1 00:00:04,519 --> 00:00:12,719 Speaker 1: Tech with Technology with tech Stuff from HAST technolog Hey there, 2 00:00:12,760 --> 00:00:16,319 Speaker 1: and welcome back to tech Stuff. I'm Jonathan Strickland, and 3 00:00:16,440 --> 00:00:20,880 Speaker 1: this is part two of our story on Royal Phillips 4 00:00:20,920 --> 00:00:24,640 Speaker 1: better known as Justin Phillips here in the United States. Now, 5 00:00:24,640 --> 00:00:27,319 Speaker 1: in part one, I talked about the founding of the 6 00:00:27,360 --> 00:00:31,080 Speaker 1: company and continued all the way up through the retirement 7 00:00:31,200 --> 00:00:34,519 Speaker 1: of Anton Phillips, who was the younger brother to the 8 00:00:34,680 --> 00:00:38,760 Speaker 1: founder Gerard Phillips. We'll begin this episode with a discussion 9 00:00:38,760 --> 00:00:43,680 Speaker 1: about what happened to Anton's son, Fritz Phillips as much 10 00:00:43,680 --> 00:00:46,640 Speaker 1: of the world was plunged into the conflict known as 11 00:00:46,680 --> 00:00:50,640 Speaker 1: World War Two. So if you remember from our last episode, 12 00:00:51,280 --> 00:00:55,720 Speaker 1: Anton and his son in law Frandson or Franz Aton 13 00:00:56,400 --> 00:01:00,279 Speaker 1: fled the Netherlands. They went to North America. They had 14 00:01:00,400 --> 00:01:03,800 Speaker 1: established a North American base of operations to work from 15 00:01:03,920 --> 00:01:07,759 Speaker 1: during the course of World War Two. Much of Phillip's 16 00:01:07,840 --> 00:01:12,399 Speaker 1: management followed suit, but but Fritz Phillips stayed behind in 17 00:01:12,440 --> 00:01:18,240 Speaker 1: the Netherlands, and Fritz really tried to protect the interests 18 00:01:18,280 --> 00:01:22,960 Speaker 1: of the company as well as the company's employees during 19 00:01:22,959 --> 00:01:27,880 Speaker 1: the entire Nazi occupation. Now, from nineteen forty until nineteen 20 00:01:27,959 --> 00:01:33,480 Speaker 1: forty three, Fritz kept things running at Phillips, even resisting 21 00:01:33,600 --> 00:01:37,000 Speaker 1: the moves by the Nazis to switch the operations to 22 00:01:37,360 --> 00:01:44,720 Speaker 1: more warlike efforts to support Germany's UH operations, and Fritz 23 00:01:44,760 --> 00:01:50,360 Speaker 1: really was able to resist that fairly effectively. But in 24 00:01:50,480 --> 00:01:54,880 Speaker 1: April nineteen forty three, things took a very dark turn 25 00:01:55,640 --> 00:02:00,960 Speaker 1: for Fritz, and obviously was a terrible time for much 26 00:02:01,000 --> 00:02:07,680 Speaker 1: of Europe because in April nineteen forty three, the Nazis 27 00:02:07,760 --> 00:02:12,560 Speaker 1: made a declaration that was pretty much the doom for 28 00:02:12,600 --> 00:02:16,680 Speaker 1: Fritz Phillips at least for the next two years. So 29 00:02:16,760 --> 00:02:21,000 Speaker 1: when Germany invaded the Netherlands back in nineteen forty the 30 00:02:21,160 --> 00:02:24,440 Speaker 1: three hundred thousand members of the Dutch Army had been 31 00:02:24,520 --> 00:02:30,320 Speaker 1: essentially captured, but then released after the Netherlands officially surrendered 32 00:02:30,320 --> 00:02:35,000 Speaker 1: to Germany. So the three thousand members of the Dutch 33 00:02:35,040 --> 00:02:39,760 Speaker 1: army were under German supervision for a while and then 34 00:02:39,800 --> 00:02:45,519 Speaker 1: allowed to go back and rejoin Dutch society under the 35 00:02:45,600 --> 00:02:50,960 Speaker 1: Nazi occupation, But in nineteen forty three Germany declared that 36 00:02:50,960 --> 00:02:55,000 Speaker 1: those three hundred thousand soldiers would be conscripted and forced 37 00:02:55,040 --> 00:02:59,640 Speaker 1: into labor on behalf of Germany, so they become, you know, 38 00:02:59,680 --> 00:03:04,480 Speaker 1: a said slave labor to the Nazis, and the Phillips 39 00:03:04,480 --> 00:03:08,200 Speaker 1: employees decided to go on strike to protest this move. 40 00:03:08,840 --> 00:03:12,560 Speaker 1: It wasn't and move against Fritz Phillips. It was a 41 00:03:12,600 --> 00:03:17,239 Speaker 1: move against the Nazis. But Germany held Fritz Phillips personally 42 00:03:17,280 --> 00:03:20,760 Speaker 1: responsible and captured him and put him in a concentration 43 00:03:20,840 --> 00:03:25,639 Speaker 1: camp and essentially was trying to use him as leverage 44 00:03:25,680 --> 00:03:31,600 Speaker 1: to force Phillips employees back to work. Meanwhile, while in captivity, 45 00:03:31,720 --> 00:03:35,040 Speaker 1: Fritz was put in charge of a camp workshop in 46 00:03:35,080 --> 00:03:38,440 Speaker 1: that concentration camp, and it was staffed by Jewish prisoners. 47 00:03:39,480 --> 00:03:43,240 Speaker 1: So again he did his best to protect his workers 48 00:03:43,280 --> 00:03:49,000 Speaker 1: in the concentration camp, trying to make sure that he 49 00:03:49,000 --> 00:03:51,400 Speaker 1: he made it clear that each one of them was 50 00:03:51,520 --> 00:03:54,160 Speaker 1: necessary for him to do the work that the Nazis 51 00:03:54,200 --> 00:04:00,640 Speaker 1: were demanding. Tragically, uh, he started with four sixty nine 52 00:04:00,720 --> 00:04:04,600 Speaker 1: Jewish employees. Only two of them survived to the end 53 00:04:04,640 --> 00:04:08,320 Speaker 1: of the war. Um and I say only three two 54 00:04:08,360 --> 00:04:12,080 Speaker 1: because it's just a tragedy for any of those lives 55 00:04:12,080 --> 00:04:18,280 Speaker 1: to be lost. Obviously, however, it's almost I can't even 56 00:04:18,279 --> 00:04:20,960 Speaker 1: say it's a silver lining. But he did manage to 57 00:04:21,000 --> 00:04:23,440 Speaker 1: protect quite a few of those people. In fact, if 58 00:04:23,440 --> 00:04:28,800 Speaker 1: you compare those numbers with the Dutch Jewish population, overall, 59 00:04:29,960 --> 00:04:33,920 Speaker 1: almost all the Jews in the Netherlands had been completely 60 00:04:33,920 --> 00:04:40,400 Speaker 1: eliminated eradicated. So Fritz Phillips actually did succeed in saving lives, 61 00:04:41,040 --> 00:04:44,120 Speaker 1: and I'm sure that he would have wish that he 62 00:04:44,120 --> 00:04:47,200 Speaker 1: could have saved all of them for his efforts. Israel 63 00:04:47,240 --> 00:04:51,719 Speaker 1: actually decorated Fritz Phillips with the yad Vashim metal in 64 00:04:53,680 --> 00:04:58,160 Speaker 1: and he was alive to accept that that honor. Fritz 65 00:04:58,600 --> 00:05:01,960 Speaker 1: survived the war, as I just indicated. After his release, 66 00:05:02,000 --> 00:05:06,799 Speaker 1: he dedicated the next several years to rebuilding the Phillips 67 00:05:06,839 --> 00:05:10,640 Speaker 1: presence in the Netherlands because during the course of World 68 00:05:10,680 --> 00:05:14,520 Speaker 1: War Two, Phillips factories were hit hard. They had been 69 00:05:14,560 --> 00:05:18,960 Speaker 1: bombed by the Allies twice and then once by the Germans. 