Meeting of SC-03-04 Working Group on Storage and Handling of Media of the SC-03 Subcommittee on the Preservation and Restoration of Audio Recording was held in San Francisco, CA., US., 2004-10-28.
The meeting was convened by chair T. Sheldon
The agenda and the report of the previous meeting held in Berlin, Germany, 200405-08 were approved as distributed.
Open Projects
AES22-R: Review of AES22-1997 (r2003): AES recommended practice for audio preservation and restoration - Storage of polyester-based magnetic tape
No action was requested or required. AES22-1997 will be subject to a mandatory review in 2008.
AES28-R: Review of AES28-1997 (r2003): AES standard for audio preservation and restoration - Method for estimating life expectancy of compact discs (CD-ROM), based on effects of temperature and relative humidity
No action was requested or required. AES28-1997 will be subject to a mandatory review in 2008.
AES35-R: Review of AES35-2000: AES standard for audio preservation and restoration - Method for estimating life expectancy of magneto-optical (M-O) discs, based on effects of temperature and relative humidity.
No action was requested or required. AES35-2000 will be subject to a mandatory review in 2005.
AES38-R: Review of AES38-2000: AES standard for audio preservation and restoration - Life expectancy of information stored in recordable compact disc systems - Method for estimating, based on effects of temperature and relative humidity.
No action was requested or required. AES38-2000 will be subject to a mandatory review in 2005.
Development Projects
AES-X054: Magnetic Tape Care and Handling
On 2004-03-23 the PWD draft of this document was distributed, with comments due on 2004-04-23. No comment was received. On 2004-08-18 the document was sent to the Standards Manager for formal formatting. At this meeting the latest draft was reviewed and no changes were made. The meeting felt that this document should proceed to a Call for Comment.
AES-X055: Projection of the Life Expectancy of Magnetic Tape.
The Joint Technical Commission, a cooperative liaison project with I3A in which many Working Group members participate, continues research into methods to estimate the life expectancy of magnetic tape. At this time no conclusions are available.
AES-X145: Care and Handling of Optical Discs
This proposed standard concerns the care and handling of digital optical discs during use. It addresses the issues of physical integrity of the medium necessary to preserve access to the recorded data (information). Included are recommendations for handling procedures to maximize the effective life of optical discs. This standard addresses the following subjects: a) use and handling environments, including pollutants, temperature and humidity, light exposure and magnetic fields; b) contamination concerns; c) inspection; d) cleaning and maintenance, including cleaning methods and frequency; e) transportation; f) disasters, including water, fire, construction and post-disaster procedures; and g) staff training.
On 2004-09-27 the latest PTD draft was distributed for comment to the WG, due 2004-10-24. Three comments received: 1) the question of RH below freezing was successfully dealt with without changing text, 2) a comment has been added to the Scope statement recognizing that the integrity of data encoded on discs depends on the quality of the initial recording, 3) noted that preservation of content should be the ultimate goal of preservation work, and this document deals only with the media used; but made no recommended changes to the text were presented. The meeting recommended that the revised text be sent for comments as a PWD when the next round of changes have been made in 2004-11 by the Joint Technical Commission.
AES-X146: Extended term storage environment for multiple media archives
This project seeks to provide suggested guidelines for extended-term storage environments for archives that contain a variety of recording media, based on the existing AES and ISO storage standards for those media. Many of these media hold audio content. Whenever possible, the storage environments in the AES and ISO storage standards should be followed. This technical report does not replace these AES and ISO storage standards. In addition to environment recommendations, those standards also include other vital information pertinent for the long-term keeping of recording materials such as inspection, housing, and handling guidelines.
On 2004-09-27 a draft PTD was sent for comment, due 2004-10-24. No comments received. The PWD was reviewed and no changes were made. The meeting recommended progressing the document to a PCFC.
Liaisons
AES-X080: Liaison with AES/ I3A-WG5 Joint Technical Committee (JTC)
The liaison arrangement is working smoothly, and no changes are needed at this time. The chair gave a brief report on work of the Joint Technical Commission as reported on October 1, 2004 at ISO TC42 meeting in Salt Lake City.
New Projects
The chair presented a new project to determine the appropriate care and handling methods and processes for high density hard disc drives. This project will be a cooperative project with the Joint Technical Commission. The meeting approved the new project as a project of SC-03-04. [Sec: This project was subsequently ratified by SC-03 and initiated as AES-X153]
New Business
There was no new business.
The next meeting will be scheduled in conjunction with the AES 118th Convention in Barcelona, Spain, 2005-05.
