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Vitaphone Corp.

Vitaphone was a sound film system used for feature films and nearly 1,000 short subjects made by Warner Bros. and its sister studio First National from 1926 to 1931. Vitaphone was the last major analog sound-on-disc system and the only one that was widely used and commercially successful. The soundtrack was not printed on the film itself, but issued separately on phonograph records. The discs, recorded at 33+13 rpm (a speed first used for this system) and typically 16 inches (41 cm) in diameter, would be played on a turntable physically coupled to the projector motor while the film was being projected. It had a frequency response of 4300 Hz. Many early talkies, such as The Jazz Singer (1927), used the Vitaphone system. The name "Vitaphone" derived from the Latin and Greek words, respectively, for "living" and "sound".

The "Vitaphone" trademark was later associated with cartoons and other short subjects that had optical soundtracks and did not use discs.

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1928

Roles Represented in DAHR: Motion picture production company

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Victor MVE-49338 16-in. 12/14/1928 My man : Intermission music The Four Rajahs Motion picture soundtrack : Orchestra, with vocal chorus (takes 1-2A); orchestra only (takes 3-4A) Motion picture production company  

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Vitaphone Corp.," accessed March 28, 2024, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/105207.

Vitaphone Corp.. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved March 28, 2024, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/105207.

"Vitaphone Corp.." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 28 March 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/105207

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