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

[neechevoneeznayou at gmail.com]

Even more recent formats are getting harder to find. I have some HI-8 
video I would love to transfer with one of Sony's high end players with 
a TBC card in it, and not a camcorder. These don't seem to turn up on 
ebay so often anymore, and finding one in working condition is tough. Or 
at least, I haven't had any success with it. Not so long ago even the 
broken ones on ebay were kinda pricy.

joe salerno


Michael Biel wrote:
>   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.
>>
>> dl
>>
>>
> 
> 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
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