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CBC is destroying its broadcast archives after they’re digitized
- cjensen 9y ago[Edit: See comment for correction that explains that Radio-Canada includes TV. I'll leave this here because some of the info is valid] From the article: It also questioned why Radio-Canada was preserving its master recordings after making digital copies but CBC had opted to rely only on digital copies This statement shows a lack of understanding of the problem. Old audio recordings can still be played. Old video recordings from the early VTRs[1] are going to be unplayable soon: the people who have the skill to refurbish an old VTR are well into retirement age now. There are only a handful of the original VTRs still operating. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quadruplex_videotape https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quadruplex_videotape
- KC8ZKF 9y agoRadio-Canada is the french language arm of the CBC. It is television and radio, not just audio.
- ixf 9y agoVery old audio equipment is in a similar boat - I know archivists who are prioritizing stuff for digitization based on the number of tape head hours they think they've got left in older machines.
- pbhjpbhj 9y agoIs contact absolutely required in such old machines - I wonder if you could float the tape using, say, air [1], ultrasound, or silicon spray, or even just carefully fitted wheels in order to maximize life of the head itself. I'm surprised generic non-contact magnetic readers haven't been developed for retro tech given the prevalence of magnetic storage tech for HDDs. [1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_bearing https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_bearing
- fencepost 9y agoI'd wonder more if a newer more modern head could also be used on the same tape at the same time (a few inches over on a slightly extended tape path), with the output of the "original" used to train software to interpret the higher resolution data coming from the new head. Seems to me that might in some ways be similar to some things required for software defined radio signal processing.
- cornholio 9y agoTo play Devil's advocate, keeping the originals isn't just keeping, it means a commitment to maintaining them in an environmentally controlled space, following all fire prevention standards, in an organized fashion. It's easy to see why they would be wanting to cut down those costs to zero, especially due to forthcoming digitization and storage costs. On the other hand, it's also clearly an issue of controlling who has access to the material - I highly doubt it will be simply dumped online for free. So once you take it out of the live, high maintenance archive, you will not throw it in the rubbish or donate them to a friendly NGO, since that might limit your ability to control it in the future.
- raverbashing 9y agoYes. Magnetic tape is hard to keep. Film is even harder, it is flammable and decays as well. Needs controlled atmosphere to keep well.
- blattimwind 9y agoFunny that you mention that. Polyester film is widely used for long-term archival, precisely because it so stable.
- raverbashing 9y agoYou're right, but analog signal degrades, and humidity can cause mould. Digital data tapes have a nice layer of error correction on top. Better than film, but still requires some care.
- blattimwind 9y agoDigital storage needs sophisticated hard- and software to read, which thus needs to be archived as well (and how would you do that; no hardware has that shelf life), or, you re-archive everything every ~10-15 years (as is done today). In contrast, I can read anything from the Barbarastollen with a magnifying glass and sunlight, today and in 500 years.
- 8note 9y agoI'm sure somebody would buy at least some of them if they were on offer
- sjwright 9y agoLetting random people take ownership of various chunks is—in all practical respects—identical to destroying them. This stuff is expensive and complicated to archive long term.
- CapacitorSet 9y agoI think there may be license issues, if the archives are not in the public domains. Other than that, yes, they might as well sell them and "recover" some money.
- rfrey 9y agoRecordings that are not public domain are sold all the time... is there something that makes these different?
- PeterisP 9y agoJust as with any other recording, I can make a backup copy for archiving purposes, but if I start selling those backup copies then that's a violation of copyright laws.
- pervycreeper 9y ago>He who controls the past controls the future. Hard to see this as anything other than an attempt to minimize and erase Canadian culture, such as it is. Nice A / B with the french counterpart, where there is political will to bolster theirs.
- pbhjpbhj 9y agoFormat shifting isn't erasure though.
- patrickg_zill 9y agoProbably accurate, given the renaming of the British North America Act to the fraud of a name, "Constitution Act of 1867".
- zokier 9y agoAssuming that the digitization is done diligently, committing to long-term maintenance of the originals would be borderline hoarding.
- ambentzen 9y agoIf that is the case, lets take a picture of the Mona Lisa and shred the damn thing. All that maintenance and security is just a waste, right?
- chrisseaton 9y agoI don't think that's really the same thing. The Mona Lisa was painted directly by the creator's hand and there is value in maintaining the physical structure of the painting because there is something there beyond a physical image. In a video the media - the original film - is already just a copy of the original performance. Unless you are interested in the history of the physical media for it's own sake because it's unusual in some way I don't think it's the same thing. Is the media even the original negative that was in the studio? I don't think so.
- frou_dh 9y agoThe equipment to "play" original paintings is ubiquitous, i.e. eyeballs.
- pbhjpbhj 9y agoWell, ask the same question about a mediocre portrait picturing someone of no [recorded/remembered] societal note by an artist no-one knows anything else about and I'd say "absolutely". Take pictures, make them available to the public, give the original away - use the remaining 99% of the upkeep costs for something else. When a robot/printer is able to make a perfect replica of the Mona Lisa down to the brush strokes, and we can experience it in VR without even needing the replica, the answer to your question might change for most works too.
- lou1306 9y agoHigh-res scans of sculptures are already a thing [0]. Just send the polygon mesh to a 3d printing and presto, you get your own David by Michelangelo. However, painting would be waay more difficult, especially in cases (such as Van Gogh) where the artist deliberately applies thick layers of paint. (I find the idea of intentionally destroying the originals to be ludicrous, but hey, more future-proofing is always good) [0]: http://graphics.stanford.edu/papers/dmich-sig00/ http://graphics.stanford.edu/papers/dmich-sig00/
- w8rbt 9y agoI'm concerned that the same thing will happen to libraries and books someday. Books are a great technology. I hope we don't throw them out too.
- krsdcbl 9y agoI wouldnt be too much. Books are a primary medium, they can be consumed without the need of an interpreter or interface. They dont face any threat of not beeing readable anymore and therefore storage becoming a waste of money, gradually
- ksec 9y agoHow do they digitize it? 8K RAW and no Compression?
- pilsetnieks 9y agoThere's nothing wrong with compression, data can be lossless and still compressed. That's why a FLAC file can be three times smaller than an otherwise identical WAV file.
- trefoiled 9y agoThis reminds me of Blade Runner 2049: "We had everything on drives, everything."
- cma 9y agohttps://www.reddit.com/r/askscience/comments/1akw3o/could_an_emp_wipe_the_data_on_a_hard_drive/ https://www.reddit.com/r/askscience/comments/1akw3o/could_an...
- linsomniac 9y agoWhat was that book where they were digitizing books by shredding them and then vacuuming them up and digitizing all the scraps as they passed through the vacuum hose to reassemble digitally and then OCR?
- knuththetruth 9y agoAre you thinking of “Double Fold” by Nicholson Baker?
- sfifs 9y agoRainbows End by Vernor Vinge
- linsomniac 9y agoThat sounds correct, thanks!
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- Runderwood 9y agoInternational Archival Standards call for preservation of analog originals, or the most recent copy of those original programs.CBC's destruction of program archives (following digitization) is a breach of the Public Trust.
- Runderwood 9y agoDestroying program originals or the most recent copy of those program originals is in violation of international archive standards, and is a breach of the Public Trust which had funded CBC to the extent of $50 billion from public purse since exception. These archives are the property of the people of Canada.