Meaning of smell-o-vision | Babel Free

Definitions

1. A (supposed) technology consisting of cinematography with the addition of olfaction, often portrayed as far-fetched or futuristic.
   humorous, uncountable
2. Alternative letter-case form of Smell-O-Vision.
   alt-of, rare
3. A system that choreographed the release of odors into a movie theater during the projection of a film.
   historical

Equivalents

Examples

“"Magnificent!" shouted our supercritical photographer as he leveled his eye at this picture [of a ham]. […] Perhaps "smell-o-vision" is needed to enjoy fully this Easter treat. Or, better still, taste SUNNYFIELD HAM yourself—either smoked or cooked ready-to-eat.”

“SMELLEVISION REPLACES TELEVISION! Carl Stalling sez, "It will never work!"”

“New model cars come out each year; the split-T and the soccer kick are new football offensive weapons. Black-and-white, then color TV and pretty soon smell-o-vision—that's progress.”

“Other techno-mancers forecast fax in the home, "smellevision" (television sets equipped to emit appropriate odors for each scene), and luminescent paints that store sunlight during the day and glow at night. These new products would surely brighten the future.”

“The film includes some marvelous 3-D special effects as well as flashing lights, a bubblemaker, smell-o-vision, and a surprise from the skies as well as a live actor and a cannon.”

“Meanwhile, in far-off laboratories of the Military-Infotainment Complex (to advance upon Stuart Moulthrop's phrase) at Disney or—yea, verily, even unto—Apple, some scientists work on synchronous smell-o-vision with real-time simulated fragrance degradation shifting from fresh ink to old mold; […]”

“So, until Netscape comes up with Smell-o-vision, reading about and looking at food on the Web will have to stave off those hunger pains.”

“Perhaps someday the SML (smelly markup language) standard will make it possible to connect a smell-o-vision peripheral to my FireWire port, and I'll be able to sniff the circle of boiled dough [a bagel] on the screen.”

“What will happen to our spiritual senses when the next step is taken, i.e. when rituals are performed purely in the realm of the virtual? […] [I]f the full sensory experience of the ritual is diminished by its reduction to the text, sound, and imagery now possible on the Web (I don't think we're ready for networked smell-o-vision), what in turn may be gained by working within these limitations, and what are the possibilities of transcending them?”

“The dream of layering smells onto movie-watching is nearly as old as movie-watching itself. This history is a pileup of interesting failures, technical experiments, and overweening optimism in smell-o-vision’s eventual appeal. […] Most interestingly, people who’d bought tickets to see these movies seemed sneakily pleased when smell-o-vision failed.”

“[…] John Livadary […] is en route to Rome to commence the score recording for "The Scent of Mystery,"^([sic]) new Mike Todd Enterprises pic production. The recording will be made via the new 35 mm. magnetic tape. The picture also introduces a new process, known as "Smell-O-Vision."”

“Yes, Smell-O-Vision is here. Film makers have toyed with ways to add smell to sight and sound in movies for years. Now Michael Todd Jr. thinks he has the answer. He's chosen the name purposely, he says, "to get the jump on those who will call it that anyway." The new process will perfume the film, "Scent of Mystery," to open at a special theater in Chicago. A magnetic track on the film will synchronize action to an "odor machine." Individual odor outlets fixed into each seat will guarantee that the whole audience knows the picture smells.”

“Danny Stiles, WNJR, Newark, N.J., and WCTC, New Brunswick, N.J., recently ran a contest asking listeners to identify the mystery voice on Eddie Fisher's new record "The Chase." First prize was a bottle of Mike Todd Jr.'s perfume, "Scent of Mystery," also the title of his new Smellevision movie. Answer, of course, was Elizabeth Taylor.”

“[B]y the early '50s we had seen so much that it took Smell-O-Vision to shock us into attendance, and more recently audiences have continued to dwindle while movies went from topless to bottomless to games that any number can play. What in the world will they try next?”

“Each Smell-O-Vision customer sat in a movie seat equipped with a system to pipe in smells directly to the nose. […] Theater-owners knew AromaRama and Smell-O-Vision wouldn't be around long. Curious customers came and went without getting too excited.”

“In 1960, the movie A Scent of Mystery^([sic]) used the Smell-o-Vision system, which solved the distribution problem by including smell tubes at each seat. Although the smells were integrated into the mystery story line, the system was not a great commercial success.”

“Words referring to technologies also fade out if the technology finds few long-term devotees. […] [A]udiences were unimpressed and smell-o-vision technology was stillborn. Hence the word smell-o-vision had a short life[…].”

“At the end of the 1950s, filmmakers experimented with Aromarama and Smell-o-vision. […] Smell-o-vision followed soon after. This time the smells came from vents beneath the cinema seats. It was used for a 1959 film entitled A Scent of Mystery.^([sic]) At best failing to work and at worst making members of the audience feel ill, the experiment faltered and failed.”

“At the end of the 1950s, filmmakers experimented with Aromarama and Smell-o-vision. […] Smell-o-vision followed soon after. This time the smells came from vents beneath the cinema seats. It was used for a 1959 film entitled A Scent of Mystery. At best failing to work and at worst making members of the audience feel ill, the experiment faltered and failed.”

“So, until Netscape comes up with Smell-o-vision, reading about and looking at food on the Web will have to stave off those hunger pains.”

CEFR level