Vitaphone technology was a process designed to bring sound into the world of film. It consisted of a disc which was meant to be played as a projector displayed a film, adding sound to the experience. Vitaphone was the last method of sound on disc used in Hollywood, as printing sound directly onto film turned out to be a far more effective and efficient method of creating films with sound. Thanks to the efforts of preservationists, it is possible to see a number of Vitaphone films, and sometimes even to watch these films projected over a Vitaphone system.
The Vitaphone system consisted of a film projector rigged up to a record player. When the projectionist mounted the film, he or she carefully synced the film to a spot on the record sent with the film, so that when the projector was turned on, it would cause the record player to turn, thereby in theory producing a picture synced with the accompanying sound.
This system was widely regarded to be a major advancement, because it was quite effective when properly synced, and the use of amplification made the sound audible throughout the theater. This was a vast improvement over earlier systems in which the projector and record player were entirely separate, or the sound was poorly amplified, if at all, making it hard for the audience to hear. Using Vitaphone technology allowed Warner Brothers, the studio which owned it, to create memorable sound pictures like The Jazz Singer.
The technology was developed in Bell Laboratories before being acquired by Warner Brothers, which made a few adjustments before selling Vitaphone equipment en masse to theater owners. When the rise of sound on film occurred, many theaters were extremely frustrated, as they had already invested in expensive Vitaphone equipment, which was now worthless. The demand for talkies ensured that theater operators would have to upgrade if they wanted to keep their clientele happy, and the trend of constantly sound systems persists to this day.
Vitaphone systems failed because they had a number of drawbacks. For one thing, it was quite difficult to distribute Vitaphone films, because distributors had to make sure that each film was sent out with a disc, and projectionists had to be skilled at syncing. In addition, it was extremely hard to edit Vitaphone pictures, in contrast with sound on film, meaning that editors and directors vastly preferred sound on film technology.