70 00:05:19,160 --> 00:05:23,120 Speaker 1: When the Germans were withdrawing during their retreat, they also 71 00:05:23,279 --> 00:05:28,640 Speaker 1: bombed the Phillips manufacturing factories. He would eventually become the 72 00:05:28,680 --> 00:05:32,080 Speaker 1: president of Phillips in nineteen sixty one. He retired in 73 00:05:32,200 --> 00:05:35,960 Speaker 1: nineteen seventy one, and he passed away in two thousand 74 00:05:36,080 --> 00:05:40,840 Speaker 1: five at the age of one hundred years old. But 75 00:05:40,960 --> 00:05:45,839 Speaker 1: going back to just after World War Two, during that era, uh, 76 00:05:45,880 --> 00:05:48,360 Speaker 1: you know, it was it was a period of rebuilding, 77 00:05:48,720 --> 00:05:55,200 Speaker 1: and by six most of the facilities had recovered. Meanwhile, 78 00:05:56,279 --> 00:06:01,040 Speaker 1: Phillips research focused on things like transistors and integrated circuits 79 00:06:01,080 --> 00:06:04,640 Speaker 1: over the next couple of decades. Really the nineteen fifties 80 00:06:04,720 --> 00:06:08,600 Speaker 1: was the era of the integrated circuit and the transistor. Uh. 81 00:06:08,839 --> 00:06:11,960 Speaker 1: That work was really being pioneered at places like Bell Labs. 82 00:06:12,640 --> 00:06:15,400 Speaker 1: But Phillips were, you know, the companies like Phelps were 83 00:06:15,440 --> 00:06:19,080 Speaker 1: able to jump on that bandwagon, as it were, and 84 00:06:19,920 --> 00:06:26,160 Speaker 1: add their own expertise in advancing the technology of integrated 85 00:06:26,200 --> 00:06:29,839 Speaker 1: circuits and building a foundation for future work in electronics. 86 00:06:31,800 --> 00:06:37,760 Speaker 1: In nineteen forty nine, Phillips introduced the syncro cyclotron, which 87 00:06:37,800 --> 00:06:41,159 Speaker 1: sounds like a really wicked amusement park ride, but the 88 00:06:41,279 --> 00:06:46,120 Speaker 1: syncro cyclotron was actually a particle accelerator. Now that might 89 00:06:46,360 --> 00:06:49,960 Speaker 1: sound unusual. You're talking about a company that's largely known 90 00:06:50,080 --> 00:06:54,000 Speaker 1: for its work in electronics and stuff some that's fairly simple, 91 00:06:54,040 --> 00:06:57,400 Speaker 1: things like radios and lamps, and a little bit in 92 00:06:57,440 --> 00:07:00,960 Speaker 1: the medical field with X ray technology. But this was 93 00:07:01,000 --> 00:07:05,880 Speaker 1: another example of how Phillips was really valuing pure scientific research. 94 00:07:07,000 --> 00:07:09,120 Speaker 1: Not only was Phillips looking to join and create new 95 00:07:09,160 --> 00:07:12,800 Speaker 1: markets and electronics, but also push our understanding of the 96 00:07:12,800 --> 00:07:17,200 Speaker 1: fundamental nature of the universe. Uh. There was a physicist, 97 00:07:17,280 --> 00:07:20,880 Speaker 1: a famous physicist named Kasimir who worked on this project, 98 00:07:21,000 --> 00:07:23,600 Speaker 1: and Kasimir was a notable scientist. His name was actually 99 00:07:23,720 --> 00:07:27,520 Speaker 1: used to describe a certain physical force that results from 100 00:07:27,560 --> 00:07:32,240 Speaker 1: a quantized field. It's called the Kasimir effect. That research 101 00:07:32,280 --> 00:07:35,840 Speaker 1: would later become important for micro electro mechanical systems known 102 00:07:35,920 --> 00:07:40,360 Speaker 1: as mems. So there's another good example of how some 103 00:07:40,440 --> 00:07:44,600 Speaker 1: fundamental understanding of science can end up being a huge 104 00:07:44,640 --> 00:07:47,000 Speaker 1: benefit further down the line, something that you could not 105 00:07:47,200 --> 00:07:51,360 Speaker 1: possibly have anticipated when you first set out to study it. 106 00:07:52,720 --> 00:07:54,640 Speaker 1: I know I'm beating a dead horse here, but I 107 00:07:54,760 --> 00:07:59,760 Speaker 1: really do believe deeply in this philosophy that pure science 108 00:08:00,560 --> 00:08:04,240 Speaker 1: has value, and often it has value that we cannot 109 00:08:04,320 --> 00:08:09,840 Speaker 1: anticipate when we set out to answer questions. And so 110 00:08:10,320 --> 00:08:13,040 Speaker 1: if you happen to ever be in a position where 111 00:08:13,080 --> 00:08:16,840 Speaker 1: you can help fund pure science, I urge you to 112 00:08:16,920 --> 00:08:21,240 Speaker 1: do it, even if you don't have an immediate return 113 00:08:21,440 --> 00:08:24,320 Speaker 1: on what that investment will mean, because you never know 114 00:08:24,400 --> 00:08:26,600 Speaker 1: what's going to turn into in the future. All right, 115 00:08:26,680 --> 00:08:29,320 Speaker 1: lecture over, let's get back to it. In nineteen three, 116 00:08:30,400 --> 00:08:35,439 Speaker 1: skipping ahead quite a bit, Phillips introduced the compact audio cassette. 117 00:08:36,760 --> 00:08:39,160 Speaker 1: This is what we in the eighties called a cassette tape. 118 00:08:39,640 --> 00:08:43,760 Speaker 1: Cassette tape is essentially a little plastic cartridge, inside of 119 00:08:43,840 --> 00:08:48,240 Speaker 1: which is a real that has a ribbon of magnetic 120 00:08:48,280 --> 00:08:53,120 Speaker 1: tape upon which you can record audio. So magnetic tape 121 00:08:53,160 --> 00:08:55,840 Speaker 1: was not a brand new medium. It's not like Phillips 122 00:08:55,920 --> 00:09:00,320 Speaker 1: invented magnetic tape. Previous versions were already in existence and 123 00:09:00,400 --> 00:09:03,360 Speaker 1: had been used for both commercial and home uses. But 124 00:09:03,440 --> 00:09:07,640 Speaker 1: the home use was pretty limited because really, the predecessor 125 00:09:07,720 --> 00:09:12,960 Speaker 1: to the cassette tape was real to real audio. Some 126 00:09:13,000 --> 00:09:16,480 Speaker 1: people had real to real audio sets, but they were 127 00:09:16,480 --> 00:09:19,000 Speaker 1: pretty expensive, so it was one of those things that 128 00:09:19,120 --> 00:09:22,400 Speaker 1: only people with a lot of money and a lot 129 00:09:22,400 --> 00:09:25,880 Speaker 1: of interest in technology actually owned. The average person didn't 130 00:09:25,920 --> 00:09:28,920 Speaker 1: have a real to real tape player, and the cassette 131 00:09:28,920 --> 00:09:32,160 Speaker 1: tape was kind of uh an effort to bring this 132 00:09:32,240 --> 00:09:35,800 Speaker 1: sort of technology into the realm of the consumer market, 133 00:09:36,120 --> 00:09:42,720 Speaker 1: creating a brand new space. UH. The Phillips innovation meant 134 00:09:42,760 --> 00:09:47,000 Speaker 1: that you had a compact, portable and eventually an expensive 135 00:09:47,040 --> 00:09:50,400 Speaker 1: alternative to real to real tape, and that was great. 136 00:09:50,920 --> 00:09:54,480 Speaker 1: They debuted the cassette tape at the nineteen sixty three 137 00:09:54,520 --> 00:09:58,480 Speaker 1: Berlin Radio Show. It would be introduced to the United 138 00:09:58,480 --> 00:10:02,360 Speaker 1: States the following year, in ninet sixty four. Other companies 139 00:10:02,360 --> 00:10:05,080 Speaker 1: were also attempting to establish a standard for personal audio 140 00:10:05,160 --> 00:10:08,360 Speaker 1: at the same time. So that raises a question, how 141 00:10:08,400 --> 00:10:12,880 Speaker 1: did Phillips end up making its design the cassette tape 142 00:10:13,160 --> 00:10:16,079 Speaker 1: the standard. Why Why is that the standard and not 143 00:10:16,280 --> 00:10:18,719 Speaker 1: something else that was being developed at the same time 144 00:10:18,720 --> 00:10:23,640 Speaker 1: by another company, And the answer is mostly due to 145 00:10:24,360 --> 00:10:29,200 Speaker 1: a strategy that was forced on Phillips. Phillips ended up 146 00:10:29,280 --> 00:10:33,840 Speaker 1: licensing the design for free to Sony the design of 147 00:10:33,880 --> 00:10:38,160 Speaker 1: the cassette tape to Sony. Sony had really been pressuring 148 00:10:38,160 --> 00:10:42,240 Speaker 1: Phillips to do this. At that time. Japanese companies were 149 00:10:43,160 --> 00:10:48,600 Speaker 