Re: [ARSCLIST] New 1-bit recorders, was Re: SACD et al. sales figures

[John Ross <johnross@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

At  7/8/2007 03:31 PM, Doug Pomeroy wrote:
> Well, SACD may yet have a life as a high-resolution capture format.
> Korg (yes, Virginia, Korg!) has just announced their new, very portable
> 1-bit recorders: the MR-1 which records at 2.8 MHz ("260 minutes
> in stereo"), and the M-1000 which records at 5.6 MHz ("520 minutes").
> Prices are roughly $700 and $1200, respectively.  This is quite remarkable.
> Archival transfers anyone?

Let's hope not. The Korg or any other system that uses a proprietary 
file format is a poor choice for long-term archival transfers and 
storage. All of the standards and best practices documents recommend 
linear PCM over the various 1 bit alternatives for long-term 
preservation. More importantly, any archival format must be based on 
commonly-accepted standard that do not depend upon a single 
supplier's technology.

Quoting IASA TC-04: "non-standard formats, resolutions and versions 
may not include
preservation pathways that will enable long term access and future 
format migration." At this point, the Korg uses a non-standard format 
as its only native storage option.

The Library of Congress has published an analysis on the 
sustainability of digital formats at 
http://www.digitalpreservation.gov/formats/ Here are a few critical 
questions from this document:
        Are the inner workings of the format disclosed publicly?
        Has the format been widely adopted?
        Is it transparent and open to analysis with basic tools?
        Are there a range of tools available?
        Can it facilitate self-documenting objects?
        Does it depend on particular hardware or software or a 
limited number of  manufacturers?
        Is it protected by a patent?

At this point in time the Korg format fails in all of these areas.

None of this is to argue that the Korg system does not produce very 
high-quality recordings. It definitely does that. But for archival 
transfers, the best quality possible is still the wrong choice if it 
depends on a single vendor and a proprietary format.

John Ross