Digitise Videotape and Audiotape White Paper - DAMsmart

We want to raise awareness about why you need to digitise videotape and audiotape before it is too late.

Access to your content on videotape and audiotape is under threat. If you don't digitise, content could be lost in as little as 5 years. We will email you a copy of our white paper that explains why.

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What’s the paper about?

Audiovisual media experts worldwide agree, technology obsolescence is an immediate and real threat to the future of your content if it lives only in physical moving image and sound archives.

In this paper we tell the story of how and why disappearing video and audio equipment, like the once ubiquitous VHS deck, means content will be lost. We have gathered together independent references to support the very pressing issue. As you read our paper, you will become keenly aware that time has run out to preserve your precious historical, commercial and cultural audiovisual records. It is evident that you must immediately take action to digitise your collection, or it will be too late.

Why read this paper?

So you can understand with certainty the time-critical issues that concern the longevity of your videotape and audiotape archives. Once you have read the paper you can make an informed decision about whether you need to digitise and save your content or not.

Who should read it?

Anyone who is responsible for videotape or audiotape collections in their organisation, including archivists, knowledge managers, historical association volunteers, librarians, curators, Information specialists, researchers….. If you have magnetic tape, you should read this paper.

No matter how small or large your collection is, you will be impacted by this issue. Even if you store your media really well, playback devices are no longer being manufactured, so holding out for a future solution to digitise is not a viable option.

We invite you to share this paper among collection stakeholders and your colleagues to raise awareness that the time to act is now.

What you will find inside:

  • Examination of the two major threats to your AV archive – degradation and the real killer TECHNOLOGY OBSOLESCENCE.
  • A look at digitisation as a solution to the threats of degradation and technology obsolescence.
  • A collection of views from industry experts that highlights the dire outlook for video and audio tape archives.
  • We delve into the roadblocks that you will face with digitisation projects.
  • We provide you with a few tips to get underway.
“Everyone responsible for an audiovisual archive needs to be aware of the rapidly growing problem – technology obsolescence. Major institutions like the NFSA and the NAA are very aware of this issue and are acting to save the national collections.
I encourage you to read this paper, so you can be informed as you decide how to respond to the problem, and help save the world’s valuable moving image and sound history”
Joe Kelly, General Manager, DAMsmart

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