spend countless hours working with that kind of thing....restoration of sound, silent films, etc.
Posted by Paul Ciarrochi on April 24,2012 | 03:34 PM
I hate video only presentations. I can't watch them on my work computer because the Flash Player is out of date and will never be updated. What happened to reading?
Posted by meagain on April 19,2012 | 12:37 PM
Wow, this is amazing. I'd like to see a 60 minute documentary on this. Please let us see more! I am in the process of archiving recordings made by my family on records in the 1940s, they used a record cutting machine to send audio postcards, and I can hear the voice of my great grandparents, who had passed away 25 years before I was born.
Posted by Dave on February 26,2012 | 11:42 AM
Closed captions of what they said on the recording would make this video more enriching.
Posted by yale strom on January 29,2012 | 09:29 PM
Interesting. Close captioning would help one understand what they were saying.
Posted by Richard Brockelman on January 27,2012 | 10:49 AM
Would the 3-D copy machine catch the sound?
Posted by Beverly Brunet on January 24,2012 | 03:50 PM
Excellent, keep up the wonderful work. I have a lot of old 78's and still delight in finding new descoveries.
Posted by robert novicky on January 23,2012 | 11:58 AM
This is fascinating. I wish I could have heard all of it, but my sound system suddenly stopped working right.
Posted by ronnyj on January 21,2012 | 03:21 PM