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[AV Media Matters] UNESCO-2
Responses from the Representatives of Tape Machine Manufacturers:
Karl Otto Bader of Studer said that some institutions suffer from a form of
technophobia they are concerned about the progress of technology.
Technology is continually developing and improving. All institutions have to
take this inescapable fact into account when planning for the future. One
good thing that has come from the advance of technology is that the cost of
recording one hour of audio is steadily falling. Analog magnetic tape has
remained steady in price for a number of years. The price of blank CD-R discs
has steadily fallen and it is now a cheaper medium for recording on than
quarter inch tape. CD-R is being increasingly used by institutions of all
types. The rate of change does, however, vary around the world. For example,
the USA and the UK are lagging behind Europe in the speed of change to newer
formats. The longterm future for audio recording and storage is clearly
digital in some form.
Studer have surveyed the analog quarter inch machine requirements of their
large customers in Germany. Most German users have machines which transport
the tape "oxide out" the reverse to users in other countries. The future
need for new machines of this type is very small almost nonexistent.
Studer will. however, guarantee to support obsolete models for ten years
after the model ceases to be produced. Spares may in practice be available
for a longer period. For example. the A80 ceased production in 1989 and the
guaranteed supply of spare parts will cease next year. If a spare part is
still in stock after that date, however, it will still be supplied. It is the
intention to keep the A807 model in production for the foreseeable future but
other models will phased out as demand drops.
H. Bader asked if IASA could provide a database of its members so that
information can be sent to them. Dietrich Schuller replied that this would be
considered by the IASA Executive Board. He added that such information would
be very helpful to the IASA membership when planning their strategy for the
future. He asked if the information about the demise of machines and a list
of machines remaining in production could also be sent to George Boston for
publication in the IASA Journal.
Clifford Harkness asked about the supply of key components such as integrated
circuits. These may become unobtainable before the guaranteed support period
ends. H. Bader replied that it was Studer's policy to provide spare parts at
the circuit board level. They would supply a board that performed the same
task as the replaced board. The actual components on the replacement board
may, however, be different.
Peter Bremm of Tascam/TEAC explained that Tascam is the professional arm of
TEAC. The company now only produces one model of quarter inch tape machine
the BR20. There are no plans to cease production of this machine which can be
supplied in a number of variant versions. Spare parts are still available for
machines made 25 years ago. The only difficulties that may be experienced
were with parts that had been made by outside contractors. Each main TEAC
subsidiary holds its own supply of spare parts and, in cases of shortages,
has access to a companywide network to help track down alternative supplies
of spares.
Harald Viering of Otari said that his companies policy was very similar to
that of TEACs. The guaranteed supply of spare parts for obsolete machines was
five years from the date that production ceased. In practice, most spares
were available for much longer. In some cases. Otari have supplied drawings
of mechanical components to permit the customer to have the parts made by
other companies. Two machines were currently in production the MP 15 and
the MX55. There were no plans at present to cease production of these
machines.
Zoltan Keresztes of STM Kft said that his company worked in a different
scenario to the others present. Historically, its main market had been
Eastern Europe. The political changes in this area had meant that sales of
new machines had fallen considerably not because the quarter inch format
was becoming obsolete but because the companies could no longer afford to buy
new machines. In addition, there was a tendency for the governments of these
countries to try to establish local manufacturers. The move to digital
formats in most of these countries was far in the future.
STM had developed a new machine for this market and the first batch of 500
machines was in production. The company guarantee the supply of spare parts
for at least ten years after production ceases. For some specialist machines,
this period was increased to fifteen years.
JeanClaude Schlup of Nagra Kudelski SA said that Nagra was conscious that
many recordings made in the past were being transferred to CDR and other
digital formats. All Nagra machines. apart from the Nagra I (which was
developed with help from UNESCO) and the Nagra III. were still in production
and there were no plans to cease production of any of the remaining models.
