Audiovisual Documents and the Digital Age

Abstract

This chapter summarises the development of image and sound recording and reproduction technologies, the present situation of the audiovisual heritage, and the methodologies for its long-term safeguarding. It traces the history and nature of image and sound documents and their progressive transition from analogue to digital means of creation and dissemination. The inherent instability and vulnerability of tangible audiovisual carriers, combined with the relentless march of technological change, and hence the compounding obsolescence of formats and replay equipment, present major preservation and accessibility challenges. With preservation in the digital domain seen as the only viable long-term strategy, the principles and practicalities of analogue-to-digital transfer are discussed, with reference to formats, standards and data management as well as storage requirements and costs. The importance of adequate metadata and the dangers of cost-saving solutions such as data reduction (“compression”) are highlighted. In conclusion, the author cautions that digitisation is only the beginning: the preservation of digital files requires ongoing, “eternal” personal and financial engagement to maintain their integrity and ensure their future migration as new systems evolve.