Darmstadt – March 25, 2014
Library and Archives Canada (LAC), responsible for the acquisition and preservation of Canada’s documentary heritage, has installed Scanity, a state-of-the-art film scanner from dft.
The national archive, originally founded in 1872, has over half a million hours of audio and video recordings and 90-thousand motion picture film titles ranging from interviews, music, television and radio broadcasts, to parliamentary proceedings.
Included in the archive are some of the first Canadian motion pictures and photographic negatives, much of which are highly sensitive and require precise temperatures for preservation. These, along with other less aged materials, are at risk as audio-visual records deteriorate, formats (such as Betamax or VHS) become obsolete and the machines that can play them disappear.
In order to preserve these unique records and make them more accessible to Canadians on and offline, LAC has embarked on an ambitious plan to transfer this content to standard computer formats, a monumental project given the size and scope of the material involved.
LAC’s new film scanner, Scanity, has been specifically designed to ensure the safe handling of difficult, damaged and aged film stocks, and will enable the accurate digitisation of these treasured materials for future generations to appreciate.
The new film scanner will also enable LAC to capture high quality images from their archive materials in real time, an important feature given the large volumes of film that they have.
Simon Carter, Director at dft comments, “dft is delighted that LAC has chosen Scanity for its film archive. Scanity has been specifically designed to handle large volume archive library ingest and together with its dedicated Infra- Red scanning capability it facilitates a rapid and effective transfer for dust and scratch management, delivering the best possible results for 2K or 4K data files.”
dft (Digital Film Technology GmbH) has been at the forefront of film scanning technology for over 75 years, supplying the film post production market with a range of high quality, leading edge products and services. With a reputation for quality, dft, head quartered in Germany and has a network of sales, service and support centres worldwide. dft is a subsidiary of Prasad Corporation Ltd, India.
For more information and press inquiries, contact simonc@prasadgroup.org.
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