1: really on the rise. They were rapidly overtaking other companies 150 00:10:48,600 --> 00:10:53,199 Speaker 1: in other parts of the world, and so Phillips the 151 00:10:53,640 --> 00:10:56,040 Speaker 1: writing was on the wall. If Phillips did not do this, 152 00:10:56,320 --> 00:11:00,360 Speaker 1: then some other company stood to gain the most by 153 00:11:00,400 --> 00:11:05,439 Speaker 1: becoming the standard in home audio formats. So they agreed, 154 00:11:06,440 --> 00:11:11,199 Speaker 1: and as Sony adopted that Phillips form factor for cassette tapes, 155 00:11:11,480 --> 00:11:15,360 Speaker 1: the standard was set, and and that is how we 156 00:11:15,400 --> 00:11:18,640 Speaker 1: have cassette tapes and not some other format format. But 157 00:11:18,679 --> 00:11:21,000 Speaker 1: it wouldn't be until the late nineteen seventies that the 158 00:11:21,040 --> 00:11:25,480 Speaker 1: cassette form factor really became popular among consumers. So it 159 00:11:25,559 --> 00:11:29,240 Speaker 1: was more than a decade later that people actually started 160 00:11:29,280 --> 00:11:32,960 Speaker 1: to buy cassette tapes in large amounts. And the big 161 00:11:33,000 --> 00:11:36,600 Speaker 1: reason for that was because the quality just wasn't there 162 00:11:36,760 --> 00:11:40,880 Speaker 1: early on, but for both playback and for recording, and 163 00:11:41,760 --> 00:11:46,640 Speaker 1: vinyl records had much higher fidelity. The sound was better 164 00:11:46,880 --> 00:11:48,840 Speaker 1: from a vinyl record. If you bought a cassette tape 165 00:11:48,840 --> 00:11:50,480 Speaker 1: and tried to listen to the same music that you 166 00:11:50,520 --> 00:11:54,480 Speaker 1: could get on vinyl, you'd be disappointed in the noise 167 00:11:54,640 --> 00:11:59,040 Speaker 1: that would be present on the recording. So cassette tapes 168 00:11:59,080 --> 00:12:01,960 Speaker 1: originally could not compete with the fidelity of records, but 169 00:12:02,120 --> 00:12:05,679 Speaker 1: as soon as that quality reached a good enough standard, 170 00:12:06,160 --> 00:12:10,199 Speaker 1: cassettes began to overtake vinyl. So this is an example 171 00:12:10,520 --> 00:12:14,439 Speaker 1: of a format that you could argue is of an 172 00:12:14,440 --> 00:12:18,160 Speaker 1: inferior quality. There are people who will argue to their 173 00:12:18,160 --> 00:12:21,800 Speaker 1: deathbed that vinyl records are the highest fidelity you can 174 00:12:21,840 --> 00:12:26,400 Speaker 1: possibly achieve, um because it's a very true representation of 175 00:12:26,440 --> 00:12:29,600 Speaker 1: the sound that was generated at the time of recording. 176 00:12:30,440 --> 00:12:35,079 Speaker 1: But you could also argue that ultimately that doesn't matter 177 00:12:35,120 --> 00:12:37,319 Speaker 1: to the consumer. You just have to make the quality 178 00:12:37,400 --> 00:12:42,240 Speaker 1: good enough and make it super convenient, and if it's 179 00:12:42,280 --> 00:12:47,640 Speaker 1: more convenient than the alternative and it's not prohibitively expensive, 180 00:12:47,679 --> 00:12:50,320 Speaker 1: people will switch to that format. That's what happened with 181 00:12:50,360 --> 00:12:54,280 Speaker 1: cassette tapes. They weren't superior in quality to vinyl records, 182 00:12:54,880 --> 00:12:57,560 Speaker 1: but you could carry them around with you much easier 183 00:12:57,559 --> 00:13:00,199 Speaker 1: than you could with records. You could even in all 184 00:13:00,280 --> 00:13:03,600 Speaker 1: something like a tape deck in your car and listen 185 00:13:03,640 --> 00:13:06,200 Speaker 1: to him on the go. Couldn't really do that with vinyl, 186 00:13:06,679 --> 00:13:11,600 Speaker 1: at least not without taking the smoothest roads possible, because 187 00:13:11,640 --> 00:13:16,560 Speaker 1: any bump would totally ruin your record collection. And it 188 00:13:16,600 --> 00:13:19,440 Speaker 1: didn't matter that the quality wasn't as good because the 189 00:13:19,480 --> 00:13:23,320 Speaker 1: convenience was there. But quick aside, you might wonder how 190 00:13:23,360 --> 00:13:25,880 Speaker 1: does magnetic tape work? And I thought it might be 191 00:13:25,920 --> 00:13:29,880 Speaker 1: cool to just quickly cover the basics to explain what 192 00:13:30,080 --> 00:13:33,120 Speaker 1: magnetic tape is actually doing. So the tape itself is 193 00:13:33,240 --> 00:13:36,320 Speaker 1: a plastic base. So the ribbons is plastic, and it 194 00:13:36,360 --> 00:13:41,280 Speaker 1: has a coating of ferric oxide powder which is ferro 195 00:13:41,400 --> 00:13:45,720 Speaker 1: magnetic um, and it's usually paired with some sort of 196 00:13:45,760 --> 00:13:50,520 Speaker 1: binding agent so it sticks to the plastic film properly. Now, 197 00:13:51,040 --> 00:13:54,800 Speaker 1: if you expose that feric oxide to a magnetic field, 198 00:13:55,360 --> 00:13:59,200 Speaker 1: the magnetic field will cause the particles to align in 199 00:13:59,240 --> 00:14:03,320 Speaker 1: a particular a. So if you move a ribbon coated 200 00:14:04,120 --> 00:14:09,600 Speaker 1: with ferric oxide powder through a varying magnetic field, so 201 00:14:09,679 --> 00:14:12,800 Speaker 1: you're changing the magnetic field over time as the ribbon 202 00:14:12,920 --> 00:14:18,439 Speaker 1: passes through it. The ribbon actually becomes a record of 203 00:14:18,480 --> 00:14:21,640 Speaker 1: the changes in that magnetic field. Like in other words, 204 00:14:21,800 --> 00:14:27,640 Speaker 1: if you were to visually represent the changes of that 205 00:14:27,680 --> 00:14:30,000 Speaker 1: magnetic field across the ribbon, it would be like a 206 00:14:30,000 --> 00:14:34,480 Speaker 1: timeline your reconstruction, reconstructing the time from the beginning to 207 00:14:34,520 --> 00:14:38,560 Speaker 1: the end of how that magnetic field changed. Now that 208 00:14:38,640 --> 00:14:45,120 Speaker 1: magnetic field represents music or or sound. You get an 209 00:14:45,160 --> 00:14:51,080 Speaker 1: electric current, you put it through an electro magnet. The 210 00:14:51,200 --> 00:14:55,040 Speaker 1: changing current in the electromagnetic creates this variable magnetic field 211 00:14:55,680 --> 00:15:00,280 Speaker 1: that gets recorded onto this tape. You play the tape 212 00:15:00,280 --> 00:15:03,440 Speaker 1: back through a playback device. Moving this ribbon with the 213 00:15:03,480 --> 00:15:07,160 Speaker 1: magnetic material past an electro magnet that's not turned on 214 00:15:07,920 --> 00:15:11,560 Speaker 1: will expose the electro magnet to a changing magnetic field 215 00:15:12,560 --> 00:15:15,480 Speaker 1: that ends up inducing electric current to flow in the 216 00:15:15,520 --> 00:15:18,600 Speaker 1: electro magnet, which then can be sent to an amplifier, 217 00:15:19,040 --> 00:15:21,920 Speaker 1: which then can be sent to speakers, and then you 218 00:15:21,960 --> 00:15:27,760 Speaker 1: get your sound. It's really amazing, like it's it's actually 219 00:15:27,840 --> 00:15:31,280 Speaker 1: pretty simple when you think about it. It's it's translating 220 00:15:31,400 --> 00:15:34,440 Speaker 1: one type of energy into another and then using magnetic 221 00:15:34,480 --> 00:15:39,160 Speaker 1: field to record it. But there's something in my mind 222 00:15:40,000 --> 00:15:44,120 Speaker 1: that refuses to dismiss the possibility that all of this 223 00:15:44,200 --> 00:15:48,000 Speaker 1: is magic. I understand on a physical level what's happening, 224 00:15:48,040 --> 00:15:50,640 Speaker 1: but it's so phenomenal to me that you might as 225 00:15:50,680 --> 00:15:52,720 Speaker 1: well have a wand in your hand and be speaking 226 00:15:52,760 --> 00:15:57,760 Speaker 1: faux Latin. At any rate, that's how magnetic tape works. 