RCA
Technicolor SA[a] (trademark rights only, 1987–2022) Talisman Brands d.b.a Established Inc. (trademark, since 2022) | |
Divisions | RCA Records NBC RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video RCA Services |
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The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded in 1919 as the Radio Corporation of America. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Company. In 1932, RCA became an independent company after the partners were required to divest their ownership as part of the settlement of a government antitrust suit.
An innovative and progressive company, RCA was the dominant electronics and communications firm in the United States for over five decades. In the early 1920s, RCA was at the forefront of the mushrooming radio industry as a major manufacturer of
During the 1970s, RCA's seemingly impregnable stature as America's leader in technology, innovation and home entertainment began to weaken as the company attempted to expand beyond its main focus of the development and marketing of consumer electronics and communications into a diversified multinational conglomerate. Additionally, RCA began to face increasing domestic competition from international electronics firms such as
Establishment by General Electric
RCA originated as a reorganization of the Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company of America (commonly called "American Marconi"). In 1897, the Wireless Telegraph and Signal Company, Limited, was founded in London to promote the radio (then known as "wireless telegraphy") inventions of Guglielmo Marconi. As part of worldwide expansion, in 1899 American Marconi was organized as a subsidiary company, holding the rights to use the Marconi patents in the United States and Cuba.[3] In 1912 it took over the assets of the bankrupt United Wireless Telegraph Company, and from that point forward it became the dominant radio communications company in the United States.
When the United States entered World War I in April 1917, the federal government took control of most civilian radio stations in order to use them for the war effort. Although the government planned to restore civilian ownership of the radio stations once the war ended, many United States Navy officials hoped to retain a monopoly on radio communication even after the war. Contrary to instructions it had received, the Navy began purchasing large numbers of radio stations. When the war ended, Congress rejected the Navy's efforts to have peacetime control of the radio industry and instructed that the Navy return the stations it had taken control of to the original owners.[4]
Due to national security considerations, the Navy was particularly concerned about returning high-powered international stations to American Marconi, since the majority of its stock was in foreign hands, and the British already largely controlled the international undersea telegraph cables. This concern was increased by the announcement in late 1918 of the formation of the Pan-American Wireless Telegraph and Telephone Company,[5] a joint venture between American Marconi and the Federal Telegraph Company,[6] with plans to set up service between the United States and South America.[7]
The Navy had installed a high-powered Alexanderson alternator, built by General Electric (GE), at the American Marconi transmitter site in New Brunswick, New Jersey. It proved to be superior for transatlantic transmissions to the Spark-gap transmitters that had been traditionally used by the Marconi companies. Marconi officials were so impressed by the capabilities of the Alexanderson alternators that they began making preparations to adopt them as their standard transmitters for international communication. A tentative plan made with General Electric proposed that over a two-year period the Marconi companies would purchase most of GE's alternator production. However, the U.S. Navy objected to the plan, fearing British domination in international radio communications and the national security concerns this raised.[9]
The Navy, claiming support from U.S. President Woodrow Wilson, looked for an alternative that would result in an "all-American" company taking over the American Marconi assets. In April 1919, two naval officers, Admiral H. G. Bullard and Commander S. C. Hooper, met with GE president, Owen D. Young and requested a suspension of the pending alternator sales to the Marconi companies. This would leave General Electric without a buyer for its transmitters, so the officers proposed that GE purchase American Marconi, and use the assets to form its own radio communications subsidiary. Young consented to this proposal, which, effective November 20, 1919, transformed American Marconi into the Radio Corporation of America. The decision to form the new company was promoted as a patriotic gesture. The corporate officers were required to be citizens of the United States, with a majority of the company stock to be held by U.S. citizens.[9]
Upon its founding, RCA was the largest radio communications firm in the United States.
The radio industry had been making technical advances, particularly in the area of vacuum tube technology and GE needed access to additional patents before its new subsidiary could be fully competitive. During this time American Marconi had been steadily falling behind others in the industry. The two companies entered into negotiations which resulted in a series of mutually beneficial cross-licensing agreements between themselves and various other companies in the industry. On July 1, 1920, an agreement was made with the
In 1930, RCA agreed to occupy the yet-to-be-constructed landmark skyscraper of the Rockefeller Center complex, 30 Rockefeller Plaza, which in 1933 became known as the RCA Building (renamed the GE Building in 1988 and currently known as the Comcast Building after Comcast bought NBC-TV). This lease was critical for enabling the massive project to proceed as a commercially viable venture—David Rockefeller cited RCA's action as being responsible for "the salvation of the project".[13]
Radio development
International and marine communication
RCA's primary business objectives at its founding were to provide equipment and services for seagoing vessels, and "worldwide wireless" communication in competition with existing international undersea telegraph cables. To provide the international service, the company soon undertook a massive project to build a "Radio Central" communications hub at Rocky Point, Long Island, New York, designed to achieve "the realization of the vision of communication engineers to transmit messages to all points of the world from a single centrally located source". Construction began in July 1920, and the site was dedicated on November 5, 1921, after two of the proposed twelve antenna spokes had been completed, and two of the 200-kilowatt alternators installed. The debut transmissions received replies from stations in 17 countries.[15]
Although the initial installation would remain in operation, the additional antenna spokes and alternator installations would not be completed, due to a major discovery about radio signal propagation. While investigating transmitter "harmonics" – unwanted additional radio signals produced at higher frequencies than a station's normal transmission frequency – Westinghouse's
The Alexanderson alternators, control of which had led to RCA's formation, were now considered obsolete, and international radio communication would be primarily conducted using vacuum tube transmitters operating on shortwave bands. RCA would continue to operate international telecommunications services for the remainder of its existence, through its subsidiary RCA Communications, Inc., and later the RCA Global Communications Company. In 1975, the company formed RCA American Communications, which operated its Satcom series of geostationary communications satellites. International shortwave links were in turn largely supplanted by communications satellites, especially for distributing network radio and television programming.
At the time RCA was founded in 1919, all radio and telegraphic communication between China and the US, including official messages, were sent through either German radio or British cable links. The U.S. Navy lobbied RCA to seek a concession for a radio link to China, however the company was reluctant because its other concessions were already operating at a loss. This link began operation in 1928. The Mackay Radio and Telegraph Company of California signed a similar agreement with China in 1932. RCA claimed this was breach of contract on the grounds that its 1928 agreement had given it exclusive rights. The dispute went to arbitration, and in 1935 a decision, issued in Radio Corporation of America v China, concluded the Mackay concession was valid, because the earlier RCA concession had not granted exclusive rights.[17][18]
Broadcasting
The introduction of organized radio broadcasting in the early 1920s resulted in a dramatic reorientation and expansion of RCA's business activities. The development of vacuum tube radio transmitters made audio transmissions practical, in contrast with the earlier transmitters which were limited to sending the dits-and-dahs of Morse code. Since at least 1916, when he was still at American Marconi, David Sarnoff had proposed establishing broadcasting stations, but his memos to management promoting the idea for sales of a "Radio Music Box" had not been followed up at the time.[19]
Around 1920, a small number of broadcasting stations began operating, and soon interest in the innovation was spreading nationwide. In the summer of 1921, a Madison Square Garden employee, Julius Hopp, devised a plan to raise charitable funds by broadcasting, from ringside, the July 2, 1921
RCA quickly moved to expand its broadcasting activities. In the fall of 1921, it set up its first full-time broadcasting station, WDY, at the Roselle Park, New Jersey company plant. By 1923, RCA was operating three stations—WJZ (now WABC) and WJY in New York City, and WRC (now WTEM) in Washington, D.C. A restriction imposed by AT&T's interpretation of the patent cross-licensing agreements required that the RCA stations remain commercial free, and they were financed by profits from radio equipment sales.
National Broadcasting Company
Beginning in 1922, AT&T became heavily involved in radio broadcasting, and soon became the new industry's most important participant. From the beginning, AT&T's policy was to finance stations by commercial sponsorship of the programs. The company also created the first radio network, centered on its New York City station WEAF (now WFAN), using its long-distance telephone lines to interconnect stations. This allowed them to economize by having multiple stations carry the same program.
RCA and its partners soon faced an economic crisis, as the costs of providing programming threatened to exceed the funds available from equipment profits. The problem was resolved in 1926 when AT&T unexpectedly decided to exit the radio broadcasting field. RCA purchased, for $1,000,000, AT&Ts two radio stations, WEAF and
Concerned that NBC's control of two national radio networks gave it too much power over the industry, in 1941 the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) promulgated a rule designed to force NBC to divest one of them.[22] This order was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court, and on October 12, 1943, the NBC-Blue network was sold to candy magnate Edward J. Noble for $8,000,000, and renamed "The Blue Network, Inc." In 1946 the name was changed to the American Broadcasting Company (ABC). The "Red" network retained the NBC name and remained under RCA ownership until 1986.
