Backup Plan is Needed for U.S. Audio History

Good this issue gets aired. Loss of sound recordings is just the tip of the iceberg.

Not being a serious audiophile of any kind I have to ask if there are any analog recording methods besides our audio casette tapes that can preserve sound for more then the reliable life of the tape method. I also wonder what's the reliable life of casettes recorded on a good quality component tape deck?

Also, do we have any practical digital technology for archiving? If so, what is it?

Ed Weldon

There's currently no "sure thing" method by which we can archive audio or video virtually forever. Well, no practical one anyway. Plus the sheer volume of recordings (ever increasing, btw) seems to mandate the use of compressed digital storage rather than comparably bulky analog.

Our best bet appears to be the use of cheap, archival-quality DVD-R discs (supposedly guaranteed for roughly a century) coupled with storing copies in separate locations. With luck our great-grandchildren will invent something more durable and will care enough about their past to bother with transferring it all.

We've already lost recordings to the ravages of time. But worse, as the article also touches on, we're loosing them due to tangled copyright laws and shortsighted owners. I can name offhand several things which have apparently disappeared forever because tapes were reused to save money or chucked into the trash after the rights holders' companies folded and the clueless new owners "cleaned out" the storage buildings to sell. And some being hoarded away because of petty legal squabbles or because the owners foolishly think the material will be hugely lucrative some day.

Guest -- GA. And thanks for your well articulated commentary on the copyright mess. To which I'd like to add my own relevant quote: "When the copying of knowledge becomes illegal the truth will die"

I have a couple of basic questions about use of archival quality DVD-R disks. First off, how does a buyer know that the DVD-R discs he's buying are archival quality?

Second, is the typical DVD drive one gets with a new desktop computer able to produce such quality of recording? If not, what does one look for out in the electronics marketplace?

Ed Weldon