On the contrary, an operationally simpler version of the Nagra T was
currently being developed. All mechanical components for Nagra machines were
made "inhouse" and the supply of spare parts would, therefore, not be
difficult.
General Discussion:
Clifford Harkness said that it was the custom for many companies to operate a
"justintime" policy for components which meant that spare parts can be
difficult to obtain. The companies at this Consultation do not have such a
policy. Was this liable to change? Peter Bremm. replied that there were no
plans to change his company's policy. The policy would remain in place for as
long as it was economically viable.
Karl Otto Bader asked if the arrival from major broadcasters of large
quantities of secondhand machines on the market would affect the archives
purchase of new machines. Dietrich Schuller replied that this was unknown. We
are facing a mutual search for answers in a new situation. H. Bader said that
the archives and manufacturers should cooperate to see if answers to such
questions could be found. It would be to the benefit of both parties.
George Boston commented that the demand for new or secondhand machines would
depend on the supply of spare parts. If a machine could not be kept in
service because of a shortage of spares, then the purchase of additional
machines would be necessary either as replacements or as a source of spare
parts. Peter Bremm said that the cannibalization of old machines for spare
parts could affect the supply of new spare parts by the manufacturers. George
Boston pointed out that the dismantling of old machines for spare parts was
often very labor intensive and it was usually cheaper to buy new. Clifford
Harkness said that cannibalization can easily lead to lower standards of
maintenance of machines by making the acceptance of worn and substandard
parts the norm.
Peter Bremm said that it would be very helpful to know what was the likely
need for new machines. Such information would help the companies set a
realistic timetable for production. It was the policy of TEAC to inform
customers, via TEAC's network of representatives, that a machine was about to
be withdrawn from production. This enabled customers to make final orders for
such models.
Harald Viering commented that as the production lines for new machines were
rundown, the delivery time for any new machines had increased from the two
to four weeks of the past to several months.
Dietrich Schuller asked if obsolete machines could be licensed to
manufacturers in developing countries. JeanClaude Schlup said that Nagra had
already taken such action for at least one of its obsolete models.
Gerald Gibson said that many archives were not connected with a large
broadcaster or recording company. These were the places that manufacturers
have traditionally canvassed when carrying out market research into
customers' views about the quarter inch tape format. This needed to change as
the recording institutions move to a digital format. In addition, local
representatives of companies were becoming less informed about quarter inch
analog tape machines. Harald Viering replied that, in cases of difficulty,
enquiries should be directed to the regional offices or head offices of the
companies.
Gerald Gibson inquired about the supply of maintenance manuals for obsolete
machines. Peter Brernm said that copies of all manuals were kept and, if
spare printed copies were not available. a photocopy could be supplied.
Albrecht Hafner asked if problems were foreseen with other analog audio
formats such as the LP. It was generally agreed that, at present, there were
no signs that new turntables etc. would become unavailable.
JeanClaude Schlup asked what was the general view about a new preservation
format. Dietrich Schiffler replied that, although a number of archives were
using the CDR or DAT formats, this was seen by many institutions as a
temporary solution. The main area of investigation worldwide was into robotic
digital massstorage systems of which there were several on the market. Such
storage systems are being used by many companies needing to store large
amounts of data including most banks and agencies such as NASA and other
scientific organizations.
Closing Remarks:
Dietrich Schuller thanked everyone for taking the time to attend a most
encouraging Consultation. He especially thanked UNESCO for their support and
help in organizing the Consultation and IASA for providing an excellent lunch
for the participants.
