pgtrio.blogg.se - Analog to digital video converter firewire

ANALOG TO DIGITAL VIDEO CONVERTER FIREWIRE ISO
ANALOG TO DIGITAL VIDEO CONVERTER FIREWIRE PROFESSIONAL

Given the collection inventory, does your project have all of the decks necessary to play the tapes?įor example, if your collection consists of Betamax, VHS, and VHS-C tape, your digitization workflow will need to include a deck for each format, or an adaptor for the VHS-C tape to fit a normal VHS cartridge. Actually lots of questions may come up, but answering “no” to one or both of the following questions may mean that you need to outsource the project. Once you have completed the inventory, you have two basic questions to answer before moving on to the next step. Tape format can only be used for a general time frame since many formats were used long after they became obsolete and used for long periods of time. Other materials that were part of the project (field notes) may help. Hopefully it is on the tape label or part of the tape’s contents.

Date-determining a tape’s date can be more tricky than one thinks.

If unsure, the Texas Commission on the Arts published a guide to videotape identification and assessment in 2004 ( ) This is an excellent guide (supplies photographs of different tape formats, including measurements) to help identify subtle differences in formats.

ANALOG TO DIGITAL VIDEO CONVERTER FIREWIRE PROFESSIONAL

If created by a professional crew, you may have professional format tape (e.g., ¾” in.

Tape format-Most collections will consist of consumer format tape (e.g., VHS, VHS-C, Betamax, miniDV, Digital8, Hi8).

By using one of the guides referenced above, visible inspection can be standardized and tapes rated on a scale of Very Good (VG), Good (G), Poor (P) and Very Poor/Unplayable (U)

Condition-Until playback, assessing the condition of the video on the tape is difficult.

If these names are not standardized, create standardized file names as part of the digital workflow.

Best practice is to retain that system as part of the digitization process. Your collection may already have a standardized tape-naming system.

Identifier-This is usually in the form of a tape label.

ANALOG TO DIGITAL VIDEO CONVERTER FIREWIRE ISO

Two other very good resources, but need to be purchased, are the standards documents, ISO standard 18933:2012 and AES49-2005 (r2010).Īt minimum, a good collection assessment for the purpose of digital migration should document the following information: Two very good reports on magnetic tape assessment and preservation can be found on at the Image Permanence Institute, “ The Preservation of Magnetic Tape Collections: A Perspective” and at Presto Space. A good simple 7 step guide can be found in a Spec Brothers white paper. Tape assessment can be a tricky business, but you will be surprised at what you can determine with a little knowledge. While performing the inventory, it is a good time to assess the condition of tapes, especially to determine is any needed repairs or other professional handling for preservation. While handling the tape, your project may perform other inventory/cataloging tasks. For the scope of this article, only format type and condition is necessary. If it does not already exist, a simple inventory of the collection should be performed. Understanding the formats you have in your collection is an important first step to preparing workflow and equipment for your digital migration.

Many collections will consist of more than one videotape format. In fact, outsourcing may be the only way to save badly damaged and outdated formats. Yet as we review each step, there is noting wrong with coming to the conclusion that a professional is needed.

Yet we can’t let “ perfect be the enemy of the good,” “good enough” may be the best way to preserve valuable cultural assets before it is too late. Often tapes languish because we believe the process is too expensive, too difficult, and we cannot do a “good enough” job. The point of this article is to encourage you to migrate your tapes. The digitization workflow can be broken down into four steps. Holders of very large media collections may want to consult with experts and may involve robotic systems (see NARA’s process). Given the proper equipment and time, it can be a manageable project for individuals and small institutions. While it is easier said than done, migrating an analog videotape collection from tape-to-digital format is not as difficult as you might think. It is a good idea to hold onto your original tapes but, as we know, magnetic tape can offer up a host of preservation problems (see Preserving Tape) so migration to digital format is a must. Unlike the seeming gossamer quality of digital files, VHS tapes seem to have solidity - we can hold them in our hands, line them up on shelves, and pop them into a machine to play. For many of us, having videotape on the shelf seems like a good way for us to preserve our oral histories.