Thomas Edison was responsible for the first audio recording in 1877, using a phonograph to record the impressions in a tin-wrapped cylinder. He quickly applied for a patent and was granted one the following February. This early model held ground for a few years, until 1881, when Charles Tainter of Volta Labs developed the first side-cut records (similar to the vinyl records we know). Unfortunately, he had not developed a method of reading, but simply of recording. This lasted until 1885, when Tainter cooperated with Chichester Bell to create vertically cut, wax-covered cylinders as a medium for the new recording practice. These had the unfortunate disadvantage of being extremely fragile. Finally, in 1887, Emile Berliner developed another gramophone using a side-cut stand. This method had the added advantage of being easily duplicated by electroplating. These three models competed in the market until the end of the year, when Edison developed a battery-powered version of his gramophone. The same year, Berliner developed its means of mass production, by copying on hard rubber. All gramophones then had a capacity of a few minutes per disc. In 1889, the Columbia Phonograph Company was established (grandfather of modern Columbia Music), which was also the first publisher of a music catalog. The following year saw the commissioning of the first jukebox, which grossed over $1,000 (in 1890!) in its first six months. 1893 saw the rise of the Berlin model, for which he founded the Berliner Gramophone Co. A few years later, he discovered a new shellac which proved to be a better support than rubber. Around the same time, 1894 to be exact, the world saw Marconi's first radio, which he quickly took to America and...... middle of paper ......han PCM tend to be sensitive to data loss because they refer to the previous measurement and simply indicate the change between them. This problem is usually solved by consolidating multiple copies of the data into a single file. Although it defies common sense, it is actually more efficient to record a particular sound byte in ADPCM and attach, say, four copies, than to encode a single PCM copy. Sources: Digital Recording Techniques – http://www.digital -recordings.com/publ/pubrec.htmlGiancoli, Principles of Physics with Applications, 5-E Chapter 12 -- Applications – http://cwx.prenhall.com /giancoli/chapter12/essay2/deluxe-content.htmlConcepts HyperPhysics - http: //hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/sound/soucon.htmlHistory of recording technology - http://history.acusd. edu/gen/recording/notes.htmlSound - http://www.smgaels.org/physique/son_1.htm