The NAB Cartridge (named after the National Association of Broadcasters) was a mainstay of radio broadcasting from the late 1950s-1990s. It was replaced by the mini disc and computerised broadcast automatons. NAB Cartridges were used primarily for jingles, station identifications, commercials and music. Each cartridge comprised of several recordings of the same, short jingle. Mechanically… Continue reading Digitising NAB radio broadcast cartridges
Tag: digitisation
Jack Hollingshead’s lost Apple recordings on reel-to-reel tape
Digital technologies have helped to salvage all manner of ‘lost’ or ‘forgotten’ recordings. Whole record labels, from the recently featured Bristol Archive Records to institutional collections like Smithsonian Folkways, are based on the principle of making ‘hard to access’ recordings available in digital form. Occasionally we get such rare recordings in the Greatbear studio, and… Continue reading Jack Hollingshead’s lost Apple recordings on reel-to-reel tape
Transfer Digital Betacam (DigiBeta) to Quicktime or AVI now, one day they will be obsolete
Even relatively recent born-digital formats like Digital Betacam (or DigiBeta, as it’s often referred to) should be viewed as a potentially obsolete format. This Standard Definition (SD) format while very popular for many years is not the preferred delivery format now the industry has embraced High Definition (HD). When serviced these machines are very reliable… Continue reading Transfer Digital Betacam (DigiBeta) to Quicktime or AVI now, one day they will be obsolete
UNESCO World Audiovisual Heritage Day – 27 October
In 2005 UNESCO (United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) decided to commemorate 27 October as World Audiovisual Heritage Day. The theme for 2013 was ‘Saving Our Heritage for the Next Generation’. Even though we are a day late, we wanted to write a post to mark the occasion. UNESCO argue that audiovisual heritage is a… Continue reading UNESCO World Audiovisual Heritage Day – 27 October
Digital Preservation and Copyright
Most customers who send us tape to digitise own the copyright of their recording: it is material they have created themselves, be it music, spoken word or film. Occasionally customers are not so sure if they own the full copyright to their recordings. This is because a single piece of work can have multiple copyright… Continue reading Digital Preservation and Copyright
Digitise VHS Tapes – Bristol’s Meet Your Feet
We recently digitised some VHS tapes from when Bristol-based band Meet Your Feet performed on HTV in 1990. Meet Your Feet ‘formed in 1988 as a result of three of the women getting together to start a women’s music workshop, Meet Your Feet played its first gig in June 1988, when asked to get a… Continue reading Digitise VHS Tapes – Bristol’s Meet Your Feet
Parsimonious Preservation – (another) different approach to digital information management
We have been featuring various theories about digital information management on this blog in order to highlight some of the debates involved in this complex and evolving field. To offer a different perspective to those that we have focused on so far, take a moment to consider the principles of Parsimonious Preservation that has been… Continue reading Parsimonious Preservation – (another) different approach to digital information management
Bristol Archive Records – ¼ inch studio master tapes, ½ inch 8 track multi-track tapes, audio cassettes, DAT recordings and Betamax digital audio recordings
Bristol Archive Records is more than a record label. It releases music, books and through its website, documents the history of Bristol’s punk and reggae scenes from 1977 onwards. You can get lost for hours trawling through the scans of rare zines and photographs, profiles of record labels, bands, discographies and gig lists. Its a… Continue reading Bristol Archive Records – ¼ inch studio master tapes, ½ inch 8 track multi-track tapes, audio cassettes, DAT recordings and Betamax digital audio recordings
1/2 inch EIAJ skipfield reel to reel videos transferred for Stephen Bell
We recently digitised a collection of 1/2 inch EIAJ skipfield reel to reel videos for Dr Stephen Bell, Lecturer in Computer Animation at Bournemouth University. CLEWS SB 01 from Stephen Bell on Vimeo. Stephen wrote about the piece: ‘The participatory art installation that I called “Clews” took place in “The White Room”, a bookable studio… Continue reading 1/2 inch EIAJ skipfield reel to reel videos transferred for Stephen Bell
Paper-backed Soundmirror ‘magnetic ribbon’ – early domestic magnetic tape recorders
The oldest tape we have received at the Greatbear is a spool of paper backed magnetic tape, c.1948-1950. It’s pretty rare to be sent paper-backed tape, and we have been on a bit of adventure trying to find more about its history. On our trail we found a tale of war, economics, industry and invention… Continue reading Paper-backed Soundmirror ‘magnetic ribbon’ – early domestic magnetic tape recorders
A word about metadata and digital collections
