RE: [-empyre-] archiving

[adam <adam@xs4all.nl>]

Thanks Paul for a very interesting answer.

I am also interested in a topic related to what you write below:

>
> Take another couple or examples: RealMedia files are commonly referenced
> with .ram metafiles which point to the actual media file, usually
> delivered from a RealMedia server. Automated harvesting will gather the
> .ram file but it will not (currently at least) be able to gather the .rm
> or .ra file from the RealMedia server and re-reference the .ram file to
> point to an archived copy of the .ra or .rm file. In PANDORA we have to
> contact the publisher to get them to supply the media files and we
> re-reference the .ram files to point to the archived version. This is
> archiving; and this sort of work has to be done at the time. Secondly,
> we have a number of subscription titles in PANDORA whereby we negotiate
> with the publisher either to supply the files or provide us with logins
> and passwords to harvest them. Here is an IA version for the
> subscription title the Justinian. Try and look at the articles.
> http://web.archive.org/web/20031205234822/http://www.justinian.com.au/
> Compare with a PANdORA version archived around the same time:
> http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/10397/20031112/www.justinian.com.au/index.
> html


On an archiving level it looks like PANDORA is doing a very thorough job.
However (this relates to archiving media in general) I was wondering if
there is any strategy by PANDORA for the long term preservation
of media files which have been created using proprietary codecs.

With realmedia files, for example, the content is archived with a codec
(the code that converts an audio or video file into a 'real media' file)
which is owned by Real Networks. The content itself may be owned by the
content producer, but the ability to decode the file for replay belongs
to someone else (RN).

If RN goes belly up it could be goodbye to codec distribution and hence
the content might not be easily replayed by anyone. Since RN doesnt like
anyone else to distribute their codecs then you could be stuck with files
that are effectively dead to everyone except the 386 parked in the PANDORA
backroom with the original codecs still installed ;)

This is a hypothetical scenario but one I find very possible if not
inevitable.

Does PANDORA have a strategy for this?

Kind regards

adam