For two decades the NBC radio network's roster of stars provided ratings consistently surpassing those of its main competitor, the
Radio receivers
RCA acted as the sales agent for a small line of Westinghouse and GE branded receivers and parts used by home constructors, originally for a limited market of
Vacuum tubes
RCA inherited American Marconi's status as a major producer of vacuum tubes, which were branded Radiotron in the United States. Especially after the rise of broadcasting, they were a major profit source for the company. RCA's strong patent position meant that the company effectively set the selling prices for vacuum tubes in the U.S., which were significantly higher than in Europe, where
The company began work on a secret project for the U.S. Navy called Madame X in September 1942. The Bloomington, Indiana, plant was one of the first of five RCA plants to produce Madame X vacuum tubes, which included a
The Nuvistor tubes were a last major vacuum tube innovation, along with General Electric's
Phonographs and records
The rapid rise of radio broadcasting during the early 1920s, which provided unlimited free entertainment in the home, had a detrimental effect on the American phonograph record industry. The
RCA's acquisition of the Victor company included the western hemisphere rights to the iconic Nipper/"His Master's Voice" trademark.[26] RCA Victor popularized combined radio receiver-phonographs, and also created RCA Photophone, a movie sound-on-film system that competed with William Fox's sound-on-film Movietone and Warner Bros.' sound-on-disc Vitaphone. Although early announcements of the RCA and Victor merger stressed that the two firms were linking equally to form a joint new company, RCA initially had little true interest in the phonograph record business. The management of RCA was interested essentially in Victor's superior sales capabilities through the record company's large network of authorized distributors and dealers, as well as the extensive, efficient manufacturing facilities in Camden, New Jersey. Immediately following the purchase of Victor, RCA began planning the manufacture of radio sets and components on Victor's Camden assembly lines, while decreasing the production of Victrolas and records.[27]
The entire phonograph record industry in America nearly foundered after the
In 1934, following the debacle of its long-play record, RCA Victor introduced the Duo Jr., an inexpensive, small, basic electric turntable designed to be plugged into radio sets. The Duo Jr. was sold at cost, but was practically given away with the purchase of a certain number of Victor records. The Duo Jr.'s rock-bottom price helped to overcome the national apathy to phonographs, and record sales gradually began to recover.[30] Around 1935, RCA began marketing the modernistic RCA Victor M Special, a polished aluminum portable record player designed by John Vassos that has become an icon of 1930s American industrial design.[31] In 1949, RCA Victor released the first 45 rpm "single" records, as a response to Columbia Records successful introduction of its microgroove 331⁄3 rpm "LP" format in 1948. As RCA Victor adopted Columbia's 331⁄3 rpm LP records in 1950,[32][33] Columbia then adopted RCA Victor's 45 rpm records.[34]
Motion pictures
RCA also made investments in the movie industry, but they performed poorly. In April 1928, RCA Photophone, Inc., was organized by a group of companies including RCA to develop sound-movie technology. In the fall of 1927, RCA had purchased stock in Film Booking Office (FBO), and on October 25, 1928, with the help of
Separation from General Electric
After years of industry complaints that the cross-licensing agreements between RCA, GE, and Westinghouse had in effect created illegal monopolies, the U.S. Department of Justice brought antitrust charges against the three companies in May 1930.[36] After much negotiation, in 1932 the Justice Department accepted a consent agreement that removed the restrictions established by the cross-licensing agreements, and also provided that RCA would become a fully independent company. As a result, GE and Westinghouse gave up their ownership interests in RCA, while RCA was allowed to keep its factories.[37] To give RCA a chance to establish itself, GE and Westinghouse were required to refrain from competing in the radio business for the next two and one-half years.[38]
Television
RCA began television development in early 1929, after an overly optimistic Vladimir K. Zworykin convinced Sarnoff that a commercial version of his prototype system could be produced in a relatively short time for $100,000. Following what would actually be many years of additional research and millions of dollars, RCA demonstrated an all-electronic black-and-white television system at the 1939 New York World's Fair. RCA began regular experimental television broadcasting from the NBC studios to the New York metropolitan area on April 30, 1939, via station W2XBS, channel 1 (which evolved into WNBC channel 4) from the new Empire State Building transmitter on top of the structure. Around this time, RCA began selling its first television set models, including the TRK-5 and TRK-9, in various New York stores.[40] However, the FCC had not approved the start of commercial television operations, because technical standards had not yet been finalized. Concerned that RCA's broadcasts were an attempt to flood the market with sets that would force it to adopt RCA's current technology, the FCC stepped in to limit its broadcasts.
Following the adoption of
In 1950, the FCC adopted a standard for color television that had been promoted by CBS, but the effort soon failed, primarily because the color broadcasts could not be received by existing black-and-white sets. As the result of a major research push, RCA engineers developed a method of "compatible" color transmissions that, through the use of interlacing, simultaneously broadcast color and black-and-white images, which could be picked up by both color and existing black-and-white sets. In 1953, RCA's all-electronic color television technology was adopted as the standard for the United States. At that time, Sarnoff predicted annual color television sales would reach 1.78 million in 1956, but the receivers were expensive and difficult to adjust, and there was initially a lack of color programming, so sales lagged badly and the actual 1956 total would only be 120,000.[41] RCA's ownership of NBC proved to be a major benefit, as that network was instructed to promote its color program offerings; even so, it was not until 1968 that color television sales in the United States surpassed those of black-and-white sets.