Metadata is data about data. Maybe that sounds pretty boring, but archivists love it, and it is really important for digitisation work. As mentioned in the previous post that focused on the British Library’s digital preservation strategies, as well as many other features on this blog, it is fairly easy to change a digital file without… Continue reading A word about metadata and digital collections
Remembering Ray Dolby pioneer of analogue noise reduction
We have already written about noise reduction this week, but did so without acknowledging the life of Ray Dolby, one of the inventors of video tape recording while working at Ampex and the inventor and founder of Dolby Noise Reduction, who died on 12 September 2013. An obituary in The Guardian described how: ‘His noise-reduction system worked… Continue reading Remembering Ray Dolby pioneer of analogue noise reduction
Audio Noise Reduction and Finn’s World War Two Stories
We get a range of tape and video recordings to digitise at the Great Bear. Our attention is captured daily by things which are often unusual, interesting and historically significant in their own way. Last week we received a recording of Pilot Officer Edwin Aldridge ‘Finn’ Haddock talking about his experiences in the Second World… Continue reading Audio Noise Reduction and Finn’s World War Two Stories
Measuring signals – challenges for the digitisation of sound and video
In a 2012 report entitled ‘Preserving Sound and Moving Pictures’ for the Digital Preservation Coalition’s Technology Watch Report series, Richard Wright outlines the unique challenges involved in digitising audio and audiovisual material. ‘Preserving the quality of the digitized signal’ across a range of migration processes that can negotiate ‘cycles of lossy encoding, decoding and reformatting… Continue reading Measuring signals – challenges for the digitisation of sound and video
Magnetic Reel to Reel Tape and New Transfer Machines – Pictures from the Greatbear Studio
The Greatbear studio always has a wealth of interesting material in it, that somehow have survived the test of time. From racks stacked full of obsolete audio and video tape machines, to the infinite varieties of reel-to-reel tape that were produced by companies such as Scotch, E.M.I. and Irish Recording Tape. As objects in themselves… Continue reading Magnetic Reel to Reel Tape and New Transfer Machines – Pictures from the Greatbear Studio
Curating Digital Information or What Do You With Your Archive?
Today is the first day of iPres 2013, the 10th international conference on the preservation of digital objects held in Lisbon, Portugal. To mark the occasion we want to reflect on an issue that is increasingly important for the long term management of digital data: curation. Anyone who has lived through the digital transition in… Continue reading Curating Digital Information or What Do You With Your Archive?
C-120 Audio Cassette Transfer – the importance of high quality formats
In archiving, the simple truth is formats matter. If you want the best quality recording, that not only sounds good but has a strong chance of surviving over time, it needs to be recorded on an appropriate format. Most of us, however, do not have specialised knowledge of recording technologies and use what is immediately… Continue reading C-120 Audio Cassette Transfer – the importance of high quality formats
Greatbear Studio Visit – Archive for Mathematical Sciences and Philosophy
This week in the Greatbear Studio we are being visited by Michael Wright, Director of The Archive Trust for Research in Mathematical Sciences and Philosophy. The Archive Trust for Research in Mathematical Sciences and Philosophy holds an extensive collection of audio and video recordings on subjects in mathematics, physics and philosophy, particularly the philosophy and… Continue reading Greatbear Studio Visit – Archive for Mathematical Sciences and Philosophy
How sustainable is digitisation?
Often when we think about the reasons to digitise magnetic tape collections we are considering the future. We digitise to make material accessible so it can be used again, or to preserve it so subsequent generations can benefit or learn from it. But how sustainable is digitisation and digital technology? What is the ecological impact… Continue reading How sustainable is digitisation?
Sony V62 EIAJ reel to reel video tape transfer for Barrie Hesketh
We have recently been sent a Sony V62 high density video tape by Barrie Hesketh. Barrie has had an active career in theatre and in 1966 he set up the Mull Little Theatre on the Isle of Mull off the West Coast of Scotland with his late wife Marianne Hesketh. Specialising in what Barrie calls… Continue reading Sony V62 EIAJ reel to reel video tape transfer for Barrie Hesketh
What is the future of analogue media?
In a recent blog article on the Presto Centre website, Richard Wright argues that ‘the audiovisual collections of the 20th century were analogue, and we are now at a critical time for considering the digital future of that analogue content.’ He goes on to say, emphatically: ‘All analogue audio and video formats are obsolete. Digital… Continue reading What is the future of analogue media?
