Making the most of a Computer giant's early contribution to DISNEY-HP's Oscillator & the company's later contributions to film and animation

Released in 1940, 

DISNEY's FANTASIA was a marvel both to look at while also to listen to.

Unfortunately, the film was dealt with financial setback due to the onset of WWII which cut off the EUROPEAN MARKET in at the time.

(And the USA would formally enter in late 1941 after the attack on PEARL HARBOR.)

There were some talk about why FANTASIA failed the first time and some argue it was not just the EUROPEAN WAR but rather it was AUDIENES who were at first alienated by the more ARTSY styling of the film at a time when moral was low and the need for escapism was a must.....

Or maybe it was overambition but that's a story for another time.

But this film was enough to enable a company we know for making Computers to create a sound device that made FANTASIA's patented FANTASOUND System possible

This is the HP model 200B OSCILLATOR.

Since I'm mostly unfamiliar with electrical standards of anything before the age of TRANSISTORS which weren't until the late 1950s,

(Photo is that of the GEORGE MASSEY TUNNEL's construction in 1957)

I had to do some research but my results are staggering.

They mostly say that Oscillators regulate electric current but what does that have to do with Sound?

Is it regulating the audio equipment's power draw?

Well actually.... not really.

After some reading and I've discovered that the 8 Oscillators that DISNEY ordered from HP were to manipulate the clarity levels of the recorded Audio for the FANTASOUND system that DISNEY used for FANTASIA.

Sort of an old-school analogy of Audio Engineers using a mixing board when they want to adjust the audio levels in the modern day.

After all that, HP decided to enter the Computer Market though their early computers were about the same construction and power as DEC's minicomputers

And for a short while, HP even made calculators......

That was until TEXAS INSTRUMENTS drove those manufacturers out by increasing the price of their chips.

HP however was slow to enter the MICROCOMPUTER market, instead favoring making their Big MINICOMPUTERS as well as making their first printers and scanners.

It wasn't until the WORKSTATION market began to take shape in the mid-80s but even then, their machines were still way out of reach for the average consumer.

It wasn't until 1995 when they introduced the PAVILION line of computers that they finally embraced the PC-Compatible market.

Ever had computers from HP?

I know most average shmucks nowadays don't want to bother with HP desktops but I know movie studios loved this company.

HP has been in the film business ever since they made commitments to provide their workstations to facilitate CGI, moving editing, and raid storage for film studios.

And many of them preferred if their orders use AMD OPTERON CPUs... at least during my childhood.

Yes, that OPTERON.

The CPU preferred by DREAMWORKS.

And with this comparison, 

I'm not holding my breath if RANTING SHREK FANS

are gonna start demanding  that DREAMWORKS go back to HP 

and downgrade to AMD OPTERON just to bring back the older rigs.

and even STAR WARS' LUCASFILMS preferred HP's OPTERON CPUS during production of REVENGE OF THE SITH in 2005

Nowadays, it's hard to tell whether your studio still uses HP workstations but if they do, I have a hunch that HP workstations all use AMD's THREADRIPPER CPUS.

Man.....

I'm so jealous of those who have the money to buy those UBER EXPENSIVE THREADRIPPERS.

I wish my PC used THREADRIPPER but alas, I can only go as high as a Ryzen 9 **50x3D.

Currently, My PC uses a 16-Core AMD RYZEN 9 9950x3D CPU and it's not even mounted in an HP Case.

It's actually still in my GIGABYTE motherboard inside of my FRACTAL POP AIR.