 | Faye Graves, a native Wichitan, attended school at Friends and Wichita State, concluding at Midwestern Theological Seminary. He has been active in media for many years with Channel 12, KIRL, KFDI, KOOO AM & FM (Omaha), KFRM & KICT 95, as an owner, manager, producer, director and announcer. He has served as President of the Haysville Board of Education. He has also served on several national boards of the Southern Baptist Convention. Faye currently serves as Executive Pastor and Director of Administration and Education at Immanuel Baptist Church, 1415 S. Topeka, Wichita. You may contact Faye by e-mail fmgraves@amenibc.org, or by phone at (316) 262-1452. |
Nostalgia
2008-05-01 13:20:00
Remember...
Question: How did we get from the old equipment made for audio and video to the new digital era?
Answer: Like most technology, it sure didn’t happen over night, did it? Do you remember the old crystal sets? These go way back when radio stations first began. Usually they were handmade, had a crystal…and a tuning whisker. By moving the whisker you could get different stations and listen the only way you could…through earphones. Then came the AM radios…first with a trumpet on them…then the big console radios…and then the table models. These radios were AM only. The family would gather around and listen to the news…hear the president speak and listen to music. Programming evolved to entertainment…featuring great singers…musicians…big bands…movie stars…dramas …sports….etc.
Then came the marketing of the 78 rpm recordings…then albums…and 45 rpms. Later it was taped music....reel to reel first, of course FM radio came into its own with the marketing of stereo…at home and in your cars. Next came the eight track tapes and players…and smaller cassettes. And now…the digital age. The same with television…first black and white…all with live programming. Then lots of produced specials to compete with motion pictures. There were the old strip color screens that went on the front of your picture tube with blue for the sky, pink for the skin tones, and green for the grass. Then there was glorious color…all live….then taped with kinescopes…then the origination of video tape.
I remember the first video tape machine to arrive in Wichita. It came to channel 12….a big monster that stood about 8 feet in the air. I was working there at the time…and we had a big party for all the folks involved in advertising. Then they started reducing the size of not only the video tape recorders but of all the equipment. Cameras, projectors, recorders, microphones, lights, monitors, and even transmitters.
I can recall editing the video tape with a razor blade…cutting out the scene that wasn’t wanted and joining the tape together to make it look better or fit the time frame. Now it is all becoming digital…all editing by computer…a picture that is so clear you think you are there…recordings are CDs or DVDs and music is now played from small units like Ipods…cell phones, etc. It is going to be very interesting in 2009 when all TV signals go digital….what a universal, colossal change that will be. Did this all happen over night? No way. It has all happened in the last 60 years. It’s fun to live in the 21st century. Have a great summer.
