Contents:
- What is this document?
- Video preservation in a digital context
- Practice variation at the Library and in the wider community
- Options for an interim approach
- About classes and categories
- Category 1. Analog source
- Category 2. Digital source (media dependent, non-transcoded transfer possible
- Category 3. Digital source (media dependent, transcoded transfer required
- Category 4. Digital source (media independent “file based”)
- Category 5. Digital source (“authored” DVDs and other “authored” disks)
- Appendix A. Wrappers
- Appendix B. Resolution (number of lines)
- Appendix C. Signal Metadata: VBI, Closed Captioning etc.
- Appendix D. Metadata
- Appendix E. Time code
George Blood L.P., an audio and video preservation consulting company, was contracted by the Library of Congress to investigate video ‘interim-master preservation formats’ that might be useful for the Library’s partners in the National Digital Stewardship Alliance. It defines ‘interim’ as 3-10 years (starting in 2011). The Library itself has chosen JPEG2000/MXF but realizes that other archives and partners may not have the high level professional expertise or equipment to implement this strategy. The paper outlines best practice delivery specifications for five different categories (see table of contents). In addition to including a method for extracting the signal, it provides specifications for wrapper, video and audio and time code related technical specifications (frame size, bit depth, sample rate, etc.), a comment on obsolescence monitoring for the format and access considerations for each category. The appendices give some brief additional background information on the basis upon which the recommendations were made and asks for input from peers.
This is a useful document for archives looking for specific recommendations on what to do now when creating digital preservation master files for long-term retention. It is mostly a technical best practices document and interesting for archive staff tasked with deciding what formats to choose as well as technicians doing the transfer.