227 00:15:58,360 --> 00:16:01,640 Speaker 1: So let's get back to Phillips. They had set the 228 00:16:01,680 --> 00:16:05,960 Speaker 1: standard for home audio with the cassette tape, and as 229 00:16:06,000 --> 00:16:10,360 Speaker 1: a result they they managed to change the world of 230 00:16:10,440 --> 00:16:12,920 Speaker 1: home media, but it took more than a decade for 231 00:16:12,960 --> 00:16:16,160 Speaker 1: that to really take hold. The nineteen seventies were really 232 00:16:16,240 --> 00:16:19,760 Speaker 1: challenging for Phillips. I mentioned that Fritz Phillips had retired 233 00:16:19,880 --> 00:16:23,440 Speaker 1: in nineteen seventy one as president after a really prosperous decade. 234 00:16:23,440 --> 00:16:27,080 Speaker 1: The sixties were pretty good, but the seventies were getting tough. Uh. 235 00:16:27,120 --> 00:16:32,760 Speaker 1: The replacement was Hank Faun reems Ditch, that's my best 236 00:16:33,040 --> 00:16:36,560 Speaker 1: guess at how to pronounce his last name, and he 237 00:16:36,600 --> 00:16:39,520 Speaker 1: became the new president, but he was facing some pretty 238 00:16:39,560 --> 00:16:45,440 Speaker 1: hefty challenges. Those Japanese companies were becoming increasingly powerful and competitive, 239 00:16:46,120 --> 00:16:50,640 Speaker 1: and that really forced another round of reorganization over at Phillips. 240 00:16:50,680 --> 00:16:53,640 Speaker 1: So one of the things that reems Ditch did was 241 00:16:54,000 --> 00:16:57,200 Speaker 1: shut down some of the smaller factories that were owned 242 00:16:57,200 --> 00:17:02,240 Speaker 1: by Phillips because these smaller companies, these smaller factories weren't 243 00:17:02,240 --> 00:17:06,800 Speaker 1: as efficient as larger operations, so the smaller ones got 244 00:17:06,800 --> 00:17:12,400 Speaker 1: shuttered and the larger ones were prioritized. In nineteen seventy two, 245 00:17:12,520 --> 00:17:18,000 Speaker 1: Phillips introduced the first successful consumer home video cassette recorder system. 246 00:17:18,040 --> 00:17:22,840 Speaker 1: The company called it Video Cassette Recording or vc R, 247 00:17:23,920 --> 00:17:28,639 Speaker 1: but you shouldn't confuse this with the VHS or Beta 248 00:17:28,720 --> 00:17:32,200 Speaker 1: Max formats. It was a different style of cassette tape. 249 00:17:32,920 --> 00:17:35,120 Speaker 1: The vc are cassettes were actually kind of these chunky 250 00:17:35,280 --> 00:17:40,120 Speaker 1: squares rather than rectangles, and they housed two coaxial reels 251 00:17:40,119 --> 00:17:43,879 Speaker 1: of magnetic tape. They were available in three different varieties. 252 00:17:43,880 --> 00:17:46,680 Speaker 1: You can get them in thirty minute, forty five minute, 253 00:17:46,800 --> 00:17:50,840 Speaker 1: or sixty minute versions, although supposedly the sixty minute ones 254 00:17:51,400 --> 00:17:57,720 Speaker 1: were particularly tricky. They could snag and and foul pretty easily, 255 00:17:57,880 --> 00:18:02,240 Speaker 1: so they were not reliable. Uh and unless you're from Europe, 256 00:18:02,440 --> 00:18:05,880 Speaker 1: you're probably not terribly familiar with the format. Because Phillips 257 00:18:05,920 --> 00:18:09,120 Speaker 1: never sold the devices in any other regions. They were 258 00:18:09,160 --> 00:18:12,040 Speaker 1: looking at getting into North America, and in fact it 259 00:18:12,119 --> 00:18:15,960 Speaker 1: even started marketing campaigns in North America to try and 260 00:18:16,040 --> 00:18:21,600 Speaker 1: introduce the VCR, but before they could, the VHS debuted 261 00:18:21,720 --> 00:18:27,440 Speaker 1: in America and became adopted as the standard UM and 262 00:18:27,520 --> 00:18:30,680 Speaker 1: that pretty much foiled the plans of Phillips during the 263 00:18:30,760 --> 00:18:34,320 Speaker 1: late nineteen seventies to to bring the VCR to the US. 264 00:18:35,320 --> 00:18:39,320 Speaker 1: In nineteen seventy four, Phillips purchased another company called Magnavox. 265 00:18:40,080 --> 00:18:43,119 Speaker 1: Magnavox was an American electronics company that started all the 266 00:18:43,119 --> 00:18:46,280 Speaker 1: way back in nineteen seventeen, and it produced a lot 267 00:18:46,280 --> 00:18:48,800 Speaker 1: of different types of devices, but My favorite was the 268 00:18:48,880 --> 00:18:53,160 Speaker 1: Magnavox Odyssey, which was the first home video game console. 269 00:18:54,080 --> 00:18:56,760 Speaker 1: Now Phillips purchased it, and in the nineteen eighties they 270 00:18:56,760 --> 00:19:01,199 Speaker 1: would combine Magnavox with a couple of other acquisitions that 271 00:19:01,280 --> 00:19:06,320 Speaker 1: the company had made, Philco and Sylvania, so you had Magnavox, Philco, 272 00:19:06,400 --> 00:19:10,359 Speaker 1: and Sylvania all combined into one division underneath the Phillips 273 00:19:10,400 --> 00:19:16,479 Speaker 1: brand by the mid nineteen eighties. The president, Reems ditch Uh, 274 00:19:16,680 --> 00:19:20,120 Speaker 1: stepped down in nineteen seventy seven. He was replaced with 275 00:19:20,359 --> 00:19:24,160 Speaker 1: a man named Nico Rawdenburg, and the next few years 276 00:19:24,200 --> 00:19:28,120 Speaker 1: saw an increase in sales, but revenue didn't really go anywhere. 277 00:19:28,280 --> 00:19:32,520 Speaker 1: So even though they were selling more products, revenues were 278 00:19:32,960 --> 00:19:40,240 Speaker 1: remaining kind of static. And in nine Visa Decker became 279 00:19:40,560 --> 00:19:44,080 Speaker 1: president and chairman of the board of Phillips, and he 280 00:19:44,160 --> 00:19:48,399 Speaker 1: restructured the company again. So you could almost argue that 281 00:19:48,440 --> 00:19:52,879 Speaker 1: the history of Phillips is a series of restructuring and 282 00:19:53,000 --> 00:19:58,679 Speaker 1: reorganizing to try and uh get more focus. It seemed 283 00:19:58,720 --> 00:20:02,520 Speaker 1: like the company would pare down, then build up again, 284 00:20:03,000 --> 00:20:05,840 Speaker 1: and then the next regime, if you will, would come 285 00:20:05,880 --> 00:20:08,080 Speaker 1: in and pare down all over again in order to 286 00:20:08,119 --> 00:20:13,600 Speaker 1: try and get some some laser like focus for this company. Well, 287 00:20:13,840 --> 00:20:17,080 Speaker 1: Decker's plan ended up closing more than a quarter of 288 00:20:17,119 --> 00:20:20,919 Speaker 1: all the plants located in Europe, and so this leanard 289 00:20:20,920 --> 00:20:23,640 Speaker 1: company was able to turn things around and increase revenues 290 00:20:23,680 --> 00:20:27,320 Speaker 1: once again. But Decker also started making some big acquisitions, 291 00:20:27,320 --> 00:20:33,280 Speaker 1: including buying a lighting division from Westinghouse. So again an 292 00:20:33,320 --> 00:20:36,560 Speaker 1: example of paring down but building back up again. Over 293 00:20:36,600 --> 00:20:39,399 Speaker 1: the next several years, Phillips would have a few different presidents, 294 00:20:39,520 --> 00:20:42,159 Speaker 1: so I thought I would lump them all together in 295 00:20:42,200 --> 00:20:45,760 Speaker 1: this section rather than peppering them