While lauding the technical prowess of his RCA engineers who had developed color television, David Sarnoff, in marked contrast to William Paley, president of CBS, did not disguise his dislike for popular television programs. His authorized biography even boasted that "no one has yet caught him in communion with one of the upper dozen or so top-rated programs" and "The popular programs, to put the matter bluntly, have very little appeal for him."[42]
RCA
Diversification
In 1941, shortly before the United States entered World War II, the cornerstone was laid for a research and development facility in
RCA plants switched to war production shortly after the U.S. entered the war in December 1941. During World War II, RCA was involved in
In 1955, RCA sold its Estate brand of large appliance operations to Whirlpool Corporation. As part of this transaction, Whirlpool was given the right to market "RCA Whirlpool" appliances through the mid-1960s.
RCA manufactured equipment for repairing radios, such as oscilloscopes.
RCA Graphic Systems Division (GSD) was an early supplier of electronics designed for the printing and publishing industries. It contracted with German company
RCA Victor became a major proponent of the
Computers
RCA was one of a number of companies in the 1960s that entered the mainframe computer field in order to challenge the market leader International Business Machines (IBM). Although at this time computers were almost universally used for routine data processing and scientific research, in 1964 Sarnoff, who prided himself as a visionary, predicted that "The computer will become the hub of a vast network of remote data stations and information banks feeding into the machine at a transmission rate of a billion or more bits of information a second ... Eventually, a global communications network handling voice, data and facsimile will instantly link man to machine—or machine to machine—by land, air, underwater, and space circuits. [The computer] will affect man's ways of thinking, his means of education, his relationship to his physical and social environment, and it will alter his ways of living. ... [Before the end of this century, these forces] will coalesce into what unquestionably will become the greatest adventure of the human mind."[48]
RCA marketed a
Later years
On January 1, 1965, Robert Sarnoff succeeded his father as RCA's president, although the elder Sarnoff remained in control as chairman of the board. The younger Sarnoff sought to modernize RCA's image with the introduction in late 1968 of what was then a futuristic-looking new logo (the letters 'RCA' in block, modernized form), replacing the original lightning bolt logo, and the virtual retirement of both the Victor and Nipper/"His Master's Voice" trademarks. The RCA Victor Division was renamed RCA Records; the 'Victor' and 'Victrola' trademarks were no longer used on RCA consumer electronics. 'Victor' was now restricted to the labels and album covers of RCA's regular popular record releases, while the Nipper/"His Master's Voice" trademark was seen only on the album covers of
In 1969, the company name was officially changed from Radio Corporation of America to the RCA Corporation, to reflect its broader range of corporate activities and expansion into other countries. At the end of that same year, David Sarnoff, after being incapacitated by a long-term illness, was removed as the company's chairman of the board. He died in December, 1971.
RCA's exit from the mainframe computer market in 1971 marked a milestone in its transition from electronics and technology toward Robert Sarnoff's goal to diversify RCA as a multinational business
Robert Sarnoff's tenure as RCA president was unsuccessful, marked by falling profits, in addition to being personally disliked by many company executives. He was ousted in a 1975 "boardroom coup" led by Anthony Conrad, who became RCA's new president. Conrad resigned less than a year later after he admitted failing to file income tax returns for six years. His successor, Edgar H. Griffiths, proved to be unpopular and retired in early 1981. Griffiths was succeeded by Thornton Bradshaw, who turned out to be the last RCA president.
RCA maintained its high standards of engineering excellence in broadcast engineering and satellite communications equipment, but ventures such as the NBC radio and television networks declined.
After the departure of Robert Sarnoff, Griffiths, wishing to restore RCA's heritage and responding to public demand, revived the Nipper/"His Master's Voice" trademark. In mid 1976, RCA Records reinstated Nipper to most record labels in countries and territories where RCA held the rights to the trademark. Once again, RCA widely used Nipper in newspaper and magazine advertisements and store displays. The trademark also returned to company stationery, shipping cartons, delivery and service trucks and reappeared for a time on RCA television sets and
Projects attempting to establish new consumer electronics products during this era, failed and lost RCA much money and prestige. An RCA Studio II home video game console, introduced in 1977, was canceled just under two years later due to poor sales. Development of RCA's capacitance electronic (CED) videodisc system, marketed under the SelectaVision name, began in 1964 and after several years of delays, was launched in March 1981. The CED videodisc system represented the largest investment RCA ever made in a single product, even larger than the company's development of color TV. The CED system was practically obsolete by the time it finally did appear and never reached the manufacturing volumes that even approached the numbers needed to substantially bring down its price to compete against the newer, recordable and increasingly cheaper videotape technology. RCA abandoned the manufacture of CED players in 1984 and discs in 1986, after a loss of around 650 million dollars.
