Stereo before there was stereo: 1950s Cook Binaural records

[Homer J Simpson]

[richnormand]

Never saw those before but it reminded me of some of the first attempts at stereo radio.

This was in the era of the large consoles in living rooms with a phono, AM and the early FM radios.
The one I came across allowed you to tune an AM station on one speaker and an FM station on the other.
I guess there were a few broadcasts like these in Montréal since two of our neighbors had these.
Anyone recall when FM stereo became mainstream?

 

[Chris-IP5]

Think mainstream FM began about 1979 here in the UK. So mainstream stereo FM a few years later.

Interestingly, considering the video in this thread, there were stereo broadcasts decades earlier in 1925. The BBC did it by utilising a separate radio station for each channel. One station broadcast left channel and one right.

Edit
Perhaps this is similar to what you were thinking of richnormand?

[coppice]

Think mainstream FM began about 1979 here in the UK. So mainstream stereo FM a few years later.

Interestingly, considering the video in this thread, there were stereo broadcasts decades earlier in 1925. The BBC did it by utilising a separate radio station for each channel. One station broadcast left channel and one right.

FM in the UK started in the mid 1950s, and much of the UK had stereo FM radio by the end of the 60s.

[rdl]

I had an FM radio that I bought at Radio Shack (where else?) that I listened to in high school in the early 70s.

We had a local "Progressive Rock" station that was extremely popular from the mid 70s and early 80s that definitely broadcast in stereo..  They even produced their own homemade record albums. It was pretty cool to be able to buy a record with performers and bands you'd listened to in local clubs or even knew personally.

[richnormand]

Interestingly, considering the video in this thread, there were stereo broadcasts decades earlier in 1925. The BBC did it by utilising a separate radio station for each channel. One station broadcast left channel and one right.

Edit
Perhaps this is similar to what you were thinking of richnormand?

Yep. That would be pretty much the same thing. One AM station and one FM station broadcasting the stereo program simultaneously in this case.
I guess if you only tuned in one of the station it would appear to be a regular mono broadcast.

[Cyberdragon]

Rubbish!

Early stereo would be the 1930s!

http://www.stomping.nl/vinyl/stereo.html