throughout the rest of 296 00:20:45,800 --> 00:20:48,359 Speaker 1: the podcast. So I'm gonna just tell you all the 297 00:20:48,400 --> 00:20:53,280 Speaker 1: people who have led Phillips from Decker to present day, 298 00:20:54,440 --> 00:20:58,000 Speaker 1: so and keep in mind restructuring was pretty much a 299 00:20:58,000 --> 00:21:02,359 Speaker 1: a go to strategy with each person. There was a 300 00:21:02,440 --> 00:21:06,520 Speaker 1: Cornelis van der Kluet who led the company in nineteen six, 301 00:21:07,440 --> 00:21:12,359 Speaker 1: Yon Tremor came on board in nine, Core Boonstra in 302 00:21:12,480 --> 00:21:18,159 Speaker 1: nineteen six, Gerard Cloister Lee in two thousand eleven, and 303 00:21:18,200 --> 00:21:22,760 Speaker 1: the current CEO is Franz von Houghton. So I decided 304 00:21:22,800 --> 00:21:24,800 Speaker 1: to just sum them up all now so that we 305 00:21:24,840 --> 00:21:30,359 Speaker 1: could get back into the technology. So Phillips. The company 306 00:21:30,440 --> 00:21:33,960 Speaker 1: partnered with m c A to develop a new product 307 00:21:34,040 --> 00:21:38,240 Speaker 1: called the Laser Disc that originally was marketed in the 308 00:21:38,359 --> 00:21:40,679 Speaker 1: United States under the name of the m c A 309 00:21:40,920 --> 00:21:44,440 Speaker 1: Disco Vision, which I think is a phenomenal product name. 310 00:21:44,480 --> 00:21:48,560 Speaker 1: I wish Disco Vision had been its name forever. Uh. 311 00:21:48,680 --> 00:21:52,240 Speaker 1: The first place it went on sale was actually Atlanta, 312 00:21:52,320 --> 00:21:56,040 Speaker 1: Georgia in ninety eight. It went on sale there before 313 00:21:56,080 --> 00:22:00,000 Speaker 1: it appeared anywhere else in the United States, So shout 314 00:21:59,840 --> 00:22:03,960 Speaker 1: out to my hometown of Atlanta, Georgia. Now, both m 315 00:22:04,000 --> 00:22:07,840 Speaker 1: c A and Phillips have been working on an optical 316 00:22:08,800 --> 00:22:13,720 Speaker 1: video technology separately optical meaning that you're using some form 317 00:22:13,760 --> 00:22:17,760 Speaker 1: of light to record and read the information off a 318 00:22:17,840 --> 00:22:21,280 Speaker 1: disk in order for you to get the video and 319 00:22:21,400 --> 00:22:25,280 Speaker 1: audio that has been put on that disc. And both 320 00:22:25,359 --> 00:22:27,120 Speaker 1: m c A and Phillips have been working on this 321 00:22:27,359 --> 00:22:33,159 Speaker 1: at the same time. But they both also noted that 322 00:22:33,240 --> 00:22:39,840 Speaker 1: there had just been this massive war of formats between 323 00:22:39,960 --> 00:22:45,160 Speaker 1: VHS and Beta Max, and m c A and Phillips 324 00:22:45,200 --> 00:22:47,399 Speaker 1: came to the conclusion that it made more sense for 325 00:22:47,440 --> 00:22:50,879 Speaker 1: them to join together and to combine their knowledge and 326 00:22:50,920 --> 00:22:55,640 Speaker 1: come out with a united product rather than try and 327 00:22:55,680 --> 00:23:00,239 Speaker 1: have another format war, which could hurt both companies, so 328 00:23:00,800 --> 00:23:04,880 Speaker 1: they entered a partnership and created laser disc, which never 329 00:23:04,920 --> 00:23:07,879 Speaker 1: really met with widespread success here in the United States. 330 00:23:07,880 --> 00:23:10,000 Speaker 1: There are other markets, like in Asia where it did 331 00:23:10,080 --> 00:23:15,280 Speaker 1: quite well. In the US, there was a passionate market, 332 00:23:15,520 --> 00:23:18,040 Speaker 1: but it was very small. So there were some home 333 00:23:18,160 --> 00:23:23,040 Speaker 1: theater enthusiasts, again mostly people who had a decent amount 334 00:23:23,040 --> 00:23:27,400 Speaker 1: of money at their disposal, who adopted laser disc technology, 335 00:23:27,440 --> 00:23:30,879 Speaker 1: but for the most part it was kind of an afterthought. 336 00:23:30,920 --> 00:23:33,000 Speaker 1: Part of that was because you couldn't use it to 337 00:23:33,119 --> 00:23:39,080 Speaker 1: write stuff to the discs. Now you're you're consumer products. 338 00:23:39,119 --> 00:23:41,560 Speaker 1: They were read only, so you could buy movies and 339 00:23:41,600 --> 00:23:45,760 Speaker 1: watch them, but you couldn't record anything. VHS had an 340 00:23:45,800 --> 00:23:49,439 Speaker 1: advantage there you could record stuff from television onto tape 341 00:23:49,760 --> 00:23:53,880 Speaker 1: and keep it forever. So even though laser disc quality 342 00:23:54,000 --> 00:23:59,320 Speaker 1: was better than VHS quality, at least initially, again it 343 00:23:59,480 --> 00:24:02,280 Speaker 1: didn't matter that the quality was better, it wasn't It 344 00:24:02,320 --> 00:24:05,840 Speaker 1: wasn't practical and convenient enough for people who wanted to 345 00:24:05,920 --> 00:24:12,520 Speaker 1: have that home theater experience. So ultimately it didn't really 346 00:24:12,760 --> 00:24:16,280 Speaker 1: take off here in the US, and uh it still 347 00:24:16,359 --> 00:24:19,040 Speaker 1: was a very interesting story, but it did lead to 348 00:24:19,080 --> 00:24:22,879 Speaker 1: another partnership. This time it was a partnership between Phillips 349 00:24:23,000 --> 00:24:27,760 Speaker 1: and Sony. They decided to work together to develop a 350 00:24:27,840 --> 00:24:31,479 Speaker 1: digital audio disc. The two companies poured time, money, and 351 00:24:31,600 --> 00:24:35,639 Speaker 1: other resources into research and development, and the result was 352 00:24:35,720 --> 00:24:40,919 Speaker 1: the Compact Disc, which became a worldwide standard. And there 353 00:24:40,960 --> 00:24:43,320 Speaker 1: are a lot of interesting stories about the history of 354 00:24:43,359 --> 00:24:47,240 Speaker 1: the Compact disc, including things like how did they come 355 00:24:47,280 --> 00:24:50,360 Speaker 1: to decide what were the standards for things like bit 356 00:24:50,480 --> 00:24:54,239 Speaker 1: rate that you record to on a disk. Maybe one 357 00:24:54,320 --> 00:24:56,720 Speaker 1: day I will do a full episode just about the 358 00:24:56,760 --> 00:24:59,959 Speaker 1: compact disc and why compact discs are the way they 359 00:25:00,080 --> 00:25:02,600 Speaker 1: are because those were decisions that were made. It's not 360 00:25:02,640 --> 00:25:05,520 Speaker 1: like it it was just the magical properties of the CD. 361 00:25:07,080 --> 00:25:10,000 Speaker 1: But in order to make sure that this standard survived 362 00:25:10,040 --> 00:25:13,320 Speaker 1: the test of time, Sony and Phillips decided to do 363 00:25:13,440 --> 00:25:17,080 Speaker 1: something similar to what Phillips had done with cassette tapes. 364 00:25:17,200 --> 00:25:21,720 Speaker 1: They granted manufacturing rights for CD players to other manufacturers. 365 00:25:22,480 --> 00:25:24,880 Speaker 1: In other words, they gave competition the right to make 366 00:25:24,920 --> 00:25:29,440 Speaker 1: their own CD players because if they didn't, the fear 367 00:25:29,560 --> 00:25:32,880 Speaker 1: was that these other manufacturers would try to create standards 368 00:25:32,920 --> 00:25:36,600 Speaker 1: of their own and that would fracture the market. So 369 00:25:36,840 --> 00:25:39,040 Speaker 1: just imagine that you're trying to buy music and there 370 00:25:39,080 --> 00:25:44,280 Speaker 1: are five different formats out there, hard hard copy formats 371 00:25:44,720 --> 00:25:47,159 Speaker 1: that are similar to c d s, but they aren't 372 00:25:47,160 --> 00:25:50,159 Speaker 1: compatible with each other. So, in other words, you have 373 00:25:50,200 --> 00:25:53,119 Speaker 1: a system at home, it will only play one version 374 00:25:53,840 --> 00:25:57,080 Speaker 1: of the media. You have to go out there and 375 00:25:57,160 --> 00:26:00,439 Speaker 1: hope that whatever album you want is available on media. 