[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]
Re: [ARSCLIST] NY Times: Researchers Play Tune Recorded before Edison
Tom Fine wrote:
Are you saying that cylinders are technically superior to disks? Or are
you saying that Edison's version of a disk was superior to Berliner's?
Or are you simply saying that Berliner won out because he could
mass-produce disks that sold at a viable price point?
The final sentence is the only one with which I disagree. The disc won
out for the same reason that VHS won out over the technically superior
Betamax: practicality. The disc is far more practical to produce and
to handle. Technical issues are significant (and the professional
version of Betamax still survives), but for the producer and the user
operational and cost issues take over.
Oddly, I am saying what I said: The disc won out for ... practicality.
It was cheaper to produce, easier to stock, sell, buy, store and play.
If you infer from what I said that it had higher fidelity, I would not
argue with the conclusion, but point out that I did not assert it.
Note that one is hard pressed to be specific about cost of production,
though it would seem to be higher given the nature of the process by,
say, 1902. However, price to the consumer is dictated by many factors
other than cost of production. IMHO, RCA probably would have charged no
more for a Caruso or Sembrich cylinder (if it had made such) than for
the disc. The premium for such an artist's record was surely far greater
than needed to cover the production cost.
Mike
--
mrichter@xxxxxxx
http://www.mrichter.com/