Where does this come from, and can I check it?

Vitaphone played a disc in step with the projector, not a track on the film. The figure is taken from Library of Congress, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.

Is this really a movies & tv fact?

Yes. It sits on the Movies & TV shelf, one of 2,600 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.

What else can I read about it?

The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.

Mondo Knows Facts

Early sound films stored audio on records

Vitaphone played a disc in step with the projector, not a track on the film Warner Bros. used the Vitaphone system, which recorded sound on a 16-inch disc played alongside the film. Keeping disc and picture in step was difficult, and one jump could ruin a take. Optical sound recorded along the edge of the film soon replaced it because it could not slip. It sits in Mondo's movies & tv collection, one of 200 facts that each trace back to the reference below.

Where this comes from

Library of Congress

Facts that can change over time are reviewed and updated. If something here looks wrong, Mondo would rather know than be confidently incorrect.

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Movies & Television trivia Technology trivia

More facts like this

Dolby Stereo put four channels on an optical trackThe 1977 release of Star Wars helped make the format widespread THX began as a standard for cinema soundGeorge Lucas's company introduced it in 1983 alongside Return of the Jedi Surround sound uses six separate channelsFive full-range channels plus a low-frequency channel carry the mix Actors often re-record their lines after filmingAutomated dialogue replacement fixes noise and rewrites in the edit Early sound films hired musicians to play on setLive orchestras performed behind the camera so actors had a beat to move to A click track kept film musicals in timeA pulse played through headphones let performers match a recording

Tags: sound, 1920s, vitaphone

Early sound films stored audio on records: the short answers

Where does this come from, and can I check it?: Vitaphone played a disc in step with the projector, not a track on the film. The figure is taken from Library of Congress, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.
Is this really a movies & tv fact?: Yes. It sits on the Movies & TV shelf, one of 2,600 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.
What else can I read about it?: The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.