Thomas Stockham
Encyclopedia
Thomas Greenway Stockham (December 22, 1933 – January 6, 2004) was an American scientist who developed the first practical digital audio
recording system, and pioneered techniques for digital audio recording and processing as well.
Stockham attended Montclair Kimberley Academy
, graduating in the class of 1951 . Known as the "father of digital audio", he earned an Sc. D. degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
in 1959 and was appointed Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering. While at MIT, he noticed several of the students using an MIT Lincoln Laboratory
TX-0
mainframe computer installed at the campus to record their voices digitally into the computer's memory, using a microphone and a loudspeaker connected to an A/D
-D/A converter attached to the TX-0. This led Stockham to his own digital audio experiments on this same computer in 1962.
In 1968 he left MIT for the University of Utah
, and in 1975 founded Soundstream
, Inc. The company developed a 16-bit digital audio recording system using a 16-track Honeywell
instrumentation tape recorder as a transport
, connected to digital audio recording and playback hardware of Stockham's design. It ran at a sampling rate
of 50 kHz, as opposed to the audio CD
sampling rate of 44.1 kHz.
Soundstream Inc. was the first commercial digital recording company in the United States, located in Salt Lake City. Stockham was the first to make a commercial digital recording, using his own Soundstream recorder in 1976 at the Santa Fe Opera. In 1980, Soundstream merged with the Digital Recording Company (DRC) and became DRC/Soundstream.
Stockham played a key role in the digital restoration of Enrico Caruso recordings, described in a 1975 IEEE paper. These recordings were the first ever to be digitally restored by computer, and were released on the album Caruso-A Legendary Performer by RCA Records
in 1976.
In 1974 he investigated President Richard Nixon's
White House tapes
.
Stockham's developments and contributions to digital audio paved the way for later digital audio technologies, such as the audio compact disc
and DAT
(Digital Audio Tape).
Stockham received wide recognition for his pioneering contributions to digital audio. He received, among many others, the Gold Medal award from the Audio Engineering Society
, a Technical Emmy
award in 1988, a Grammy award from NARAS in 1994, the IEEE Jack S. Kilby Signal Processing Medal
in 1998 and a Scientific and Engineering award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
in 1999.
Digital audio
Digital audio is sound reproduction using pulse-code modulation and digital signals. Digital audio systems include analog-to-digital conversion , digital-to-analog conversion , digital storage, processing and transmission components...
recording system, and pioneered techniques for digital audio recording and processing as well.
Stockham attended Montclair Kimberley Academy
Montclair Kimberley Academy
Montclair Kimberley Academy, abbreviated "MKA", is a private coeducational day school located in Montclair, New Jersey, serving students from Pre-Kindergarten through 12th grade. Thomas W. Nammack became the school's fourth Headmaster in July 2005...
, graduating in the class of 1951 . Known as the "father of digital audio", he earned an Sc. D. degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
in 1959 and was appointed Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering. While at MIT, he noticed several of the students using an MIT Lincoln Laboratory
Lincoln Laboratory
MIT Lincoln Laboratory, located in Lexington, Massachusetts, is a United States Department of Defense research and development center chartered to apply advanced technology to problems of national security. Research and development activities focus on long-term technology development as well as...
TX-0
TX-0
The TX-0, for Transistorized Experimental computer zero, but affectionately referred to as tixo , was an early fully transistorized computer and contained a then-huge 64K of 18-bit words of magnetic core memory. The TX-0 was built in 1955 and went online in 1956 and was used continually through the...
mainframe computer installed at the campus to record their voices digitally into the computer's memory, using a microphone and a loudspeaker connected to an A/D
Analog-to-digital converter
An analog-to-digital converter is a device that converts a continuous quantity to a discrete time digital representation. An ADC may also provide an isolated measurement...
-D/A converter attached to the TX-0. This led Stockham to his own digital audio experiments on this same computer in 1962.
In 1968 he left MIT for the University of Utah
University of Utah
The University of Utah, also known as the U or the U of U, is a public, coeducational research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. The university was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret by the General Assembly of the provisional State of Deseret, making it Utah's oldest...
