The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #122530 Message #2691033
Posted By: ChrisJBrady
31-Jul-09 - 10:08 AM
Thread Name: Digitising Analogue Recordings
Subject: RE: Digitising Analogue Recordings
As an aside the BBC's Doomsday Project from a few decades ago was lost; the equipment to play the orginal laser discs went obsolete very quickly. Although there are (unsubstanciated) rumours that the content / masters may have been recovered or reconstructed, see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BBC_Domesday_Project
I did hear that it is possible to rescue the content from corrupt CD/DVD disks using specialist equipment and software. Last year I received a scratched DVD that refused to play properly from Australia of 'Windjammer' (a Cinemiracle Widescreen (TodAO?) Film from the 1960s) that I had tried to get for very many years. I decided that the best thing to do was to back up the VOB files onto my PC and try and correct 'errors'. I used ISOBuster to do this. It took many hours due to the error correcting algorithms but I rescued most of the disk.
Someone in the thread mentioned that CD/DVD disks from as late as 2004 had already gone corrupt!!!! There are specialist companies that can rescue the content from such discs. Apparently polishing the shiny surface helps. Doing a Google search will list quite a few. Many websites and forums also have advice on this.
See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dvdisaster
Also: http://blog.tmcnet.com/blog/tom-keating/home-entertainment/fix-scratched-dvd-problems.asp
Might I also recommend a mailing list devoted to the subject of digital archives at:
HISTORY-DIGITISATION@JISCMAIL.AC.UK
Good luck - Chris B.