Around 1980, RCA corporate strategy reported on moving manufacture of its television receivers to Mexico. In 1981, Columbia Pictures sold its share in the home video division to RCA and outside of North America this division was renamed "RCA/Columbia Pictures International Video (now Sony Pictures Home Entertainment)". The following year, within North America, it was renamed to "RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video". In 1983, the German media conglomerate Bertelsmann sold 50% of Arista Records to RCA Records; in 1985, RCA and Bertelsmann formed a joint venture, RCA/Ariola International, which took over management of RCA Records. Bertelsmann would fully acquire RCA Records from General Electric after GE absorbed RCA in 1986.[51]
RCA was still profitable in 1983, when it switched manufacturing of its VHS VCRs from
Re-acquisition and breakup by General Electric
In December 1985, it was announced that General Electric would reacquire its former subsidiary for $6.28 billion in cash, or $66.50 per share of stock.[55] GE's acquisition of RCA was the largest non-oil company merger in history up to that time and was completed on June, 9, 1986. Despite initial assurances that RCA would continue to operate as a mostly autonomous unit, it was revealed that GE's main motivation in purchasing RCA was to acquire the corporation's defense-related businesses and the NBC Television Network. Over the next few years, GE proceeded to sell off most of RCA's remaining assets (after the 2011 sale of NBCUniversal to Comcast, the only former RCA unit which GE retained was Government Services). In 1987, GE disposed of its 50% interest in RCA Records to its partner Bertelsmann, and the company was renamed Bertelsmann Music Group. RCA Global Communications Inc., a division with roots dating back to RCA's founding in 1919, was sold to the MCI Communications Corporation; also in 1987, the NBC Radio Network was sold to Westwood One.[56]
In 1988, the rights to manufacture consumer electronics products under the RCA and GE brands was acquired by
In 1991, GE sold its share in RCA/Columbia to Sony Pictures which renamed the unit "Columbia TriStar Home Video" (later further renamed to Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment, now Sony Pictures Home Entertainment). This merger surpassed the Capital Cities/ABC merger that happened earlier in 1985 as the largest non-oil merger in business history.[58]
Sarnoff Labs was put on a five-year plan whereby GE would fund all the labs' activities for the first year, then reduce its support to near zero after the fifth year. This required Sarnoff Labs to change its business model to become an industrial contract research facility. In 1988, it was transferred to
In 2011, GE sold its controlling interest in the
Legacy
RCA
The RCA Heritage Museum was established at Rowan University in 2012.[61]
The historic RCA Victor Building 17, the "Nipper Building", in Camden, New Jersey, was converted to luxury apartments in 2003.[62]
A type of plug/jack combination used in audio and video cables is still called the RCA connector.
To this day, a variety of consumer electronics including 2-in-1 tablets, televisions and telephones, home appliances and more are sold under the RCA brand name.
Environmental issues
Numerous former RCA manufacturing sites have been reported to be polluted with industrial waste.
- A former RCA facility in Taiwan's northern county of Taiwanese Environmental Protection Agency. GE and Thomson spent millions of dollars for cleanup, removing 10,000 cubic yards (7,600 m3) of soil and installing municipal water treatment facilities for neighboring communities. A spokesman for RCA's current owners denied responsibility, saying a study conducted by the Taiwan government showed no correlation between the illnesses and the company's facilities, which shut down in 1991.[65] On April 17, 2015, RCA lost the case and the Taipei District Court ordered RCA's current owners to compensate its former employees with a total of NT$560 million (approximately US$18.1 million).[66]
- A plant in 1,2-dichloroethylene (1,2-DCE).[67] In 1991 and 1992, contaminants were detected in monitoring wells on the east side of the Conestoga Riverin Lancaster.
