Contents:
- Scope
- 1. Executive summary
- 2. Problems with Audiovisual File Format Migration
- 3. The Proposed Technologies
- 4. Audiovisual Formats to be included in the Multivalent Framework
- 5. Glossary
- 6. References.
This report describes the range and nature of problems in audiovisual digital preservation, particularly focussing on file formats, and the potential for Multivalent and iRODS technologies to address them. It begins by discussing the nature of file formats, their associated proprietary technologies and the problems caused in the preservation of digital data; covers currently available approaches to dealing with file format/technology obsolescence and includes a detailed description of Multivalent, particularly within the context of av digital preservation. It concludes with a list of the most important file formats currently in use in the broadcasting and digital cinema industries and indicates their possible implemenation in a Multivalent architectural framework being developed in the PrestoPRIME project.
The authors state clearly that this report is meant as a justification for the selection of Multivalent and iRODS technologies in order to solve the problem of audiovisual data obsolescence. It provides a clear description of Multivalent and how it fits within the OAIS reference model. The research documents an important alternative preservation strategy to that of file format migration. Some sections of the report do require some IT technical background.