4 track 1/4 inch reel to reel tape recorded in mono – The Couriers Folk Club, Leicester
We were recently sent a ¼ inch tape by Ed Bates that included recordings from the Couriers Folk Club in Leicester, which ran from Autumn 1964 – June 1974. The tape features performances from The Couriers (Jack Harris and Rex Brisland), George and Thadeus Kaye, Bill Pickering, Mark Newman and Mick Odam. Jack Harris, who… Continue reading 4 track 1/4 inch reel to reel tape recorded in mono – The Couriers Folk Club, Leicester
Digitising Audio Tape – Process, Time & Cost
Last week we wrote about the person time involved in transferring magnetic tape to digital files, and we want to tell you more about the processes involved in digitisation work. While in theory the work of migrating media from one format to another can be simple, even the humble domestic cassette can take a substantial… Continue reading Digitising Audio Tape – Process, Time & Cost
From digital files back to analogue tape
The bread and butter work of Greatbear Analogue and Digital Media is to migrate analogue and digital magnetic tape to digital files, but recently we were asked by a customer to transfer a digital file to ¼ analogue tape. The customer was concerned about the longevity of electronic digital formats, and wanted to transfer his… Continue reading From digital files back to analogue tape
Real time transfers – digitising tape media
In theory the work we do at Greatbear is very simple: we migrate information from analogue or digital magnetic tape to electronic digital files. Once transferred, digital files can be easily edited, tagged, accessed, shared or added to a database. Due to the ubiquitous nature of digital media today, if you want to use your… Continue reading Real time transfers – digitising tape media
Archiving for the digital long term: information management and migration
As an archival process digitisation offers the promise of a dream: improved accessibility, preservation and storage. However the digital age is not without its archival headaches. News of the BBC’s plans to abandon their Digital Media Initiative (DMI), which aimed to make the BBC media archive ‘tapeless’, clearly demonstrates this. As reported in The Guardian:… Continue reading Archiving for the digital long term: information management and migration
Digitise VHS Tape – Martin Smith’s Life Can Be Wonderful
In February 2013 we digitised a VHS tape from Martin Smith, the 1994 documentary Life Can Be Wonderful. The VHS tape was the only copy of the film Smith owned, and it is quite common for Great Bear to digitise projects where the film maker does not have the master copy. This is because original copies… Continue reading Digitise VHS Tape – Martin Smith’s Life Can Be Wonderful
Digitising & Restoring Personal Archives – 1/4 inch reel to reel audio tape
In today’s digital society most people have an archive. On personal computers, tablets and mobile devices we store, create and share vast amounts of information. We use archives to tell others about our lives, and the things that are important to us. Gone are the days when archives were dusty, dark places where experts went… Continue reading Digitising & Restoring Personal Archives – 1/4 inch reel to reel audio tape
Audio cassette transfer and Martin Parr’s The Non Conformists
We were recently sent a collection of recorded interviews with residents of Hebden Bridge, a mill town in the Pennines. They were recorded on regular, domestic tapes of the mid-1970s, the kind that were sold in shops such as Woolworths or WHSmith. As magnetic cassette tapes go, these cheaper tapes can often deteriorate at a… Continue reading Audio cassette transfer and Martin Parr’s The Non Conformists
Delivery formats – to compress or not compress
After we have migrated your analogue or digital tape to a digital file, we offer a range of delivery formats. For video, using the International Association of Sound & Audiovisual Archives Guidelines for the Preservation of Video Recordings, as our guide, we deliver FFV1 lossless files or 10-bit uncompressed video files in .mkv or QuickTime… Continue reading Delivery formats – to compress or not compress
digitising tape issues
The main work of Greatbear is to make analogue and digital tape-based media accessible for people living in a digital intensive environment. But once your tape-based media has been digitised, is that the end of the story? Do you never need to think about preservation again? What issues arise for information management in the future,… Continue reading digitising tape issues
Digitising U-matic tape: Diagnosing & Treatment
We have recently completed a job for Quarry Faces, the Mendip Hills Community Heritage Project which has been funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund. Quarry Faces gave us 20 U-matic video tapes that were commissioned for a corporate video in the 1980s. The Quarry Faces project aims to tell the industry’s story, produce teaching materials… Continue reading Digitising U-matic tape: Diagnosing & Treatment
video machine room equipment racks / patchbay rewire
With the work we are involved with we have to use, keep working and store a large amount of old and usually large tape machines and other electronics. With a couple of machines it’s easy to store and easy to connect but as you grow and the variety and scope of machines develops it can… Continue reading video machine room equipment racks / patchbay rewire
Quarter inch reel to reel tape audio archiving
We’ve been a bit quiet since last year on our blog here primarily because we have been processing a large, ongoing audio archiving digital migration job for Mood Media Ltd In essence audio archiving, digital migration, transfer or digitisation, whatever term you prefer, is conceptually simple: one analogue or digital format is moved to another,… Continue reading Quarter inch reel to reel tape audio archiving
azimuth adjustment when you transfer and convert cassettes to cd
Cassette tapes run at a very slow speed of 17⁄8 inches per second (ips) with a very small track width of 1.59mm Cassette decks when they left the factory or a service centre should have been aligned to a standard reference for the position of the record and play heads. Unfortunately they often weren’t all… Continue reading azimuth adjustment when you transfer and convert cassettes to cd
U-matic transfer to DVD, Uncompressed Quicktime and Digi Beta
We’ve been honored recently to have won a large contract to help in the digital migration of an extensive educational video archive by the transfer from U-matic archive copies to uncompressed video files. While the archive had been stored in an suitable environment and rarely if at all played, they had not survived well. The… Continue reading U-matic transfer to DVD, Uncompressed Quicktime and Digi Beta