I have got to admit, back in the dark ages, when I first started in radio, today’s digital technology was not even a dream. Yes, I was into the latest electronics, but I never envisioned how far technology would progress.
At the time I was impressed by the ability of an AM radio signal to reach across several states. How a single needle could provide two distinct channels of audio on a record player. How a ribbon of rust could reproduce sound through a tape recorder. All these mysteries I came to understand and master, somewhat.
Now it is possible to store hundreds, if not thousands of songs on a postage stamp sized device with audio quality almost as good as a Compact Disc. I do not believe even the top scientists of my day knew this was possible. The iPod and other generic MP3 players are a marvel that science fiction never predicted. I never saw Judy Jetson use an iPod Shuffle or a cell phone for that matter. Predicting the future has always been tricky. It makes me wonder what will my grand children see?
The downside to all this MP3 mess is that some audio quality is lost. The old technology may have been cumbersome but it sounded better with the right equipment properly adjusted. I also miss the larger format(s) ability to provide a physical product I could hold in my hands and view its liner notes and album art. Many kids today have no idea what it is like to shop in a real record store; they just have downloaded music files on their hard drives. I see the enlightened of my generation have the best of both worlds, our superior music with today’s convenience technology to go along with it.
The focus of our new Internet only Gospel Rewind radio station is to provide listeners of all generations exposure to some great Gospel music classics with today’s technology that delivers good digital audio quality to the masses that AM or FM will never reach.
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