- The shallow and deep groundwater aquifers beneath the Mountaintop, Pennsylvania, which RCA operated in the 1960s and later sold to Harris Corporation, were found in 1999 to contain elevated levels of volatile organic compounds.[68]
- A site in Burlington, Massachusetts, which RCA used from 1958 to 1994 to make and test military electronics equipment, generated hazardous waste (VOCs, TCE, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes).[69]
- In Barceloneta, Puerto Rico, an RCA-operated plant generated wastes containing chromium, selenium and iron. Four lagoons holding chemical waste drained into the limestone aquifer.[70][71] Used water from the manufacturing process (process water), containing ferric chloride, was treated onsite to remove contaminants and then was discharged into a sinkhole at the site. The treatment of process water created a sludge that was stored onsite in drying beds and in surface impoundments.[72]
Photo gallery
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David Sarnoff in 1922
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Edwin Armstrong at RCA
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Nipper atop the old RCA distribution building, Broadway, Albany, New York
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Stained glass Nipper window at RCA Victor Building 17 in Camden NJ.
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One of 4 Nipper stained glass windows seen from inside the "Nipper Tower" in the old RCA Victor Building 17.[73]
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RCA trademarks displayed on the back of Dimensia TV, the 1980s
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Two vacuum tube cartons, displaying different generations of the RCA logo
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RCA Pavilion at the 1964 New York World's Fair
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RCA Radio ad, circa 1945.
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RCA Radio x551, Early '50s AC/DC tabletop radio
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AR-88 communications receiver
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RCA 44-BX Bi-Directional Velocity Microphone.
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Victor Talking Machine Company's His Master's Voice logo with Nipper (1921).
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RCA Victor Red Seal Recordslabel, late 1930s
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45rpmplayer and record in February 1949.
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RCA Studio B recording studio in Nashville, Tennessee; known in the 1960s for being part of the Nashville sound.
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Vladimir K. Zworykin with an early experimental TV
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Grace Bradt and Eddie Albert in a 1936 NBC television program The Honeymooners-Grace and Eddie Show using an early RCA camera.
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Iconic televisiontest patterncreated by RCA in 1939
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First U.S. commercial TV set, the RCA Victor TRK 12 (1939)[74]
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RCA 630-TS, the first mass-produced television set, sold in 1946–1947
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1954 RCA CT-100 TV[75]
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1954 RCA TK-41C dolly-mounted color broadcast camera
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1954 RCA TK-11/TK-31 television camera
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1970s-era RCA Radiotron ImageOrthiconTV Camera Tube
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RCA Studio II home video game console (1977)
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RCA Colortrak TV set, using the CTC101 chassis, c. 1980
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RCA Universal Remote RCU403, c. 2002–2003
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RCA AutoShot VHS Camcorder, c. 1998
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RCA connector used for audio and video.
See also
- 2N3055 Popular silicon NPN power transistor
- Ampliphase
- Berliner Gramophone Company, whose Canadian operation became RCA Victor of Canada
- Claude E. Robinson, American pioneer in advertising and opinion survey research
- CMOS 4000 series
- Colortrak and Colortrak 2000, notable trademarks for RCA's early color television sets
- Dimensia, a high-end advanced trademark TV for RCA
- Electrofax
- Elmer T. Cunningham
- Ernst F. W. Alexanderson RCA's first Chief Engineer, 1920–1924
- Film Chain– RCA TK-26, TK-27 and TK-28
- George H. Brown, a research engineer who headed RCA's development of color television
- HMV – His Master's Voice
- List of phonograph manufacturers
- Missile Test Project
- Nipper, the dog in RCA's iconic "His Master's Voice" trademark
- Nuvistor Nuvistors are among the highest performing small signal receiving tubes
- RCA Mark II Sound Synthesizer
- RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video(internationally known as RCA/Columbia Pictures International Video), a joint venture between RCA and Columbia Pictures
- RCA Transistors and Semiconductor Diodes 1957 Characteristics, Circuits, Theory, Interchangeability Directory
- Superette (radio) RCA trademark for their line of superheterodyne receivers during the early 1930s.
- Victor Talking Machine Company Corporate predecessor of RCA Records
- WSC (radio station)
- XL-100, RCA trademark for extended life and 100% solid state chassis on color television sets in the 1970s and later.
Notes
- ^ Until 2010 known as Thomson SA
References
- IEEE. Retrieved June 1, 2017.
- ^ Radio Corporation of America advertisement, The Wireless Age, August 1921, page 4.
- ^ "A Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company for America", Electrical World and Engineer, December 2, 1899, pages 870–871.
- ^ "Attempts to Establish a United States Government Radio Monopoly", History of Communications-Electronics in the United States Navy by Captain L. S. Howeth, USN (Retired), 1963, pages 313–318.
- ^ Pan-American Wireless Telegraph and Telephone Company (advertisement), Wireless Age, July 1918, page 882.
- ^ Adams, Stephen B. "Arc of Empire: The Federal Telegraph Company, the U.S. Navy, and the Beginnings of Silicon Valley." Business History Review, vol. 91, no. 2, 2017, pp. 329–359. doi:10.1017/S0007680517000630.
