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Re: [ARSCLIST] Format conundrum
At 1/11/2005 05:25 PM, Steven C. Barr wrote:
However, keep in mind that 78's are a shellac-based compound, whilr 33's
and 45's are vinyl. The main disadvantage of vinyl is that it can be
incoorectibly warped by high temperatures, while shellac discs need
only be rewarmed to flexibility and bent back to flat!
The question would be whether it is possible to find a less-grainy
"filler" for the compund, since that is what causes the surface noise...
One of the problems with any analog storage method is that it's essential
to know the algorithm used to create and store the data. Without that
algorithm, the media contains nothing but ones and zeroes. Doesn't matter
if it's magnetic media, optical storage, or bar codes on acid-free paper.
From an archivist's point of view, one of the nice features of a phonodisk
is that you can retrieve the sound with a cactus needle or a paper cone.
The only people who have seriously addressed the problem of storing sound
recordings on media that will last for a very long time are the
Scientologists. They have made nickel-plated phonodisks of L. Ron Hubbard's
speeches. These are expected to last for at least 1,000 years. I don't know
if these are 78s, LPs or some other format. Considering the content, I
don't want to know.
John Ross
Northwest Folklife