Audio & Video

COMPREHENSIVE AUDIO-VISUAL PRESERVATION SOLUTIONS

DT Heritage builds on our two decades of heritage digitization excellence, by expanding into comprehensive audio-visual preservation in collaboration with vetted and respected partners. We combine our proven institutional expertise with specialized technical capabilities, in order to be able to offer to our clients a full service, high touch offering of digitization services now including in audio and video preservation. DT Heritage’s audio-visual services, via our trusted partners, delivers the same preservation-grade quality that has made us the trusted partner of organizations like The Smithsonian Institution, The Getty Research Institute, and the Library of Congress.

This expansion represents a natural evolution of our film digitization expertise. This also works in tandem with our proprietary metadata services enabling a comprehensive and consistent approach to making your collections digital. While we have established ourselves as leaders in still photographic materials, the preservation of moving images and audio requires similar attention to conservation handling, environmental controls, and preservation-grade capture quality.

UNDERSTANDING TIME-SENSITIVE DETERIORATION

Audio-visual materials face preservation emergencies that far exceed the timelines of traditional heritage collections. Unlike paper-based materials that may remain stable for centuries, magnetic tapes experience sticky shed syndrome. In this condition, the binder holding magnetic particles breaks down, causing the oxide layer to shed during playback. This deterioration can render recordings completely inaccessible within 20 to 30 years.

Acetate-based film stocks present another critical challenge through vinegar syndrome, a chemical deterioration process that produces acetic acid, resulting in a distinctive vinegar odor and causing film base shrinkage and embrittlement. As the acetate base contracts, it distorts the sprocket holes, creating dimensional instability and rendering the film unsafe for projection or scanning.

THE OBSOLESCENCE CRISIS

Beyond physical deterioration, technological obsolescence creates access barriers that grow more severe each year. Professional playback equipment for legacy formats becomes increasingly rare and expensive to maintain. Digital Audio Tape (DAT) machines (despite being relatively recent technology from the 1990s) are already challenging to service as manufacturers have discontinued parts and service support.

The knowledge required to calibrate and operate legacy equipment properly disappears as experienced technicians retire. Proper playback of historical recordings often requires an understanding of recording speeds, equalization curves, and track configurations that vary between manufacturers and time periods.

Historical Sound Recordings

Cylinder recordings from Edison, Columbia, and other early manufacturers require specialized playback equipment and techniques. These wax, celluloid, and metal cylinders, recorded at various speeds between 120 and 200 RPM, contain some of the earliest captured human voices and musical performances.

Shellac Disc Records

78 RPM records, manufactured primarily between 1898 and 1958, present unique challenges due to their brittle shellac composition. Early acoustic recordings (pre-1925) used mechanical recording processes, while later electrical recordings employed microphones and amplification.

Magnetic Tape Formats

Cassette tapes became widely used for oral history projects and field recordings due to their portability. However, their narrow tape width and slow recording speed make them particularly susceptible to print-through—a phenomenon where magnetic information transfers between tape layers during storage.

VIDEO PRESERVATION CAPABILITIES

Our video preservation services address moving image materials across all applications:

• Consumer Formats: VHS (helical scan, 240 lines resolution) and Betamax (higher quality, better color reproduction)
• Professional Broadcast: U-matic ¾-inch cassettes (superior quality but experiencing mechanical failures) and Betacam/Betacam SP (component video recording with superior color fidelity) 
• Legacy Equipment: Quadruplex 2-inch tape (1950s-1980s broadcast standard) requiring specialized knowledge and museum-piece machines

MOTION PICTURE FILM PRESERVATION

Building on DT Heritage’s established expertise, our motion picture services include:

• Professional Cinematography: 35mm and 16mm film stocks with various emulsion types requiring specific handling for camera negatives, internegatives, and release prints 
• Amateur Film Formats: Super 8mm and regular 8mm film present challenges due to the small image area and color fading tendencies
• Safety and Nitrate Film: Specialized handling for chemically unstable nitrate-based emulsions that pose fire hazards, drawing on our Getty Research Institute experience