The Experimental Television Center

Video History Web>Resources>Tools

(Newark Valley, New York, United States)

An Inventory and Evaluation of Paper Files and Audio Materials
Related to Early Media Instruments

The Experimental Television Center (ETC) was founded in 1971, an outgrowth of a media access program developed by Ralph Hocking at Binghamton University (New York) in 1969. The Center’s mission is to provide support and services to the media arts community. Through its mission, the Center supports the creation of work using new electronic media technologies and also encourages an informed appreciation of media art. As well, in the context of honoring its moving images heritage, the Centre initiates projects, such as the Video History Web site, participates in partnerships that address the needs for research, education and preservation, and places independent work within a larger cultural context.

The Video History Web site functions as both a dynamic and interactive on-going research collection and dissemination vehicle for media professionals, educators, and media programmers as well as the general public. The fully searchable site structure provides information contained in 10 databases holding over 3500 records, and gives the visitor a user-defined timeline generator. The Experimental Television Center will continue the research and building of the databases for the Video History Web site, with specific emphasis on early media instruments, their associated texts, documentation, events and interviews. The data will be published on the existing Video History Web site.