Bridging analog and digital assets with automated migration systems
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ywords: automation, audiovisual migration, metadata, robotic, analog media, magnetic tape Abstract Automated audiovisual migration systems are the only way to migrate large volumes of magnetic media to digital files. Historically, digital asset management (DAM) systems had no way to ingest analog assets en masse. By combining these two technologies, archives and commercial organizations can acquire digital versions of valuable content in a uniform, replicable manner. These legacy media assets can be monetized and repurposed, providing a lasting return on investment. Automated, consistent metadata collection further eases the transition from analog to digital, and enables quick discovery of assets within a DAM system. The evolution of audiovisual migration and restoration to automated systems positively impacts the DAM industry by leveling the field of assets, obviating the distinction between analog and digital, affording new business opportunities for DAM vendors.
INTRODUCTION
Gilad L. Rosner Systems Integrator Media Matters, LLC 500 W. 37th St. First Floor New York, NY 10018, USA Tel: +1 212 268 5528 x114 Email: [email protected]
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Magnetic media has been the most common way to record audiovisual material for the last several decades. Moments of historical and cultural importance, commercial and industrial productions, and news and entertainment footage have all been captured on magnetic tape. The value of all this audiovisual material is incalculable, yet the material is in great danger. Magnetic tape cannot be physically preserved beyond a certain point — components of the tape break down, causing the degradation and eventual destruction of the recorded content. The only way to preserve the content is migration, the process of copying the recorded content to a new
tape or, more recently, to a digital file, while correcting for signal degradation. Although digital asset management (DAM) software has focused on the management and manipulation of borndigital and already-encoded assets, it has been historically difficult to ingest and handle analog assets. Until very recently, encoding and metadata creation could not be performed en masse; this was particularly true for legacy media formats, such as the U-matic videotape. The skill sets required to encode magnetic media assets with high-quality, consistent results were uncommon, and were rarely found in combination with traditional audiovisual restoration skills. The solution to the problems of migrating legacy analog media to digital
JOURNAL OF DIGITAL ASSET MANAGEMENT Vol. 2, 1 50–58 # Palgrave Macmillan Ltd 1743–6559/06 $30.00
Bridging analog and digital assets with automated migration systems
files — bringing these media assets to the front door of DAM systems — is automation. By transforming inefficient, expensive, human-centric processes into repeatable, consistent, automated processes, valuable analog assets can be turned into digital assets accompanied by appropriate metadata. The wealth of material locked away on countless hours of magnetic tape are
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