- ^ "A New Wireless Chain Between the Americas" by John V. L. Hogan, Popular Science Monthly, November 1918, pages 140–143.
- ^ "Transoceanic Radio Communication" by E. F. W. Alexanderson, General Electric Review, October 1920, page 795.
- ^ a b History of Radio to 1926 by Gleason L. Archer, 1938, pages 159–167, 180.
- ^ Page, Walter Hines; Page, Arthur W (May 1922). "The March Of Events: America in Control Of Its Wireless". The World's Work. XLIV: 11–13. Retrieved June 1, 2017.
- ^ Archer (1938), pages 187–188
- ^ The Continuous Wave by Hugh G. J. Aitken, 1985, pages 445–447, 454–469, 477–481.
- ^ "Rescuing the Project" section of Memoirs by David Rockefeller, New York: Random House, 2002, p. 55.
- ^ The Book of Radio by Charles William Taussig, 1922, page 320.
- ^ "The Opening of Radio Central", The Wireless Age, December 1921, pages 18–22, 45.
- ^ Dr. Harold H. Beverage interview (hard-core-dx.com)
- ^ "Cases: Radio Corporation of America v. China (pca-cpa.org)
- ISBN 9780691155821. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
- ^ Archer (1938), pages 112–113
- ^ "Voice-Broadcasting the Stirring Progress of the 'Battle of the Century' ", The Wireless Age, August 1921, pages 11–21.
- ^ "Early History of Network Broadcasting", Report on Chain Broadcasting: May 1941, Federal Communications Commission, pages 5-8, 17.
- ^ Rule 3.107, Report on Chain Broadcasting: May 1941, Federal Communications Commission, page 92.
- ^ The General by Kenneth Bilby, 1986, pages 246–249.
- ^ Radio Manufacturers of the 1920s: Volume 3 by Alan Douglas, 1991, pages 1–60.
- ^ Rollins, Ernest. "RCA is my home". The Hoosier Times. Retrieved April 24, 2019.
- The Gramophone Company, also known as HMV.
- ^ Levins, Hoag (March 2009). "A Photo History of RCA's Golden Years in Camden". historiccamdencounty.com.
- ^ Edward, David; et al. "RCA Program Transcription Album Discography (1931–33)". bsnpubs.com. Both Sides Now Publications. Retrieved August 19, 2015.
- ^ A similar attempt in the late 1920s by Edison Records to market a commercial long play record format had also failed. The Edison approach used a microgroove lateral cut disc with up to 20 minutes playing time per side.
- ISBN 9780801883989.
- ^ Dominic Muren, "Monday Masterpieces: Streamline+Vinyl=Awesome", IDFuel: Industrial Design Weblog, 2004. Accessed July 22, 2012
- ^ Wallerstein, Edward. "Development of the LP record in 1948". musicinthemail.com. Retrieved June 1, 2017.
- ^ "RCA To Press All Speeds: Diskery Goes 33 in March To Service Entire Market; 45 Promotion in High Gear". Billboard. January 7, 1950. Retrieved June 1, 2017.
- ^ "Record Collector's Resource: A History of Records". cubby.net. Retrieved June 1, 2017.
- ^ "RCA's interest in the motion-picture industry", Report on Chain Broadcasting: May 1941, Federal Communications Commission, pages 13-14.
- ^ "Government Starts Anti-Trust Suits", Gettysburg Times, May 14, 1930, page 2.
- ^ "The Consent Decree", Big Business and Radio by Gleason L. Archer, 1939, pages 364-386.
- ^ "RCA and Associates Separate Under Consent Decree Terms", Broadcasting, December 1, 1932, page 16.
- ^ Radio & Television (magazine) Vol. X, No. 2, June 1939. (inside front cover) New York: Popular Book Corporation.
- ^ "Brochure for 1939 RCA television receivers". tvhistory.tv. Archived from the original on March 11, 2022. Retrieved April 17, 2014.
- ^ Bilby (1986), pages 208, 213.
- ^ David Sarnoff by Eugene Lyons, 1966, page 190.
- ^ "CT-100 Color Receiver Gallery". Archived from the original on January 2, 2006.
- ^ Based on a design originally developed by Ampex in the mid-1950s, it used a vertical scanning drum with head motion at approximately 90° to tape direction. This method was developed prior to helical scanning, used in commercial and home tape machines.
- ^ Peck, Merton J. & Scherer, Frederic M. The Weapons Acquisition Process: An Economic Analysis (1962) Harvard Business School p.619
- ^ Allison, David Kite (1981). New Eye for the Navy: The Origin of Radar at the Naval Research Laboratory. The Laboratory.
