Edison's goal
was devise product that could provide "honest workmen with
. Edison's ambitious
goal was well beyond the technological means his disposal. Edison
returned the problem after Dickson's departure 1894. The
next year Edison introduced the kinetophone.VII-18
COMPETITION THE MOTION PICTURE BUSINESS
The work producing talking pictures had been shelved
in the early 1890s when Dickson and Edison finally realized
that the problems involved the synchronization sight and
sound were totally beyond their experimental resources.
. The films were
shot the "Black Maria" using the kineotgraph linked a
phonograph fitted with large horn catch the sound. This
machine was stopgap novelty item based the laboratory's
expertise coin-in-the-slot machines; highly unlikely
26
that successfully synchronized sound and image. The viewer looked through the peep-hole to
see the image and listened sound eartubes.
The kinetophone avoided all the important technical
problems but did establish the design precedent self
contained sight and sound system one machine. 27
grand opera price can afford pay." The logical
development the kinetophone was machine that reproduced
the sight and sound live performance. This was a
kinetoscope with cylinder phonograph added the basic
kinetoscope case