In 1929, the Radio Corporation of America (RCA), a radio equipment pioneer, purchased the Victor Talking Machine Company, the leading American phonograph company. By 1938, RCA Victor was selling a living-room radio with a fine wooden exterior that was about 4 feet tall and 2.5 feet wide . Two jacks in the back of the radio were labeled with the following text:
This instrument is design for use with
- Television An RCA Victor television attachment plugged into this jack enables you to receive television programs. You see the picture on the attachment, you hear the sound accompaniment on this radio.
- Records With the RCA Victor record player plugged into this jack, the radio becomes a fine record playing instrument. You may then listen to your favorite artists by means of Victor and Bluebird records.
That business direction evidently failed. The radio business, the television business, and the record business have remained largely separate businesses through to today.
RCA Victor’s radio in 1938 occupied a similar physical and economic space to today’s big-screen televisions. Occupying the living room and economizing on high-performance hardware seems to have been less important than diverse device forms and circumstances of use. While Internet TV is currently generating a lot of excitement, it’s future is far from certain.
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