, and in 1975 founded Soundstream
Soundstream
-The Company:Soundstream Inc. was founded in 1975 in Salt Lake City, Utah by Dr. Thomas G. Stockham, Jr. It was the world’s first audiophile digital audio recording company, providing commercial services for recording and computer-based editing...
, Inc. The company developed a 16-bit digital audio recording system using a 16-track Honeywell
Honeywell
Honeywell International, Inc. is a major conglomerate company that produces a variety of consumer products, engineering services, and aerospace systems for a wide variety of customers, from private consumers to major corporations and governments....
instrumentation tape recorder as a transport
Transport (recording)
A transport is a device that handles a particular physical storage medium itself, and extracts or records the information to and from the medium, to an outboard set of processing electronics that the transport is connected to.A transport houses no electronics itself for encoding and decoding the...
, connected to digital audio recording and playback hardware of Stockham's design. It ran at a sampling rate
Sampling rate
The sampling rate, sample rate, or sampling frequency defines the number of samples per unit of time taken from a continuous signal to make a discrete signal. For time-domain signals, the unit for sampling rate is hertz , sometimes noted as Sa/s...
of 50 kHz, as opposed to the audio CD
Red Book (audio CD standard)
Red Book is the standard for audio CDs . It is named after one of the Rainbow Books, a series of books that contain the technical specifications for all CD and CD-ROM formats.The first edition of the Red Book was released in 1980 by Philips and Sony; it was adopted by the Digital Audio Disc...
sampling rate of 44.1 kHz.
Soundstream Inc. was the first commercial digital recording company in the United States, located in Salt Lake City. Stockham was the first to make a commercial digital recording, using his own Soundstream recorder in 1976 at the Santa Fe Opera. In 1980, Soundstream merged with the Digital Recording Company (DRC) and became DRC/Soundstream.
Stockham played a key role in the digital restoration of Enrico Caruso recordings, described in a 1975 IEEE paper. These recordings were the first ever to be digitally restored by computer, and were released on the album Caruso-A Legendary Performer by RCA Records
RCA Records
RCA Records is one of the flagship labels of Sony Music Entertainment. The RCA initials stand for Radio Corporation of America , which was the parent corporation from 1929 to 1985 and a partner from 1985 to 1986.RCA's Canadian unit is Sony's oldest label...
in 1976.
In 1974 he investigated President Richard Nixon's
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
White House tapes
Watergate tapes
The Watergate tapes, a subset of the Nixon tapes, are a collection of recordings of conversations between Richard Nixon and his fellow conspirators plotting a break in to the Watergate Hotel. U.S. President Richard Nixon and various White House staff started communicating on February 1971 and...
.
Stockham's developments and contributions to digital audio paved the way for later digital audio technologies, such as the audio compact disc
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
and DAT
Digital Audio Tape
Digital Audio Tape is a signal recording and playback medium developed by Sony and introduced in 1987. In appearance it is similar to a compact audio cassette, using 4 mm magnetic tape enclosed in a protective shell, but is roughly half the size at 73 mm × 54 mm × 10.5 mm. As...
(Digital Audio Tape).
Stockham received wide recognition for his pioneering contributions to digital audio. He received, among many others, the Gold Medal award from the Audio Engineering Society
Audio Engineering Society
Established in 1948, the Audio Engineering Society draws its membership from amongst engineers, scientists, other individuals with an interest or involvement in the professional audio industry. The membership largely comprises engineers developing devices or products for audio, and persons working...
, a Technical Emmy
Technology & Engineering Emmy Award
A Technology and Engineering Emmy Award is given by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences for outstanding achievement in technical or engineering development...
award in 1988, a Grammy award from NARAS in 1994, the IEEE Jack S. Kilby Signal Processing Medal
IEEE Jack S. Kilby Signal Processing Medal
The IEEE Jack S. Kilby Signal Processing Medal is presented "for outstanding achievements in signal processing" theory, technology or commerce. The recipients of this award will receive a gold medal, together with a replica in bronze, a certificate and a honorarium.The award was established in...
in 1998 and a Scientific and Engineering award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is a professional honorary organization dedicated to the advancement of the arts and sciences of motion pictures...
in 1999.