We recently helped in the digitising of 8mm & Hi8 for the creation of an online video about the following project by Nelson Johnson:
Tag: innovation
The difference ten years makes: changes in magnetic tape recording and storage media
Generational change for digital technologies are rapid and disruptive. ‘In the digital context the next generation may only be five to ten years away!’ Tom Gollins from the National Archives reminds us, and this seems like a fairly conservative estimate. It can feel like the rate of change is continually accelerating, with new products appearing all the… Continue reading The difference ten years makes: changes in magnetic tape recording and storage media
Significant properties – technical challenges for digital preservation
A consistent focus of our blog is the technical and theoretical issues that emerge in the world of digital preservation. For example, we have explored the challenges archivists face when they have to appraise collections in order to select what materials are kept, and what are thrown away. Such complex questions take on specific dimensions… Continue reading Significant properties – technical challenges for digital preservation
2″ Quad Video Tape Transfers – new service offered
We are pleased to announce that we are now able to support the transfer of 2″ Quadruplex Video Tape (PAL, SECAM & NTSC) to digital formats. 2” Quad was a popular broadcast analogue video tape format whose halcyon period ran from the late 1950s to the 1970s. The first quad video tape recorder made by AMPEX in… Continue reading 2″ Quad Video Tape Transfers – new service offered
Digital Optical Technology System – ‘A non-magnetic, 100 year, green solution for data storage.’
‘A non-magnetic, 100 year, green solution for data storage.’ This is the stuff of digital information managers’ dreams. No more worrying about active data management, file obsolescence or that escalating energy bill. Imagine how simple life would be if there was a way to store digital information that could last, without intervention, for nearly 100… Continue reading Digital Optical Technology System – ‘A non-magnetic, 100 year, green solution for data storage.’
Digital Preservation – Establishing Standards and Challenges for 2014
2014 will no doubt present a year of new challenges for those involved in digital preservation. A key issue remains the sustainability of digitisation practices within a world yet to establish firm standards and guidelines. Creating lasting procedures capable of working across varied and international institutions would bring some much needed stability to a profession often characterized… Continue reading Digital Preservation – Establishing Standards and Challenges for 2014
Big Data, Long Term Digital Information Management Strategies & the Future of (Cartridge) Tape
What is the most effective way to store and manage digital data in the long term? This is a question we have given considerable attention to on this blog. We have covered issues such as analogue obsolescence, digital sustainability and digital preservation policies. It seems that as a question it remains unanswered and up for serious… Continue reading Big Data, Long Term Digital Information Management Strategies & the Future of (Cartridge) Tape
Repairing obsolete media – remembering how to fix things
A recent news report on the BBC website about recycling and repairing ‘old’ technology resonates strongly with the work of Greatbear. The story focused on the work of Restart Project, a charity organisation who are encouraging positive behavioural change by empowering people to use their electronics for longer. Their website states, the time has come… Continue reading Repairing obsolete media – remembering how to fix things
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
The Grain of Video Tape
From U-matic to VHS, Betacam to Blu Ray, Standard Definition to High Definition, the formats we use to watch visual media are constantly evolving. Yet have you ever paused to consider what is at stake in the changing way audio-visual media is presented to us? Is viewing High Definition film and television always a better… Continue reading The Grain of Video Tape