Internet Archive began digitizing 40,000 VHS and Betamax video cassettes

Employees of the organization Internet Archive приступили for a long and grueling process of digitizing and publishing content on the Internet 40 thousand. videocassettes in VHS and Betamax. On the tape - recording television programs made by Stokes Marion (Marion Stokes). 35 years she recorded news programs MSNBC, Fox, CNN, CNBC and CSPAN on TV. Former librarian clearly understood the importance of his work: in her house nearly eight-hour working VCR.

Experts were amazed at Internet Archive received a unique historical material in such quantity.



Now we have to work hard. The problem is not so much in the digitization of the video, but in the hard work of putting the accompanying data (meta data) for the video. You must specify each staff, which appears in the frame, and to accompany the video transcript of conversations. For example, just enter the computer name only 537 videotapes took about 16 hours from one of the employees of Internet Archive.

Six weeks spent on digitizing the first part of the collection of Marion Stokes, which recorded about 60 editions of Input i>, journalistic transmission, which went on Sunday mornings at the regional TV channel WCAU-TV10 in Philadelphia from 1968 to 1971. Invited guests to the studio discussed Genetic Engineering, Eastern religions, battle of the sexes, compensation for slavery, the gap between the generations, education reform, etc. For many participants, transmission 45-year-old is the only surviving visual material, although many of them are historically significant persons. Now the collection of laid out in free access .



One of the boxes with the cassettes Marion i>

In 60-70 years, television had nothing to do with the TV show vysokoritmichnymi modernity. Then the invited experts sat in a semicircle in front of the camera and each long, leisurely express their opinion. At the beginning of transmission Input no entry, just turn on the air from the middle of a conversation.



A large part of the collection of Marion recorded on tape Betamax: the equipment had to look on eBay, also had to find engineers who can fix it i>

According to the Internet Archive, the digitization of the collection will cost approximately $ 500 thousand. A significant portion of this amount still to be collected in the form of charitable contributions. Need help and volunteers.

Source: habrahabr.ru/post/217237/