- ^ Radio Age by the Radio Corporation of America, p. 26
- ^ Lyons (1966), page 339, from a speech delivered in October 1964 to the Joint Computer Conference in San Francisco.
- ^ "RCA Spectra 70" (PDF). (computerhistory.org). March 1965. Retrieved June 1, 2017.
- ISBN 9780791802038. Retrieved February 25, 2012.
- ^ "RCA: Now Elvis rocked for Bertelsmann, too" (PDF). Bertelsmann Worldwide Media. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 15, 2013.
- ISBN 978-07864-1220-4.
- ^ "RCA TV Equipment Archive". oldradio.com.
- ^ The Victor Lofts website, Camden, New Jersey. victorlofts.com
- ^ "General Electric Will Buy RCA for $6.28 Billion" by Paul Richer, Los Angeles Times, December 12, 1985.
- ^ "MCI Agrees to Acquire RCA Global From G.E." by Barnaby J. Feder, The New York Times, September 4, 1987.
- ^ "Company News; Harris Signs Accord To Buy a Unit of G.E." The New York Times. November 9, 1988. Retrieved June 1, 2017.
- ^ "General Electric Co., in the largest non-oil merger in..." UPI.com. Retrieved December 15, 2021.
- ^ "SRI International Completes Integration of Sarnoff Corporation" (Press release). SRI International. January 1, 2011. Archived from the original on July 3, 2012. Retrieved June 1, 2017.
- ^ Mayerowitz, Scott (February 12, 2013). "General Electric gets out of the TV business". Usnews.com.
- ^ "The RCA Heritage Program Museum". Rowan University. July 17, 2017. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
- ^ "RCA Victor Company, 'Nipper Building' Rehabilitation", New Jersey Historic Preservation Awards Program, 2004,.
- ^ Yi, Matthew (May 24, 2002). "Taiwan workers plead cancer case / Link RCA plant to disease". San Francisco Chronicle. Hearst Communications. Retrieved September 23, 2014.
- ^ Ton, 1999 Ton C-D, Exposure and Health Risk Assessment of Groundwater Contamination – A Case Study of Contamination Site of Tao-Yuan RCA. Master Thesis, National Taiwan University. 1999 (in Chinese)
- ^ "Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition". Archived from the original on March 27, 2009. Retrieved December 15, 2021.
- ^ Chao, Stephanie (April 18, 2015). "RCA parent firms to pay NT$560 mil". The China Post. Archived from the original on July 5, 2015. Retrieved July 5, 2015.
- ^ EPA, OSWER, ORCR, PIID, US. "Corrective Action Programs around the Nation – US EPA" (PDF). US EPA.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Intersil Corporation, S-1 SEC Filing, 11/10/1999
- ^ SUPERFUND ANNUAL REPORT 2001. U.S. EPA Region I
- ^ U.S. EPA, Environmental Quality Board, National Priority List (NPL), Site Inspection Report/Site Evaluation Report. EPA, San Juan Barceloneta RCA del Caribe, October 1987
- ^ John M. Hunter and Sonia I. Arbona, "Paradise Lost: An Introduction to the Geography of Water Pollution in Puerto Rico" Archived October 3, 2008, at the Wayback Machine, Soc. Sci. Med. Vol. 40, No. 10, pp. 1331–1355, 1995. Pergamon Press.
- ^ 20058 - 20060 Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 73 / Monday, April 18, 2005
- ^ This photo is reversed from the normal orientation because it was taken from inside the "Nipper Tower". It shows the 2003 replacement of the 1979 replacement of the 1915 original glass.
- ^ On display at the Wolfsonian–Florida International University center in Miami, Florida.
- ^ Located at the American Museum of Radio And Electricity. The TV is playing an episode of the Superman television program.
Further reading
- Brewster, Richard (2013). "RCA TV Development: 1929–1949". The AWA Review. 26. Antique Wireless Association.
- Cowie, Jefferson (1999). Capital Moves: RCA's Seventy-Year Quest for Cheap Labor. ISBN 0801435250.
- Douglas, Susan J. 1989. Inventing American Broadcasting, 1899-1922. Johns Hopkins University Press.
- ISBN 0812830849.
- Taussig, Charles William (1922). "Radio Central". The Book of Radio. London: D. Appleton & Company. pp. 312–327. Retrieved September 23, 2014.
External links
- Official RCA trademark website
- Radio Corporation of American records Archived June 16, 2019, at the Wayback Machine (1887–1983) at Hagley Museum and Library.
- David Sarnoff Library Digital Collection at Hagley Museum and Library.
- RCA TV equipment archive (oldradio.com)
- Video: Early RCA Computers: the RCA 501
- Who makes RCA TVs?