[78-L] fwd: Videotape challenge is in the machinery

[Michael Biel]

  On 8/5/2010 10:53 PM, David Lennick wrote:
> A bit OT, but worth noting..it's not just audio (analog and digital) that's endangered. This is from Variety.
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> dl
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This is an old story but it does need to be retold.  LC has a large room 
at Culpepper where automated cassette changers are digitizing videotapes 
24 hours a day.  They have been amassing as many players of all types as 
they can, and have a dedicated repair service for them.  Whenever 
someone says that a TV show isn't around because it was on before there 
was videotape, I tell them that in many cases programs survive because 
they WERE on before videotape.  Videotape was the enemy of archival 
survival of TV untill we get to modern consumer formats -- but you can't 
just collect the programs, you also have to collect the machines.

When IASA (International Association of Sound Archives, now 
International Assoc of Sound and Audio-Visual Archives) wanted to add 
the video component, I campaigned fiercely against the move and did 
delay it at least five years.  I reminded them there already is FIAT, 
the Federation International of TV, and IASA should stick to audio 
because it couldn't do video justice because it is too complicated a 
problem.  We'll see how things are going when we meet in Phila this fall.

I have about five 3/4-inch U-matic machines in my warehouse but I don't 
trust them.  Our school might have one working machine left and I am 
going to try to get the others.  These can still be fixed but it is 
becoming costly.  And there are so many minor video formats where 
machines have almost totally disappeared.  Believe me, audio is so 
simple compared to video.

Mike Biel  mbiel at mbiel.com