t is an ancestor od The American Record Guide.

Steve Smolian

-----Original Message----- 
From: Tom Fine
Sent: Wednesday, October 17, 2012 7:53 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] Phonograph Monthly Reviews @ Philadelphia Free 
Library...Light Ray Recording

Exactly WHO is claiming to own the copyright on Phonograph Monthly Review 
magazines? There are
apparently scans at Google Books, but the text is inaccessible. I can't 
imagine anyone remotely
connected with this original magazine company is anywhere near Earth to 
claim a copyright, so this
must be some sort of pirate/loophole-taker involved.

There is a description of the Light Ray system included in the text for this 
video (I'm not vouching
for any accuracy):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9EKFcP2TTA

Here is more on the system, as used in Germany:
http://forum.talkingmachine.info/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=4643
apparently, the Germans used a purely electrical system, rather than an 
acoustic horn as the sound
collector as some descriptions have Brunswick's US system.

Some mention of the Light Ray system here, again not vouching for any 
accuracy:
http://zaydesturntable.wordpress.com/tag/light-ray-process/

Here is a Google Books excerpt where you can actually read the text, with 
detailed mention of the
Brunswick Light Ray system in the US:
http://tinyurl.com/ctrd7k9

In general, optical recording needed much refinement and mitigation to 
result in really excellent
audio. It was always fine for dialog, field audio and some sound effects. 
But the high levels of
distortion, limited dynamic range and vagueries of bulb brightness, film 
stock and the like would
lead to less reliable fidelity than could be achieved via the WECO 
electronic groove-cutting system.
There is a vast library of papers that were published in the SMPE/SMPTE 
Journal, IEEE Journal and
other places, describing the many and continuous refinements in optical 
recording, up to the very
recent past. Often, a telltale sign of optical recording (combined with 
SMPTE curves for
dialog-intelligability) is a screaming midrange with very little bass or 
treble. This works OK in a
cinema, because it makes the dialog crystal clear and people are generally 
munching popcorn and
paying less attention to sound fidelity than what's happening on-screen. It 
does not work well in a
home-theater setting, and thus the best home-video releases have always 
featured a remixed and often
re-equalized soundtrack making for wider frequency range and bettter overall 
audibility through home
speakers. Lower-budget home-video releasers have not gone to the trouble, 
and their lousy-sounding
work is sometimes painful to watch!

-- Tom Fine

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Art Shifrin" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Wednesday, October 17, 2012 7:28 AM
Subject: [ARSCLIST] Phonograph Monthly Reviews @ Philadelphia Free 
Library...Light Ray Recording


> Does anyone live near the Library who might attempt to get a copy made for
> distribution to this list?  If not, then I will ask someone if it's
> feasible that this favor be done.  I'm anxious to see the article but 
> don't
> want to impose if it's unnecessary.  IF RESPONDING TO THIS ON THE LIST,
> THEN PLEASE ALSO  COPY ME DIRECTLY.
>
> Shiffy
>