376 00:26:00,520 --> 00:26:02,560 Speaker 1: You have advantage, you know, you can take advantage of. 377 00:26:03,600 --> 00:26:06,120 Speaker 1: That's what Sony and Phillips wanted to avoid. They did 378 00:26:06,160 --> 00:26:09,320 Speaker 1: not want that world to happen because consumers wouldn't be 379 00:26:09,440 --> 00:26:13,280 Speaker 1: very happy. It would end up hurting all the parties involved. 380 00:26:13,359 --> 00:26:16,919 Speaker 1: So that's why they granted the rights to other manufacturers 381 00:26:16,960 --> 00:26:21,639 Speaker 1: to make things like CD players. In Phillips would change 382 00:26:21,640 --> 00:26:26,840 Speaker 1: its name to Phillips Electronics Envy, which finally is pronounceable, 383 00:26:27,240 --> 00:26:30,840 Speaker 1: so I thank them for that decision. They also introduced 384 00:26:30,840 --> 00:26:33,960 Speaker 1: a console in the home video game market called the 385 00:26:34,000 --> 00:26:39,119 Speaker 1: Phillips c d I c D DASH lowercase I that 386 00:26:39,160 --> 00:26:43,000 Speaker 1: actually stood for Compact Disc Interactive and it was meant 387 00:26:43,000 --> 00:26:45,800 Speaker 1: to combine the functionality of a CD player and a 388 00:26:45,880 --> 00:26:49,080 Speaker 1: video game console while still being less expensive than a 389 00:26:49,200 --> 00:26:53,760 Speaker 1: PC that had a CD ROM drive. In the mid nineties, 390 00:26:53,800 --> 00:26:57,080 Speaker 1: Phillips increased the functionality of the c d I by 391 00:26:57,080 --> 00:27:00,720 Speaker 1: introducing Internet connectivity and making it one of the first 392 00:27:00,720 --> 00:27:04,440 Speaker 1: consoles capable of browsing the web or playing games online. 393 00:27:04,480 --> 00:27:06,040 Speaker 1: In order to do that, you actually had to buy 394 00:27:06,040 --> 00:27:09,480 Speaker 1: an expansion for the c d I, which caused something 395 00:27:09,520 --> 00:27:12,040 Speaker 1: like a hundred and fifty bucks, which at the time 396 00:27:12,119 --> 00:27:16,520 Speaker 1: was pretty expensive. I mean it's expensive now, but you 397 00:27:16,560 --> 00:27:18,520 Speaker 1: have to adjust for inflation because that was the mid 398 00:27:18,640 --> 00:27:22,439 Speaker 1: nineties with a d fifty dollars on top of the 399 00:27:22,480 --> 00:27:27,080 Speaker 1: price of the c d I by itself. Now, what 400 00:27:27,200 --> 00:27:29,159 Speaker 1: was really interesting to me is that the c d 401 00:27:29,359 --> 00:27:31,840 Speaker 1: I was able to do something that most video game 402 00:27:31,880 --> 00:27:35,160 Speaker 1: consoles have not been able to do, at least non 403 00:27:35,280 --> 00:27:40,359 Speaker 1: Nintendo video game consoles. They were able to license characters 404 00:27:40,440 --> 00:27:45,600 Speaker 1: from Nintendo like Mario and Link and Zelda. They were 405 00:27:45,640 --> 00:27:49,000 Speaker 1: able to license all of those characters and make games 406 00:27:49,320 --> 00:27:55,280 Speaker 1: featuring those characters for a non Nintendo video game system. 407 00:27:55,400 --> 00:28:01,400 Speaker 1: How did that happen? Well, the the reason is that 408 00:28:01,480 --> 00:28:06,679 Speaker 1: originally Nintendo was looking into building a CD ROM add 409 00:28:06,720 --> 00:28:11,640 Speaker 1: on to the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, and so Nintendo 410 00:28:11,680 --> 00:28:14,120 Speaker 1: and Phillips were going to partner together, Phillips was going 411 00:28:14,160 --> 00:28:17,840 Speaker 1: to build the hardware, the CD ROM hardware that would 412 00:28:17,880 --> 00:28:22,040 Speaker 1: connect to the Nintendo console, and that would give Nintendo 413 00:28:22,280 --> 00:28:27,359 Speaker 1: the ability to increase its its range by adding CD 414 00:28:28,080 --> 00:28:33,320 Speaker 1: capability to the Nintendo Entertainment System or Super Nintendo Entertainment System. 415 00:28:33,320 --> 00:28:39,520 Speaker 1: But other CD based video game consoles were not doing 416 00:28:39,560 --> 00:28:42,920 Speaker 1: so well in the market, so Nintendo changed its mind. 417 00:28:43,160 --> 00:28:47,520 Speaker 1: The company said, you know, maybe we were a little hasty. 418 00:28:47,560 --> 00:28:49,720 Speaker 1: To me. It looks like this is not the right 419 00:28:49,800 --> 00:28:52,200 Speaker 1: path for us to take right now, so we're gonna 420 00:28:52,240 --> 00:28:56,360 Speaker 1: back off. We're gonna cancel this arrangement. But as sort 421 00:28:56,400 --> 00:29:00,360 Speaker 1: of a consolation prize to Phillips for having to cancel 422 00:29:00,640 --> 00:29:05,600 Speaker 1: this agreed upon partnership, Nintendo said, when you make your 423 00:29:05,680 --> 00:29:09,080 Speaker 1: video game console, you can use these properties for certain 424 00:29:09,160 --> 00:29:12,560 Speaker 1: number of video games, and that's where we got things 425 00:29:12,600 --> 00:29:16,800 Speaker 1: like Hotel Mario Fat A lot of good it did Phillips, 426 00:29:16,800 --> 00:29:21,280 Speaker 1: though the video games were widely considered to be pretty awful, 427 00:29:21,480 --> 00:29:24,360 Speaker 1: so they were not enough to save the system and 428 00:29:24,560 --> 00:29:29,000 Speaker 1: push it to popularity. In fact, a lot of publications 429 00:29:29,000 --> 00:29:31,920 Speaker 1: out there will list the Phillips c d I as 430 00:29:31,960 --> 00:29:35,960 Speaker 1: one of the worst consoles ever in the history of Ever, 431 00:29:37,160 --> 00:29:40,000 Speaker 1: it was considered to be that bad, largely not because 432 00:29:40,040 --> 00:29:43,160 Speaker 1: of the hardware, but because of the lackluster games that 433 00:29:43,200 --> 00:29:47,320 Speaker 1: were developed for it. It's a very forward thinking kind 434 00:29:47,360 --> 00:29:50,160 Speaker 1: of console, it just didn't execute well and didn't have 435 00:29:50,240 --> 00:29:54,600 Speaker 1: the support as far as software is concerned. Now, in 436 00:29:54,640 --> 00:29:58,240 Speaker 1: the mid nine nineties, Phillips and Sony would join forces again, 437 00:29:58,680 --> 00:30:02,880 Speaker 1: but this time they also had Teshiba and Panasonic with 438 00:30:03,000 --> 00:30:06,920 Speaker 1: them to develop what was called the Digital Versatile Disc 439 00:30:07,240 --> 00:30:10,800 Speaker 1: or DVD. Now. The reason for that alliance was again 440 00:30:10,840 --> 00:30:14,360 Speaker 1: to avoid another home media format war like that VHS 441 00:30:14,520 --> 00:30:18,520 Speaker 1: Beta Max battle. Before the DVD, there were two primary 442 00:30:18,640 --> 00:30:22,280 Speaker 1: formats that were racing to become the standard. One of 443 00:30:22,320 --> 00:30:25,440 Speaker 1: those formats was backed by Sony and Phillips and was 444 00:30:25,480 --> 00:30:29,320 Speaker 1: called the Multimedia Compact Disc or m m c D. 445 00:30:30,600 --> 00:30:33,960 Speaker 1: The other was called the Super Density Disc or s D, 446 00:30:34,760 --> 00:30:38,600 Speaker 1: and it was supported by companies like Pioneer, Toshiba, and JVC. 447 00:30:39,520 --> 00:30:43,520 Speaker 1: The alliance actually allowed these various parties to collaborate together 448 00:30:43,560 --> 00:30:46,960 Speaker 1: and incorporate some of the technology they had developed separately 449 00:30:47,320 --> 00:30:51,280 Speaker 1: into a single format, which became the new standard DVD, 450 00:30:51,760 --> 00:30:54,720 Speaker 1: and it also headed off that format war in the process. 