BBC Videotape archive

Where is the BBC's VT archive? I've had an e-mail asking where the original Grange Hill masters are stored, but I have no idea (nor do I know if they still exist!) It would be reasonable to assume the first three, even the first four series were on quad.

Perhaps the BFI have got them, or were they junked after transfer to digital formats - it would be great to know. If the BBC still have them, where is the most likely storage site?

Any assistance would be gratefully appreciated!

According to this post - http://www.rtforum.co.uk/read.php?id=191236&showparent=1 (NB: post will expire in a couple of weeks) - all the original, pre-digital format, tapes for old shows were given to the National Film and Television Archive. Unless the tapes for this were junked years back, the Beeb probably still have digital copies though.

Thanks! And where better than here to reprint this thread to secure its own preservation:

G W Randall
Re: Question on Ampex 2 inch tape
Sun Apr 08 2007 11:15:52
213.132.048.105

>>I would like to enquire if any BBC programmes held in the archives are still on their oriiginal old ampex 2 inch system<<

IIRC, after being transferred to modern formats years ago, the 2" tapes were all passed over to the ownership of the NFTVA (the National Film and Television Archive).

>>Also how long does it take to transfer material from Ampex to DG Betacam cassette ?<<

It's done in real time. If it's a 30-minute programme, it takes 30 minutes to transfer (plus some lineup time on the 2" machine first).

>>and what machine is used for this process<<

You need a 2" VTR to play the 2" tape and a DigiBeta deck to record the DigiBeta tape.

Yes, they finished dubbing off all their 1" and 2" (Quad) archive a few years ago. AIUI everything was dubbed to D3 tape. D3 is a composite digital format which is becoming obsolete, but is still used for transmitting many of the the BBC's 4:3 programming (although producers are now allowed to deliver 4:3 programmes on digibeta). Digibeta is a better format and more future proof (being the current industry standard) so I suspect they'll be dubbing the D3's onto Digi now


They'd all be held at the BBC tape archive in Windmill Road, Brentford.

Hence the name "Windmill" for that show presented by Chris Serle?

1) Warm up 2" machine
2) Attempt to get it into lineup
3) Go for cup of tea
4) Come back and try again
5) Deal with enquiries from a succession of young techies who say "What's this?" "Can it make capuccino?" "Why does it sound like a vacuum cleaner?" and "Why does the tape go such a long way round?"
6) All ready?
7) Run the digi to record, stand as far away from the 2" as possible, cross everything and press Go.
Watch in amazement as the old relic manages to huff and puff its way up to speed once again.

Yep

I seem to remember that on Blue Peter once, that they showed a BBC tape archive collection in a former Underground station near White City; anybody know anything about that-- is it still used?

Why has D3 become obsolete so quickly, and what are the odds that DigiBeta will be in a similar position in c. 6 years' time?

That's not a trick question - it's a genuine concern. I've heard the phrase 'futureproof' used for many things, and each 'futureproof' solution has proved to become obsolete as soon as the next 'futureproof' solution comes along - 3 or 4 years later.

From what I saw of the BFI's 2" machines, they weren't like coaxing hydroscopically gummed-up tape precariously around the head drum of a knackered old Shibaden. They could be laced up and playing back within about 7 seconds, taking just under a second to lock onto the control track. No breath holding required as far as I could see.

It probably will be. However i'm guessing that the next big format upgrade will most likely be a HD storing format, so DigiBeta will probably be the last major SD physical storage medium they use.

Saying that, how long is it do you reckon before all the archives are stored on servers?

I just don't feel comfortable with the 'all on hard disc' solutions. Feels too much like putting all one's eggs in one basket. I really do think removable media has to come into play somewhere, and preferably on units that only hold one or two episodes of a show, the same as now. Any discs, removable or otherwise, sealed or in a cartridge, that hold dozens and dozens or maybe a few hundred programmes, could crash, and thereby lose so much more than a creased tape ever would. As long as the units of storage media become smaller and thence allow more of them to occupy the same shelfspace as say, a D2/3 or DigiBeta cassette, of course.