This collection consists of 178 transparences (slides), 55 films, 50 videos and 162 sound recordings dating from 1936 to 1978. These materials document the life and career of David Sarnoff as well as events that include his wife, Lizette Sarnoff. Film in the collection are primarily 16mm (except for four 35mm films), the video is made up of 1” video reels, VHS, U-Matic, Betacam SP and Digital Betacam videocassettes and audio recordings are on a variety of formats including reels, cassettes, DATs and phonograph records.

This collection was arranged into six sub-series: Biographies, Compilations, Events, Press & Media Coverage, Speeches and Travel. All materials including film, video and audio are distributed within these sub-series chronologically except for the Compilations sub-series which is alphabetical.

The Biographies sub-series is made up of audio cassettes that are duplicate copies from the David Sarnoff Phonograph Record collection. The first program, "Around the World in Stereophonic Sound" tells the story of recorded sound and refers to David Sarnoff in connection with His Service upon the Sinking of the S.S. Titanic. "The David Sarnoff Story" is a biography of Sarnoff that was produced by LIFE magazine and presented at the 100-Year Association of New York. Also included is “Strive & Succeed”, a biography created for Sarnoff’s 40th anniversary with the company.

The Compilations sub-series includes a record of Sarnoff’s career, a 10 volume set of films and phonograph records which includes various award ceremonies and speeches, his trip to Israel and versions of “Birth of an Industry” and “The David Sarnoff Story”. The original collection of film and phonograph albums were presented in individual albums. A book describing the contents of all the materials and one album containing a film can was included in this sub-series for historical purposes. There are several video copies for each film volume, including VHS, U-Matic and Digital Betacam. There are also multiple copies of the phonograph albums, including cassette and DAT versions (which are arranged individually within the various sub-series). The series also contains 3 film to tape transfers that contain transfers from various 16mm films in the collection.

The Events sub-series is made up of various events that occurred in the life of David and Lizette Sarnoff. The series contains films of award presentations highlighting Mrs. Lizette Sarnoff and her work with Einstein College of Medicine at Yeshiva University that include celebrities Bob Hope and Danny Kaye. There is a videocassette copy of this event as well the Sarnoff’s 50th Wedding Anniversary, Sarnoff’s visit with President Truman and the funeral of David Sarnoff. Also included here are many tribute and award ceremonies given for Sarnoff by organizations such as the Chamber of Commerce, the Overseas Press Club and a tribute by President Lyndon Johnson. The sound recordings contain events saluting Sarnoff and various luncheons and ceremonies at which he often gave remarks.

The Press & Media Coverage sub-series includes film and audio created for and by the media. Sarnoff makes a statement from his desk in a film made for the Army Reserve entitled “This is Reality”. There are a couple of local television interviews and the “Sarnoff/Ubell Interview”, where General Sarnoff sits with Earl Ubell of CBS-TV on the lawn of the David Sarnoff Research Center as a backdrop for their interview. There are also sound recordings of interviews and presentations to the press.

The Speeches sub-series consists of the many speeches David Sarnoff gave throughout his career. Of note is the “Birth of an Industry” speech given at the 1939 World’s Fair about the creation of television. Also included is “Early Bird Satellite”, a talk Sarnoff gives on his predictions for satellite technology.

The Travel sub-series primarily contains several versions of a film depicting a tour of Japan & China taken in 1960 by David Sarnoff, his wife, Lizette and the Mazur’s (friends of the Sarnoff’s). A sound recording of narration that accompanies a slide presentation from this trip (dated October 11-November 1, 1960) is also included. Home movie footage of a trip taken to Scotland dating from 1936 which shows a view from the boat and various people in Scotland. Press Coverage of General Sarnoff on a Trip to Hong Kong from 1967 and another of Sarnoff receiving the key to Tokyo is the subject of two films.

Several of the films have been digitized for viewing and it is noted if a surrogate exists.

Some of the video material is on Digital Betacam videocassettes which cannot be viewed at this time.