451 00:30:55,400 --> 00:30:58,560 Speaker 1: While that strategy worked. It seems that Toshiba kind of 452 00:30:58,600 --> 00:31:02,000 Speaker 1: forgot all about the importance of it a few years 453 00:31:02,080 --> 00:31:06,280 Speaker 1: later when it tried to pit its HD DVD standard 454 00:31:06,480 --> 00:31:10,920 Speaker 1: against Blue Ray. So Phillips was part of the Blu 455 00:31:11,080 --> 00:31:15,440 Speaker 1: Ray Disc Association or b d A, and other companies 456 00:31:15,440 --> 00:31:19,680 Speaker 1: in the b d A included Sony, Panasonic, Pioneer, whole 457 00:31:19,720 --> 00:31:23,720 Speaker 1: bunch of others, essentially everyone who wasn't Ta Shiba, And 458 00:31:23,800 --> 00:31:27,600 Speaker 1: so you had this this fight between Blu Ray and 459 00:31:27,840 --> 00:31:30,720 Speaker 1: HD DVD, and for a while it looked like h 460 00:31:30,880 --> 00:31:35,080 Speaker 1: D DVD might even win, but ultimately they had to 461 00:31:35,080 --> 00:31:38,520 Speaker 1: pull out of the race. Blue Ray obviously one you 462 00:31:38,560 --> 00:31:41,240 Speaker 1: don't see h D DVD sets out there these days. 463 00:31:42,080 --> 00:31:44,920 Speaker 1: I actually got to see the results of this battle 464 00:31:44,960 --> 00:31:47,040 Speaker 1: in person, because when I went to c e S 465 00:31:47,080 --> 00:31:50,920 Speaker 1: two thousand and eight, there was a big empty spot 466 00:31:51,400 --> 00:31:54,800 Speaker 1: on the show floor where h D DVD was supposed 467 00:31:54,840 --> 00:31:59,800 Speaker 1: to be. And that is unusual. Usually every square foot 468 00:31:59,840 --> 00:32:03,880 Speaker 1: of c E S has some sort of booth attached 469 00:32:03,880 --> 00:32:06,000 Speaker 1: to it. If it's not a booth, it's a pathway 470 00:32:06,000 --> 00:32:09,120 Speaker 1: between booths. So to have a big area that had 471 00:32:09,240 --> 00:32:13,120 Speaker 1: nothing in it was pretty conspicuous. It was made even 472 00:32:13,200 --> 00:32:15,920 Speaker 1: more conspicuous by the fact that Blu Ray that year 473 00:32:16,600 --> 00:32:19,520 Speaker 1: had designed their booth to look like an enormous pirate 474 00:32:19,600 --> 00:32:22,400 Speaker 1: ship that was modeled after the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, 475 00:32:23,160 --> 00:32:27,520 Speaker 1: So it was very obvious that h D DVD was 476 00:32:27,560 --> 00:32:32,480 Speaker 1: the ship that sunk in that particular battle. In two thousand, 477 00:32:32,480 --> 00:32:36,880 Speaker 1: Phillips closed a chapter in its history by transforming the 478 00:32:37,000 --> 00:32:40,640 Speaker 1: NAT Lab that's the research and development facility I talked 479 00:32:40,640 --> 00:32:44,120 Speaker 1: about in Part one. They changed it into the High 480 00:32:44,160 --> 00:32:48,840 Speaker 1: Tech Campus Eindhoven, which is an open research facility that 481 00:32:48,880 --> 00:32:52,360 Speaker 1: has multiple participating organizations. Phillips is one of them, but 482 00:32:52,400 --> 00:32:56,200 Speaker 1: it's not the only one anymore. This followed nearly three 483 00:32:56,240 --> 00:32:59,080 Speaker 1: decades of decline in that lab. It's actually kind of 484 00:32:59,080 --> 00:33:04,760 Speaker 1: a sad story. So Phillips during these restructuring UH processes 485 00:33:04,760 --> 00:33:08,320 Speaker 1: where they kept on having to reorganize and and and 486 00:33:08,400 --> 00:33:11,480 Speaker 1: kind of leaned down. One of the things that was 487 00:33:11,560 --> 00:33:15,120 Speaker 1: happening was that they were pulling resources away from research 488 00:33:15,160 --> 00:33:19,520 Speaker 1: and development. In the process UH, they started to de 489 00:33:19,720 --> 00:33:24,760 Speaker 1: emphasize the importance of pure scientific research and really looked 490 00:33:24,800 --> 00:33:28,120 Speaker 1: at the NAT lab is more of a standard R 491 00:33:28,200 --> 00:33:33,800 Speaker 1: and D lab rather than pushing the envelope of science exploration, 492 00:33:34,680 --> 00:33:37,640 Speaker 1: and then finally they just opened it up to other organizations, 493 00:33:37,760 --> 00:33:41,560 Speaker 1: so now it's no longer a Phillips based organ It's 494 00:33:42,280 --> 00:33:45,600 Speaker 1: Phillips is still involved, but it's no longer the parent 495 00:33:45,920 --> 00:33:51,640 Speaker 1: of that particular facility. Recently, Phillips has also introduced interesting 496 00:33:51,640 --> 00:33:55,000 Speaker 1: systems and healthcare. They've been involved in healthcare since the 497 00:33:55,080 --> 00:33:58,480 Speaker 1: twenties when they were working with X rays, but now 498 00:33:58,600 --> 00:34:01,560 Speaker 1: you can find stuff like the Bent Experience. That's what 499 00:34:01,640 --> 00:34:05,680 Speaker 1: it's actually called. UH. It's an integrated solution that incorporates 500 00:34:05,760 --> 00:34:10,719 Speaker 1: dynamic lighting, sound, and architecture to improve patient care and 501 00:34:10,800 --> 00:34:15,400 Speaker 1: hospital efficiency. So kind of a hospital that responds to 502 00:34:15,440 --> 00:34:18,759 Speaker 1: the needs of the doctors and patients who are who 503 00:34:18,760 --> 00:34:20,920 Speaker 1: are there, which is kind of cool, a neat idea. 504 00:34:21,719 --> 00:34:24,520 Speaker 1: Phillips also launched a three D scanner in two thousand 505 00:34:24,560 --> 00:34:27,320 Speaker 1: six that is used to create high quality CT scans, 506 00:34:27,920 --> 00:34:30,640 Speaker 1: and the company continue to invest in X ray development, 507 00:34:30,640 --> 00:34:33,520 Speaker 1: creating new systems that use lower dosages of X ray 508 00:34:33,600 --> 00:34:36,799 Speaker 1: radiation to really limit that exposure both to patients and 509 00:34:36,840 --> 00:34:41,480 Speaker 1: to healthcare professionals and UH and reduce the risk of 510 00:34:41,480 --> 00:34:46,520 Speaker 1: of causing damage with that radiation. But Phillips has also 511 00:34:46,560 --> 00:34:48,799 Speaker 1: pulled back from a few industries in an effort to 512 00:34:48,840 --> 00:34:52,200 Speaker 1: simplify and focus its efforts. I've already mentioned that Phillips 513 00:34:52,280 --> 00:34:55,760 Speaker 1: is you know, they no longer manufacture their own branded televisions, 514 00:34:56,440 --> 00:34:59,160 Speaker 1: but they've also pulled out of semiconductor operations. They did 515 00:34:59,200 --> 00:35:01,480 Speaker 1: that back into the thousand and five two thousand six, 516 00:35:01,960 --> 00:35:03,719 Speaker 1: and there have been some other troubles as well. In 517 00:35:03,719 --> 00:35:07,239 Speaker 1: two thousand twelve, the European Union find Phillips, along with 518 00:35:07,280 --> 00:35:11,680 Speaker 1: several other companies, with a charge of fixing prices for 519 00:35:11,760 --> 00:35:15,440 Speaker 1: TV cathode ray tubes. Essentially, they said that these companies 520 00:35:15,480 --> 00:35:19,879 Speaker 1: all colluded to fix cathode ray tube prices rather than 521 00:35:20,000 --> 00:35:24,600 Speaker 1: compete against one another. In two thousand thirteen, the company 522 00:35:24,640 --> 00:35:28,280 Speaker 1: renamed itself again. This time they called themselves Royal Phillips, 523 00:35:28,320 --> 00:35:31,160 Speaker 1: which is the current name of the company, and in 524 00:35:31,200 --> 00:35:34,920 Speaker 1: two thousand fourteen, the company announced it would split into 525 00:35:35,000 --> 00:35:39,760 Speaker 1: two separate entities. So one company would be a lighting 526 00:35:39,800 --> 00:35:44,360 Speaker 1: business and the other company would be consumer lifestyle and healthcare. 