Re: [AMIA-L] Preserving digital video vs. film

[James Lindner <jim@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

"-----Original Message-----
From: Association of Moving Image Archivists [mailto:AMIA-L@xxxxxxxxxxx]
On Behalf Of Richard L. Hess
Sent: Wednesday, March 06, 2002 12:02 PM
To: AMIA-L@xxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: [AMIA-L] Preserving digital video vs. film

That's interesting--I'm wondering if there will not be a supply of
1-inch
C-type VTRs later. This format was used more recently than quad and was
the
last analog format before digital. I suspect that the machines MIGHT be
in
use. There were a lot in use in the 80s. Perhaps they haven't seen their
way to being as low in the food chain as 2-inch Quad machines."

Snip

Type C was not the last format before Digital - there were (are) several
others. Type C machines are still in active use in some places, and I
believe you can still get virgin tape stock for this format (last time I
checked). The machines can be readily purchased from companies that
specialize in used broadcast equipment in various models in various
condition. They should be quite inexpensive. The machines do require
some expertise to properly run - these are not plug and play, and you
need other support equipment like waveform monitors, vectorscopes, sync
generators, etc. The machines were made/marketed by several vendors
including Ampex, Sony, RCA (they were still in business then), 3M (no
kidding), and Hitachi. If I were looking for a unit specifically for
playing back old tapes, I would consider getting 2 units - one Ampex and
one Sony because for some time they had interchange problems between the
two vendors and it is quite possible for you to have an old Ampex tape
that will not play back properly on a Sony and visa versa. For the Ampex
Unit I would get a VPR-3 which and from Sony I would get a Model 2000
with the EXTERNAL time base corrector (NOT the one with built in TBC
cards). These were not the last machines manufactured by either company
but were machines that were pretty tolerant in playing back tapes that
have some of the problems that old tapes have. For parts you are better
off buying several units. Both Sony and Ampex are still in business
(well in Ampex's case it is more of a "sort of in business" and will
probably have some of the parts, but others are probably out of stock
forever and the ones in stock will be very expensive - you can probably
buy another machine for the price of a few parts.



James Lindner
Managing Member

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