ANNEX A--LIST OF PARTICIPANTS
Representatives of Sound Archives:
Sven Allerstrand
Director, National Archive of Sound and Moving Image
Karlavagen 100
PO Box 27890
S115 93 Stockholm, Sweden
Tel: +46 8 783 3700
Fax: +46 8 663 1811
EMail: sven.allerstrand@alb.se
George Boston
Secretary, IASA Technical Committee
14 Dulverton Drive
Furzton
Milton Keynes MK4 1DE, United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (1908) 773 570
Fax: +44 (1908) 773) 707
EMail: keynes2@aol.com
Peter Copeland
British Library
National Sound Archive
96 Euston Road
London NW I 2DB, United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (171) 412 7420
Fax: +44 (171) 412 7416
EMail: peter.copeland@bl.uk
Magdelena Cseve
Radio Documentation Department
Hungarian Radio
Brody Sandor u 57
H 1800 Budapest, Hungary
Tel: +36 1 328 8310
Fax: +36 1 328 8310
EMail: csevema@uzem.radio.hu
JeanMarc Fontaine
Bibliotheque Nationale de France
Laboratoire d'Acoustique Musicale
Case 161
Universite Pierre et Marie Curie
4 Place Jussieu
75005 PARIS, France
Tel: +33 1 4427 7595
Fax: +33 1 4427 7529
EMail: jmfontai@ccr.jussieu.fr
Joelle Garcia
Bibliotheque Nationale de France
Departement de I'Audiovisuel
T3 N 3
Quai Franqois Mauriac
75706 Paris Cedex 13, France
Gerald Gibson
Library of Congress
Preservation Office
Washington D.C. 205404500, USA
Tel: +1 (202) 707 1055
Fax: +1 (202) 707 6449
EMail: ggib@loc.gov
Albrecht Hafner
Sudwestfunk HoerfunkArchiv
HansBredow Strasse
Postfach 820
D76522 BadenBaden, Germany
Tel: +49 (7221) 92 3487
Fax: +49 (7221) 92 2094
EMail: albrecht.haefner@swf de
Clifford Harkness
Ulster Folk and Transport Museum
Cultra Manor
Cultra
Holywood
Co. Down BT18 0EU, United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (1232) 428428
Fax:+44(1232)428728
Dietrich Schuller
Phonogrammarchiv of the Austrian Academy of Sciences
Liebiggasse 5
A1010 Vienna, Austria
Tel: +43 1 4277 29601
Fax: +43) 1 4277 9296
EMail: pharchiv@kfs.oeaw.ac.at
Representatives of Manufacturers:
Karl Otto Bader
Director Market Development
Studer Professional Audio AG
Althardstrasse 30
CH8105 Regensdorf, Switzerland
Tel: +41 (1) 870 75 11
Fax: +41 (1) 840 47 37
EMail: k.baeder@studer.ch
Peter Bremm.
Technischer Leiter
TEAC Deutschland GmbH
Audio Division
Bahnstrasse 12
D65205 WiesbadenErbenheim, Germany
Tel: +49 (611) 71580
Fax: +49 (611) 715811
Zoltan Keresztes
STM Kft
H7603 Pecs 3
PF160
Hungary
Tel: +36 (72) 210 765
Fax: +36 (72) 210 762
Thomas Koller
Tascam
Dietmar Koller Recording Equipment
Gilmstrasse 9
A1170 Wien, Austria
Tel: +43) (1) 489 5757
Fax: +43) (1) 489 5758
JeanClaude Schlup
Research and Development Manager
Nagra Kudelski SA
Route de Geneve 22
CH1033 Cheseaux, Switzerland
Harald Viering
Marketing and Sales
Otari Europe GmbH
RudolfDieselStrasse 12
D40670 Meerbusch, Germany
Tel: +49 (2159) 50861
Fax:+49(2159)1778
EMail: euro@otari.de
UNESCO Representatives:
Abdelaziz Abid (parttime)
Memory of the World Programme
Information and Informatics Division, CII
I Rue Miollis
75732 Paris Cedex 15, France
Tel: +33 1 4568 4496
Fax: +33 1 4568 5582/3
EMail: a.abid@unesco.org
Joie Springer
Information and Informatics Division. CII
1 Rue Miollis
75732 Paris Cedex 15, France
Tel: +33 1 4568 4497
Fax: +33 1 4568 5583
EMail: j.springer@unesco.org