As the war drew to a close, Ampex was tapped to finish prototypes for the Model 200 tape recorder that was commissioned by Bing Crosby (yes, THE Bing Crosby) through Major Jack Mullin of the US Army Signal Corps. Crosby saw potential in what Mullin was offering and so he requested a test broadcast for his radio show. The test broadcast was successful so ABC allowed Crosby to pre-record his radio shows. Crosby in turn ordered $50,000 worth of new tape recorders, aiding Ampex to develop from a small six-man group to a commercial manufacturer.
In 1959, Ampex acquired Orradio Industries which became the Ampex Magnetic Tape Division. In 1995, the division was divested and was renamed into the Ampex Recording Media Corporation and later on Quantegy, Inc. which became Quantegy Recording Solutions. Ampex also opened a recording arm, Ampex Records, in 1970 but it only lasted for three years, with its subsidiaries getting picked up by Warner Bros. Records, Bell Records, and Atlantic Records.
In 2005, Ampex received its 12th Emmy Award for inventing slow-motion color recording and playback. In the same year, Lifetime Achievement Awards were given to the engineering team responsible for the videotape recorder. In 2008, the company received a Grammy for technical achievement, honoring what Ampex has done to further audio recording products and technology.
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