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Digital Media Archiving Challenges Hollywood

Posted by CowboyNeal on from the taping-over-m*a*s*h-reruns dept.

HarryCaul writes "Movies are moving to digital, but what about long-term archiving of the master source materials? Turns out it's harder for digital media than for contemporary analog. Data is being lost, and studios have to learn to cope. Phil Feiner of the AMPAS sci-tech division says when he worked on studio feature films he 'found missing frames or corrupted data on 40% of the data tapes that came in from digital intermediate houses' How to deal with it? Regular migration from old media to new media. Grover Crisp, says Sony has put in a program of migrating every two to three years. Other studios are following suit, but what about indie features? Will we lose films like we lost the originals of the 20s?"

9 of 155 comments (clear)

  1. Tell the MPAA about Linus' quote by bheer · · Score: 3, Funny

    "... only wimps use backup: _real_ men just upload their important stuff on ftp, and let the rest of the world mirror it."

    I think it'd work well for the MPAA.

    --
    Go somewhere random
  2. What are the odds... by EveryNickIsTaken · · Score: 2, Funny

    They can manage to "lose" the digital masters for every film Nicholas Cage has been in?

  3. Re:Bitorrent? by xerent_sweden · · Score: 5, Funny

    Wouldn't it be great if in 50 years the only version left of [Insert Future Classic Movie] was a screener with watermarks?

  4. Re:The old ways are the best. by streetphantom · · Score: 3, Funny

    The record industry has gone back to analogue tape. But.. you could store film data in a lazer beam and fire it off into space. Then, once we invent lightspeed transport, we can fly past the lazer beam and then recollect the data.

  5. Re:The old ways are the best. by Vampyre_Dark · · Score: 4, Funny

    How long until the pirates launch a giant 'mirror' (pun intended)?

  6. Don't worry, Hollywood by wbren · · Score: 2, Funny

    I have an archive of most of your _good_ material stored on my hard drives.

    --
    -William Brendel
  7. Re:Losing movies by Dogtanian · · Score: 2, Funny

    From what I remember, some of the original 'Babylon 5' negatives were eaten by rats. When asked why they hadn't eaten the original Star Trek negatives, the rats replied "We're not that desparate."
    --
    "Slashdot - News and Chat Sites Deviant". (Click "homepage" link above for details).
  8. Re:I'm not surprised by at_18 · · Score: 2, Funny

    I've often wished I could wake up one morning and discover that around 70%-75% of the global population had simply disappeared during the night.

    Chances are that you wouldn't wake up.

  9. Re:Just wait until they lose the DRM keys by DoofusOfDeath · · Score: 2, Funny

    I can see it now...

    RIAA: Hello? Is this DVD Jon? No! Wait! Don't hang up. We have an... awkward... favor to ask.