History - 1920's

It all started in the roaring twenties; times were good, people were busy at work and at play. Invention and innovation impacted many industries and America saw many firsts: electricity, the telephone, and of course advances in film. Entertainment in the early twenties included silent motion pictures. The absence of sound created a void that needed to be filled. This same void became an opportunity for the Founding Fathers of Altec whose creativity and scientific discipline lead to the first ever talking picture.

• 1927: Marks the introduction of sound in movie theatres with the first "talkie" picture, The Jazz Singer. This landmark event was made possible by engineers at Western Electric who would later form The Altec Lansing Company. This milestone in movie theatre entertainment was just one of the many firsts in sound that were made possible by Altec Lansing engineers throughout its rich history.
  
  
• 1928: Western Electric formed Electric Research Products, Inc. (ERPI), to manufacture, install and service the talking picture systems in studios and theaters. These leading products ushered in an era of sound that offered the necessary compliment to early cinematic achievements completing the sensory experience of sight and sound. In the 1930's ERPI was spun off into a separate company renamed All Technical Products Company..