formats and archiving

[Chris Letts]

And my few pence worth of contribution is that whatever format you use
to archive material, you should review the archive at regular intervals.
The BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) learned the hard way, by
archiving the results of extensive information-gathering onto a new
technology for the time, LaserDisc. Many years later they wanted to
re-use the information, then found that although the discs were
perfectly preserved, there existed nowhere a machine that could play
them ! 
In the U.K. we're starting to find VHS format machines becoming more
difficult to get, ditto decent cassette players at reasonable prices and
one day these formats will dissappear for ever. Many old computer
formats are also difficult to read including CD's burned by
who-knows-what software before the formats became standardised.

I'd certainly also advocate archiving valuable material in 2 different
formats, stored in 2 different places. Our 'standard' system for video
is to keep original material on DVC tape, with a copy in AVI format on a
USB hard drive. Yes AVI files are huge, but they're easy to make and
edit, and are guaranteed to replay on virtually any computer. Their size
isn't really a problem these days - 250GB USB drives are getting common.

Chris Letts, 
Technical Site Manager, 
School of Education, Communication & Language Sciences, 
King George VI Building 
University of Newcastle, 
Newcastle Upon Tyne NE1 7RU,

U.K.