Museum of Obsolete Media / is on Nostr

A unique online museum of physical media formats showcasing developments in audio, video, film and data storage.

#RetroTech #ComputingHistory #OnlineMuseum #RetroGaming #RetroComputing #VintageAudio

Last Notes

2024-07-30 15:17:16

A 10-inch shellac Harmony Disc Record from c.1907-12. Nothing unusual at first glance, but look at that centre hole - ¾-inch diameter.
The Harmony Talking Machine phonograph had a matching larger spindle so that only Harmony Disc Records would fit.
Find out more at https://obsoletemedia.org/harmony-disc-record/
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2024-03-27 22:34:29

- reply

@npub19ud…qvhk Brilliant! Thank you, that's the one 🙂

2024-03-26 16:43:39

I've been asked if I can identify these audio cassettes that are in a university archive and I'm stumped.
They have two playback cutouts, and in one of the spools I can see 'Japan'. It would appear to be 30 minutes of tape.
Anyone got any ideas what machine they might have been used in?
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2024-03-10 11:14:15

U-matic was introduced by Sony in 1971 and was the first video cassette format - prior to this, video tape came on open reels and needed threading. Although originally intended for domestic use, it quickly became a standard for industrial, educational and demonstration purposes and was used in television production, particularly for on-location news gathering.
In various versions, it continued to be used into the 1990s.
For more information, visit https://obsoletemedia.org/u-matic/
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2024-02-25 16:03:24

An illustration of twenty years of hard disk drive progress, from the 8-inch drive of 1979, to the 1-inch drive of 1999.
Shown are an 8-inch drive, 5.25-inch drive, 3.5-inch drive, 2.5-inch drive, 1.8-inch drive and a 1-inch drive.
Not shown are the short-lived 1.3-inch and 0.85-inch drives.
For more information on recent hard disk drive history, visit https://obsoletemedia.org/data/disk/#hd
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2024-01-20 17:00:09

The Kinora was an early means of viewing moving images by using a flip-book technique on a series of black and white still photographs on card. They were used in a viewer machine that was designed for home use by one person at a time, and a lens enlarged the image for viewing.
Introduced in France by the Lumière brothers in 1895, it was launched in Britain in 1902 by The British Mutoscope & Biograph Co. Ltd. and eventually 600 reels were available.
Find out more at https://obsoletemedia.org/kinora/
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2023-12-10 10:50:17

Kodak 828 film was introduced in 1935 for the Kodak Bantam camera, and used 35 mm film but with a single sprocket hole per frame to give a larger image. Rather than a cartridge, it came on a spool.
Despite being available in black and white, colour and reversal (slide) versions it was not a success, and the last cameras were sold in 1963 with Kodak discontinuing the film in 1985.
Find out more at https://obsoletemedia.org/828-film/
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2023-11-29 21:11:20

Akai VK was an early consumer video cassette format introduced in 1977. Initially B&W only, colour was introduced later but only one tape length - 30 minutes - was produced. It was geared toward home movie making, and the first recorder came with a camera.
Facing competition from Betamax and VHS, Akai VK didn't last long but the cassette design went on to be used for Akai MK multi-track audio recording tape.
For more information visit https://obsoletemedia.org/akai-vk/
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2023-10-25 15:48:23

Probably the smallest hard disk drive ever commercially produced, the 0.85-inch 2GB drive was introduced by Toshiba in 2004 and used in the Nokia N91 mobile phone and the Cowon iAudio 6.
There were 4GB and 8GB versions but by 2007 it fell out of use, replaced by flash memory.
https://obsoletemedia.org/0-85-inch-hard-disk/
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2023-08-02 16:29:15

Datasonix's Pereos was a tape backup system from 1995 that used postage-stamp sized tapes with 2.5 mm wide tape, and these were re-branded Sony NT cassettes.
The drive itself was portable and could be powered by batteries, and offered storage of 1.25 GB (a significant amount at the time).
Find out more at https://obsoletemedia.org/pereos/
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2023-07-09 13:02:11

In 1981, the BBC released what it called the 'World's First Videobook'. This was a LaserDisc that used CEEFAX (the BBC's version of Teletext) to provide text information about the 70 British garden birds covered by the disc, in addition to video of birds in flight and birdsong.
The use of data on a home video format was said to have been significant in the development of the BBC Domesday project on LV-ROM disc.
Thanks to @npub15u2…54dd for donating this disc.
https://obsoletemedia.org/laserdisc-with-teletext/
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