Re: arsclist reel to reel player/recorder

[Don Cox <doncox@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On 14-Jun-01, Doug Pomeroy wrote:
> Don,
> 
> Thanks for clarification. I definitely disagree.
> 
> You can't copy *anything* forever without SOME loss. But high-quality
> digital equipment DOES allow virtually endless copying WITHOUT loss,
> digital bit-for-bit. This has been demonstrated. To suggest that this
> is "not good enough" strikes me as extreme stogginess, even without
> mentioning the weaknesses of the alternatives!

I'm not suggesting this is "not good enough". It's the great advantage
of digital.



> You say
> 
>> "given an old tape or disc, playing it back so
>> that nothing is lost is hard,
> 
> but I would assure you that there are qualified engineers who CAN
> do this extremely well. In spite of what you may have read in the
> popular press, which always makes it out as some kind of black art,

You are agreeing with me. It is hard, and being a qualified (or
experienced) engineer helps. Librarians or archivists who have been
trained on printed material are not always experienced engineers.

 
>> and converting from analogue to digital
>> without losing more is also hard.
> 
> Wrong. There is nothing "hard" about it. It just requires good
> equipment, musical sensibility and a knowledge of the medium(s)
> involved. And experience doesn't hurt, of course. I'd venture to say
> it's only "hard" if you are dealing with people who don't understand
> the music and/or the medium.

Again, you are agreeing with me.  You might recall that we have had
queries on this list about purchase of a reel-to-reel player from people
who have probably never used one.

It is hard.  It needs care, skill, experience  and good equipment.  You
probably already have all these.


Regards
-- 
Don Cox
doncox@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx