Archiving the 90s: Preservation of Early Digital Formats

Wednesday, October 28, 2020

3:00 PM – 4:30 PM EDT

Presenter(s)

Jason Bitner

Mastering and Restoration Engineer
Traffic Entertainment Group
Providence, Rhode Island, United States
Kelly Pribble

Principal Studio Engineer / Lead Media Recovery Technology Program
Iron Mountain Entertainment Services
Moonachie, New Jersey, United States
Pete Weiss

Producer/mixer/mastering engineer
Verdant Studio
Somerville, Massachusetts, United States
Eddie Ciletti

President and Chief Engineer
Manhattan Sound Technicians Inc.
st paul, Minnesota, United States

Slides Handouts
Kaylie Ackerman

Head of Media Preservation
Harvard Library
Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States

An encore presentation about the joys and technicalities of dealing with recording formats of the 90s: ADAT, DA-88 and DA-89, DTRS, 1630. Loads of great records were made on these formats, frequently in project studios with smaller budgets. Sadly, they are some of the most at-risk formats, both because the carriers are awful and because playback machines in working order are hard to find and maintain. Panelists will talk about playback and preservation of these formats, specific considerations in capturing audio, timecode and other data, sourcing and maintaining playback machines, and curating releases from this content.