Combo-digitisation
We’ve been digitising audiovisual content for years. Between 2016 and 2019, for example, we digitised VHS tapes for 94 content partners. Then in 2019 and 2020, we worked on DVDs and CDs again. But what about all the new VHS tapes that our partners have gained since 2019? Or CDs from our new content partners’ collections? In order to safeguard all these carriers too, from 2022 onwards we’ll be running small projects for a mix of carrier formats.
Combo-what?
Combo-digitisation refers to our plan for digitising audiovisual carrier formats from projects which have technically already ended. It allows us to deal with media that our content partners have gained since the completion of these projects. Meemoo also welcomes new content partners sometimes, and we want to safeguard their content for the future too.
Challenge
Content partners with media that hasn’t yet been digitised can use the inventory tool to find out what non-digitised audiovisual carriers they have in their collection, and how many items there are. This information then also appears on our radar.
The process does bring certain challenges with it, however. It’s very difficult for us to predict how numbers might grow, for example. It also involves much fewer carriers per carrier format than in previous digitisation projects, which means the economy of scale is less beneficial while we’re also investing relatively more time in the tender procedures. So we need a new approach: combo-digitisation! Combining a limited mix of carriers allows us to continue to guarantee our conversion quality.
Our role
Meemoo is future-proofing this valuable audiovisual content together with our content partners who are responsible for supplying, registering and packaging their collections. We’re also collaborating with various digitisation companies who will take care of the actual conversion.
Approach
Within the combo-digitisation project, we’ll be launching various sub-projects to digitise one or a combination of related formats over the coming years. We decide which digitisation partner we want to use for each sub-project by holding a mini competition between the seven preferred partners we signed a framework agreement with in 2022: DC1, Inn-Archive, Sonim, Memnon, Picturae, VDH-Media and Vectracom.
Videocombo
The first sub-project is already underway: videocombo. We selected thirteen different video formats to convert in this project, with some 1200 audiovisual carriers in total coming from 23 different content partners. This time, we awarded the project to Dutch digitisation company, inn-Archive.
Audio combo
The second combo project is now also in the works. This time, we will be tackling a mix of eight different audio carrier formats: ¼, ½, 1, and 2-inch open reel audio, ADAT (Alesis Digital Audio Tape), DAT (Digital Audio Tape), Microcassette and MiniDisc. We are currently actively preparing for the project, and the tendering and conversion are scheduled to begin in the autumn. This involves approximately 6,000 carriers from 24 different content partners.
minidisc, public domain