Magnetic Recording Media: A Brief History
The use of magnetic recording media has been around since the 1950s. Magnetic recording media can store video, audio, and data, and has become a staple in the fields of media production, education, data storage and archiving, and more.
Magnetic media was introduced in 1950 by IBM. IBM developed an open reel audio tape recorder, which used a steel-oxide coated magnetic striped tape to capture audio. This technology quickly became popular with musicians, broadcasters and technicians for its ability to capture sound with high fidelity.
In the 1960s, Sony introduced the first consumer magnetic tape recorder, the Sony TC-50. This was followed by the first videocassette recorder in 1966, the Sony U-matic. The U-matic was used primarily in television production, but it quickly found its way into home video recording.
In the 1970s, magnetic media became even more popular with the introduction of the VHS cassette. This was a compact tape which allowed for longer recordings than the U-matic tapes. This technology was quickly adopted by consumers, and it became the primary format for home video until it was replaced by the DVD in the late 1990s.
In the 1980s, the CompactCassette began to take over as the primary format for audio recordings. The CompactCassette was developed by Phillips and was quickly adopted due to its convenience and portability. The CompactCassette remained popular until the late 1990s when it was replaced by digital audio formats such as the WAV and MP3.
Today, magnetic media is still used for data storage and archiving. Hard drive platters are coated with a thin layer of magnetic material which can store large amounts of data in a small space. This technology is used in computer hard drives, external drives, optical storage media, and other types of data storage.
Over the past sixty years, magnetic media has been an integral part of the media production and storage industry. From open reel audio tapes to digital hard drives, magnetic media has allowed us to capture and store countless hours of audio and video. Magnetic media is still a vital part of many industries and it’s clear that it will continue to be used in the foreseeable future.