527 00:35:45,080 --> 00:35:48,560 Speaker 1: So Royal Phillips would become the Consumer Lifestyle and healthcare 528 00:35:48,600 --> 00:35:52,359 Speaker 1: business and the new company, which will launch with an 529 00:35:52,400 --> 00:35:55,239 Speaker 1: I P O sometime in two thousand sixteen, at least, 530 00:35:55,239 --> 00:35:59,120 Speaker 1: that's the belief as I record this podcast, will become 531 00:35:59,760 --> 00:36:03,840 Speaker 1: UH Phillips Lighting, So you'll have two different Phillips companies 532 00:36:03,880 --> 00:36:07,080 Speaker 1: at that time, independent one of the other. UH. So 533 00:36:07,120 --> 00:36:09,919 Speaker 1: you have Royal Phillips and Phillips Lighting. So let's let's 534 00:36:09,920 --> 00:36:14,200 Speaker 1: bring this whole story back full circle. We started the 535 00:36:14,280 --> 00:36:20,319 Speaker 1: discussion about Phillips by talking about carbon filaments for lightbulbs. 536 00:36:21,120 --> 00:36:23,160 Speaker 1: I thought it would conclude by talking about one of 537 00:36:23,200 --> 00:36:26,279 Speaker 1: the products Phillips has introduced over the last few years, 538 00:36:26,320 --> 00:36:29,480 Speaker 1: Phillips Hugh, which is a special kind of light bulb. 539 00:36:29,880 --> 00:36:33,040 Speaker 1: It's sort of the fitting end to the series. So 540 00:36:33,200 --> 00:36:36,200 Speaker 1: we're talking about LED light bulbs that are capable of 541 00:36:36,400 --> 00:36:39,480 Speaker 1: displaying light in various light temperatures. In other words, that 542 00:36:39,560 --> 00:36:44,000 Speaker 1: can change color. UM it's networked, so it actually connects 543 00:36:44,040 --> 00:36:47,680 Speaker 1: to your wireless network at home, and you can control 544 00:36:47,760 --> 00:36:51,319 Speaker 1: the lightbulbs using something like a tablet or a smartphone. 545 00:36:52,880 --> 00:36:55,120 Speaker 1: You can set it so that they're different colors or 546 00:36:55,160 --> 00:36:58,240 Speaker 1: even change colors over time. You can even there's certain 547 00:36:58,400 --> 00:37:02,880 Speaker 1: UM television pro rams that have been designed so that 548 00:37:02,960 --> 00:37:06,239 Speaker 1: if you have a huge system at home and you 549 00:37:06,239 --> 00:37:11,719 Speaker 1: haven't connected, so that you're television viewing and your hue 550 00:37:11,800 --> 00:37:15,320 Speaker 1: lighting are all integrated with each other. The huge lightbulbs 551 00:37:15,320 --> 00:37:19,080 Speaker 1: will change color in reaction to what you are watching. 552 00:37:19,200 --> 00:37:23,480 Speaker 1: In other words, it becomes this coordinated immersive experience. So, 553 00:37:24,200 --> 00:37:27,239 Speaker 1: as an example, if there were an explosion on the 554 00:37:27,280 --> 00:37:31,040 Speaker 1: television show you're watching, the lights might quickly flash a 555 00:37:31,080 --> 00:37:36,879 Speaker 1: certain color to create that explosion effect. So it's even 556 00:37:36,920 --> 00:37:39,080 Speaker 1: more immersive in your home, which I think is kind 557 00:37:39,080 --> 00:37:44,000 Speaker 1: of neat. It's also pretty dorky, but I'm also extremely dorky, 558 00:37:44,120 --> 00:37:48,560 Speaker 1: thus pretty neat. Also, it's really expensive, you know, to 559 00:37:48,560 --> 00:37:51,120 Speaker 1: to buy these these bulbs. You first have to have 560 00:37:51,160 --> 00:37:55,520 Speaker 1: a bridge to connect the bulbs to your WiFi system, 561 00:37:55,560 --> 00:37:58,720 Speaker 1: and I think your typical kit comes with a bridge 562 00:37:58,800 --> 00:38:03,279 Speaker 1: and three lightbulbs, and it's still pretty hefty price. And 563 00:38:03,320 --> 00:38:05,319 Speaker 1: then you have to add more light bulbs if you 564 00:38:05,360 --> 00:38:09,120 Speaker 1: want to have you know, a greater amount of lighting 565 00:38:09,160 --> 00:38:11,560 Speaker 1: in your house. So it gets more and more expensive 566 00:38:11,560 --> 00:38:13,080 Speaker 1: the more light bulbs you add, and you have a 567 00:38:13,080 --> 00:38:15,640 Speaker 1: certain number that you can add up to the to 568 00:38:15,800 --> 00:38:19,080 Speaker 1: a point, and then after that the bridge can't handle anymore. 569 00:38:19,239 --> 00:38:23,000 Speaker 1: So it's not necessarily a practical solution. It might be 570 00:38:23,080 --> 00:38:25,520 Speaker 1: considered more of a toy for people who really like 571 00:38:25,920 --> 00:38:31,040 Speaker 1: electronics and lighting effects. I personally have not purchased Phillips 572 00:38:31,080 --> 00:38:34,680 Speaker 1: HU lightbulbs. I've thought about it a few times, just 573 00:38:34,719 --> 00:38:37,879 Speaker 1: haven't made the plunge yet, but maybe I will. We'll see, 574 00:38:37,880 --> 00:38:39,560 Speaker 1: because I do think it's a cool idea and I 575 00:38:39,600 --> 00:38:42,799 Speaker 1: think it's neat to see how a company that was 576 00:38:42,920 --> 00:38:47,920 Speaker 1: founded on creating lightbulbs is still innovating in that space. 577 00:38:48,000 --> 00:38:51,560 Speaker 1: Although of course now there are competing products on the market. 578 00:38:52,320 --> 00:38:56,600 Speaker 1: They're similar to Phillips Hu, so obviously more innovation will 579 00:38:56,600 --> 00:38:59,920 Speaker 1: be required in order to remain relevant. But that wraps 580 00:39:00,040 --> 00:39:03,520 Speaker 1: up the Phillips story. There's obviously a whole lot more 581 00:39:03,560 --> 00:39:07,320 Speaker 1: I could talk about when I really dive into this company. 582 00:39:07,480 --> 00:39:13,000 Speaker 1: Entire books have been written about the Phillips company, the founders, 583 00:39:13,400 --> 00:39:17,200 Speaker 1: the influence they had on electronics, in science and physics 584 00:39:17,640 --> 00:39:22,120 Speaker 1: in the European market. It's there's a library worth of 585 00:39:22,160 --> 00:39:25,680 Speaker 1: information out there. But I need to set my sites 586 00:39:25,920 --> 00:39:28,560 Speaker 1: on a different topic. So next week we'll be covering 587 00:39:28,600 --> 00:39:32,960 Speaker 1: something totally different. And remember, if you have suggestions for 588 00:39:33,200 --> 00:39:36,759 Speaker 1: tech stuff, topics or I guess you think should be 589 00:39:36,800 --> 00:39:39,600 Speaker 1: on the show, or someone I should have as a 590 00:39:39,600 --> 00:39:42,560 Speaker 1: as a co host for an episode. Let me know. 591 00:39:42,800 --> 00:39:46,759 Speaker 1: Send me an email. My address is tech stuff at 592 00:39:47,000 --> 00:39:49,800 Speaker 1: how stuff works dot com, or drop me a line 593 00:39:49,880 --> 00:39:53,920 Speaker 1: on Facebook, Twitter or Tumbler at text stuff h s 594 00:39:54,160 --> 00:40:02,920 Speaker 1: W and I'll talk to you again really soon. For 595 00:40:03,040 --> 00:40:05,360 Speaker 1: more on this and thousands of other topics. Is that 596 00:40:05,440 --> 00:40:16,000 Speaker 1: how stock works dot com.