Great Bear Analogue and Digital Media digitise the following formats The Time to Act is Now Audio The British Library’s Save Our Sounds project deterioration of media carriers, a lack Compact Audio Cassette Microcassette, Minicassette & Grundig Steno- has highlighted that time is running out to of engineering skills and fewer working Cassette Dictation Tape 8 track and NAB cartridges All speeds and track preserve collections stored on obsolete machines. formats of ¼” reel to reel tape Analogue 4 and 8 Multi-track Cassettes media. ¼” 4 track ¼” 8 track ½” 8 track ½” 16 track 2” 24 track PCM Digital The message is clear: valuable audio and Audio on Video Tape Digital Audio Tape MiniDisc Alesis ADAT (Type I By 2030, archivists claim, magnetic tape video content risks being lost forever unless 16bit & Type II 20bit) Tascam DTRS will become unplayable due to the it is digitised within the next fifteen years. Correct decoding of Dolby A, B, C and SR recordings Multi-Standard Transfers and Conversion PAL-NTSC-SECAM Video Great Bear Analogue and Digital Every tape collection is unique, so are Domestic: ½” EIAJ reel to reel videotape Sony 8mm, Hi8 and Digital 8 Media are experts in the preservation the needs of our clients. Betamax miniDV DVCAM DVCPRO HDV N1500 N1700 Video 2000 and repair of magnetic tape. Archives require extensive VHS, S-VHS, VHS-C Long Play (LP) Standard Play (SP) We help clients digitise their audio metadata to aid long term Professional: 1” Type A 1” Type B 1” Type C 2” Quad Betacam SP and video tape collections. preservation of digital collections. Digital Betacam SX MPEG IMX D-1 D-2 D-3 D-5 D-9 MII U-Matic low band, high band sp Our Bristol-based studio is stocked Film and media producers request with well-known and obscure legacy digital files that can be efficiently Contact Us audio and video tape formats from re-used in a creative project. the 20th and 21st centuries. Greatbear Analogue and Record companies want optimum Digital Media Ltd. Collections we transfer range from transfers suitable for commercial Unit 26, thousands of copies to a single tape. release. The Coach House, Individual collectors may want 2 Upper York St, Bristol, BS2 8QN, access to their recordings. U.K. With care and attention to detail we +44(0)117 985 0500 can get the best out of your tape. Video File Format Delivery [email protected] We offer a free consultation service There are many ways to deliver preservation standard https://www.facebook.com/ digital video files. We can create preservation and to help you decide how to approach greatbear.tape.transfer access files according to your needs. Don’t know your digitisation project. what is best? We can talk you through the options. https://twitter.com/thegreatbear www.thegreatbear.net [email protected] +44 (0)117 985 0500 All audiovisual archives stored on Prone to drop out and glitches These tapes are vulnerable because: Prone to shedding magnetic tape are endangered, but Playback problems related to mechanical Tape becomes brittle with age; this Require ‘baking’/ de-hydration treatment some are more endangered than alignment makes it prone to snapping and harder prior to playback others. Playback machines complex and used to move through the tape transport Machine and parts scarcity To help you understand your collections built-in proprietary software and hardware ‘Country-laning’: tape changes shape here is a selection of formats that, in our and dimensions, difficult to achieve Spare parts difficult to acquire experience, pose specific preservation good play back signal challenges. ‘Vinegar syndrome’: when acetate decomposes it forms acetic acid Early Digital Audio and Video leading to tape deterioration Early digital audio and video recordings on magnetic tape should be treated as high risk formats. Despite their young age in comparison to analogue tape recordings, minimal Do your uMatic video tapes smell degradation suffered by early digital like wax crayons? If the answer is formats can result in catastrophic signal yes, this is a sign they are degrading. loss. Ampex/ Quantegy Tape Mould This may produce mute sections, glitches The preservation challenges of open reel or clicks within the transferred file. We have a lot of experience safely restoring audio tape vary from brand to brand. mould-damaged tape. Ampex were leading producers of open Apart from in accelerated circumstances, reel magnetic tape and were used by many we can help recover valuable material. professionals in the music industry. They produced ¼” and ½” reels, as well as Need to identify if a tape in audio cassettes and video tape. your collection is backed with acetate? Hold the reel up to Ampex branded tapes exhibit ‘sticky shed the light. If the tape appears syndrome’ or ‘binder hydrolysis.’ This means translucent it is acetate backed. tapes A strong smell of vinegar is also a tell-tale sign! Need to be ‘baked’ in a special laboratory incubator which temporarily restores them to playable condition Portapak ½” open reel video tape Digital Audio Tapes (DAT) Shed violently and fall apart if played without appropriate treatment Metadata Early digital audio format, ‘immature’ Any early media formats are vulnerable technology We can treat tapes suffering from ‘sticky because they were once the ‘newest’ Creating high quality metadata is important shed syndrome’ in the Great Bear studio. technologies. to many of our customers. Vulnerable due to tape width (3.81 mm / 0.15”) and helical scan method Acetate backed open reel tape Portapak ½” open reel video tapes, We can generate technical metadata, Snapped or surface damaged tape the first format to make portable video appropriate to the source format, that can hard to repair without irrecoverable Acetate was used as backing material for tape technology accessible to non- become part of larger metadata schemas signal loss magnetic tape between 1935-1972/73. professionals, are no exception. used to preserve digital collections. www.thegreatbear.net [email protected] +44 (0)117 985 0500 www.thegreatbear.net [email protected] +44 (0)117 985 0500.