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I've read a lot of articles on digitally preserving motion pictures. Most of them take the approach that it can't be done, or can't be done economically.

I'm not an archivist, but I've been following digital technology as a journalist for a quarter century. My reaction is that the problems of digital preservation are solvable, if the right people undertake the job of solving them.

Last week I wrote a piece for my blog suggesting how this could be done. I'd love to read reactions from some of you.

http://bayflicks.net/2012/03/06/the-cha ... servation/" target="_blank

Lincoln

Robert,

From your blog...

"As an extra safety measure, every archive storing the media would have to also store a book–on paper–explaining how the media works and how to build a playback machine."

Why bother with this at all. How about just a paper copy of all the 1s and zeros of the original material on paper. That
way no matter what happened to the equiptment a new copy in a new format can be created. Acid free Paper though bulky is pretty easy to store correctly.

"And it absolutely must contain no encryption."

Hollywood would never go for that, that is the whole driving force for the switch to digital in theaters in the first
place, to stop bootleg copies.

"Since the media will only be playable on certain machines kept only in archives, piracy would not be a serious problem."

If one person can build it for archives, someone else can make them too. Thus the "need" encryption of data.

and from this site: http://magazine.creativecow.net/article ... ive-system" target="_blank

"You can't look at the files in and of themselves. You need a lot of technology to bring them back, and always have to wonder if, when the time comes, if that technology will still be available."

"The beauty of film is that the machine it takes to look at the images is amazingly simple. You need a light source, you need a lens, you need something to shine it on, and then you can see it."

"I asked one of our IT people today, what if were to digitally preserve a typical feature film? A typical film scanner might have 5 to 10 terabytes of direct storage that's associated with it."

The main problem with digital archiving is the size of files needed they are large very large. Let alone the staggering
number of films made each year.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/oc ... mbers-fall" target="_blank <- some 2009 Hollywood numbers here and
that is just Hollywood.

Nice blog entry I liked it.

Pookybear