feature
ELECTROSONIC - 50 YEARS AS AN UNDISPUTED HEAVYWEIGHT IN THE AV INDUSTRY
In March 1964 the heavyweight champion Cassius Clay
changed his name to Muhammad Ali, a name given to him
by the founder of the Nation of Islam, Elijah Muhammad. Ali
was famous for, among other things, referring to himself as
“the greatest”.
You’re not likely to hear Robert (Bob) Simpson shout out “I’m the
greatest”, but like Ali changed the world of boxing, Bob changed
the world of audio-visual presentation. In the same month that Clay
became Ali, Bob founded Electrosonic in the UK. Through 50 years of
extraordinary evolution at the company, Bob Simpson has remained
a constant. He’s still part of Electrosonic, and has captured the history
of the company in the book: Electrosonic 50 Years on the Audio-Visual
Frontline.
The history of Electrosonic tells a story of a company that pioneered
an industry, much like Microsoft, or Apple, pioneered the personal
computing industry. Electrosonic has always been at the cutting edge
of the industry, as numerous firsts (or ‘amongst the first’ as Bob more
modestly expresses it) attest to: the application of automatic dimmers
to slide projection (1965); the use of microprocessors in electronic
dissolve controls (1976); microprocessor-based room control systems
(1982); the development of practical MPEG video room control systems
(1995); and the development of low-cost HD video servers (1999).
non-studio activities, he hit on the idea of starting a separate company.
At that stage Michael Ray and Denis Naisbitt were working with Bob,
and on 3 March 1964, with the blessing of Recorded Sound Ltd, the
three of them formed Electrosonic. Robin Prater, who joined from
Recorded Sound Ltd, was the company’s first employee.
At first Electrosonic was based at Mike’s ho