We have previously written on this blog about the problems that can occur when transferring Digital Audio Tapes (DATs). According to preliminary findings from the British Library’s important survey of the UK’s sound collections, there are 3353 DAT tapes in the UK’s archives. While this is by no means a final figure (and does not include the… Continue reading Mouldy DATs
Tag: obsolete media
1″ Type A Video Tape – The Old Grey Whistle Test
Sometimes genuine rarities turn up at the Greatbear studio. Our recent acquisition of four reels of ‘missing, believed wiped’ test recordings of cult BBC TV show The Old Grey Whistle Test is one such example. It is not only the content of these recordings that are interesting, but their form too, because they were made… Continue reading 1″ Type A Video Tape – The Old Grey Whistle Test
Save our Sounds – 2030 and the threat of audiovisual extinction
At the beginning of 2015, the British Library launched the landmark Save Our Sounds project. The press release explained: ‘The nation’s sound collections are under threat, both from physical degradation and as the means of playing them disappear from production. Archival consensus internationally is that we have approximately 15 years in which to save our sound collections… Continue reading Save our Sounds – 2030 and the threat of audiovisual extinction
Obsolete technologies and contemporary sound art
At the recent Supernormal experimental arts and music festival held at Braziers Park, Oxfordshire, a number of artists were using analogue technologies to explore concepts that dovetail nicely with the work we do at Greatbear collecting, servicing and repairing obsolete tape machines. Hacker Farm, for example, keep ‘obsolete tech and discarded, post-consumerist debris’ alive using ‘salvaged… Continue reading Obsolete technologies and contemporary sound art
D-1, D-2 & D-3: histories of digital video tape
At Greatbear we carefully restore and transfer D-1, D-2, D-3, D-5, D-9 and Digital-S tapes to digital file at archival quality. Early digital video tape development Behind every tape (and every tape format) lie interesting stories, and the technological wizardry and international diplomacy that helped shape the roots of our digital audio visual world are… Continue reading D-1, D-2 & D-3: histories of digital video tape
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
Digitising Stereo Master Hi-Fi VHS Audio Recordings
The history of amateur recording is peppered with examples of people who stretched technologies to their creative limit. Whether this comes in the form of hours spent trying things out and learning through doing, endlessly bouncing tracks in order to turn an 8-track recording into a 24-track epic or making high quality audio masters on… Continue reading Digitising Stereo Master Hi-Fi VHS Audio Recordings
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
End of year thank yous to our customers
What a year it has been in the life of Greatbear Analogue and Digital Media. As always the material customers have sent us to digitise has been fascinating and diverse, both in terms of the recordings themselves and the technical challenges presented in the transfer process. At the end of a busy year we want to… Continue reading End of year thank yous to our customers
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
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
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
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?
‘Mysterious little reddish-brown ribbon’: BASF Magnetic Recording Tape
‘It seems we are living in an age in which practically every dream comes true. At no time in the past have so many scientific discoveries and inventions changed our way of life and the face of the world. Yes, we live in the age of science! Maybe we are forgetting to be awed, or… Continue reading ‘Mysterious little reddish-brown ribbon’: BASF Magnetic Recording 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
8 track cartridges and museum tour
8 track cartridges were a very popular domestic audio format in the United States, although there were also sold in the UK and Europe. The growth of the 8 track was synonymous with its use in car industry, as it allowed people to listen to music on the move. Although phased out in the early… Continue reading 8 track cartridges and museum tour
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