Talking tape
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| − | '''Talking tape''' (also known as talkie tapes, talking strips) is a plastic groove medium used to store | + | '''Talking tape''' (also known as talkie tapes, talking strips) is a plastic groove medium used to store snippets of sound that physically resembles zip ties. One side of the plastic tape has a series of ridges: sound is recreated by running a fingernail over the grooved tape while one end is held into an amplifier such as a paper card, balloon, foam cup, or desk. The medium works on a similar principle to [[gramophone record]]s, using grooves to store sound albeit linearly opposed to spirally. The takes come pre-moulded and there is no way to easily record sound in the format without special machinery. Each strip can be played back many times until the grooves wear out. |
| − | only enough to store a short sentence | + | The storage capacity is determined by the length of the strip and speed at which the user pulls their finger over the grooves. It is typically only enough to store a short sentence, up to around 3 seconds long. |
| − | + | Talking tape is currently utilizated in low-cost novelty devices such as talking greeting cards and talking action figures. | |
== References == | == References == | ||
Revision as of 05:40, 26 November 2013
Talking tape (also known as talkie tapes, talking strips) is a plastic groove medium used to store snippets of sound that physically resembles zip ties. One side of the plastic tape has a series of ridges: sound is recreated by running a fingernail over the grooved tape while one end is held into an amplifier such as a paper card, balloon, foam cup, or desk. The medium works on a similar principle to gramophone records, using grooves to store sound albeit linearly opposed to spirally. The takes come pre-moulded and there is no way to easily record sound in the format without special machinery. Each strip can be played back many times until the grooves wear out.
The storage capacity is determined by the length of the strip and speed at which the user pulls their finger over the grooves. It is typically only enough to store a short sentence, up to around 3 seconds long.
Talking tape is currently utilizated in low-cost novelty devices such as talking greeting cards and talking action figures.
