Project: ARCHIVATOR process - The solution for long-term archiving of digital data

Long-term archiving today is a "never ending story" of migration to new hardware and software platforms and re-recording of the same data. The ARCHIVATOR project aims to change the way the world will do long-term archiving of digital content. New technologies, new products, new processes and workflows will be established as a part of this project. The aim is further to set up a new and innovative business model that facilitates a quick market introduction and adaptation of the ARCHIVATOR process as the preferred option for long-term archiving of digital data._x000D__x000D_A fantastic project consortium has been put together to accomplish this task: The best optical system designers in Europe, IN-VISION Digital Imaging GmbH, to provide imaging optics to very sophisticated Data Recording and Data Scanning systems, provided by two industry leading companies, CINEVATION AS and P+S Technik GmbH (PSTF), in this field. These three companies already have successfully worked together to create commercial win-win results before. Further an innovative and leading company in the field of digital archiving, Tecnologías Digitales Audiovisuales, S.L. (TEDIAL) has been selected to be the P for encoding and packaging of data for recording as well as de-coding and unpackaging of data after scanning. Finally, two leading users and providers of archiving services, Nordisk Film Post Productions AS (NFPP) and Centro de Produccion Audiovisual Autor, S.R.L. (CPAA), have been selected to provide inputs and requirements from the market side._x000D__x000D_The target for the ARCHIVATOR is to create an open standard for long term archving for the future!_x000D__x000D_Massive amounts of digital data require long-term archiving (>> 50 years). Exponentially growing amounts of data demand for logistically effective and cost efficient processes. Digital storage media (DVD, hard disks, magnetic tapes) exhibit limited lifetime. Repetitive data migration to overcome the rapid obsolescence of hardware and software (application SW and operating systems) bears accelerated risk of data loss, data corruption or even manipulation and adds significant repetitive costs for hardware and software investments._x000D__x000D_The project consortium strongly beliefs that long-term archiving of digital data on specialized non-fading polyester-based micrographic film is a true alternative, while such material shows a proven long-term stability of more than 500 years under regular storage conditions. This innovative archiving concept can be applied to many fields such as governmental institutions, conservatories, libraries, registers, insurance companies and banks, media industry or medical technology. It envisions huge market potentials both for equipment and services._x000D__x000D_CINEVATION and its Ps have developed a long-term archiving concept basing on the principles of a very fast microdisplay based Data Recording on film for archiving and high-speed Data Scanning for de-archiving. Together with the unique Data Boxing and Un-Boxing this closed-loop archiving chain is made independent from hardware and software platforms and is expected to be extremely safe and cost efficient compared to archiving concepts using digital storage media._x000D__x000D_The ARCHIVATOR project comprises:_x000D__x000D_- DATA BOXING to convert digital and digitized film and media data (or any other data format) including ingestion, formatting, encoding, and encryption of object data and combination with meta data;_x000D__x000D_- DATA RECORDING to expose digital and digitized data to high resolution micrographic film material with a high-speed process, optimizing data density and bit depth on film and its reproducibility;_x000D__x000D_- DATA SCANNING at high resolution to re-generate exposed data from film and prove consolidation of the process chain;_x000D__x000D_- DATA UN-BOXING to reliably restore scanned data, decode and re-format data and make them readable._x000D__x000D_- STORAGE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM, i.e. definition of archival procedures of storing film in save archives and definition of workflows to integrate the film-based long-term archiving process into short and medium-term digital storage processes._x000D_

Acronym ARCHIVATOR (Reference Number: 4683)
Duration 20/11/2009 - 19/11/2012
Project Topic The ARCHIVATOR project aims to build an infrastructure (Data Recording and Data Scanning with Data Boxing and Un-Boxing) to conserve digitized content on high resolution micrographic film (long-term archiving). The process shall be integrated into short and medium-term digital storage workflows.
Project Results
(after finalisation)
The CO result are working prototypes (optomechanical subsysterms) for Data Recording and Data Scanning in the Archivator Structure.
Network Eurostars
Call Eurostars Cut-Off 2

Project partner

Number Name Role Country
6 Centro de Produccion Audiovisual Autor, S.R.L. Partner Spain
6 Cinevation AS Coordinator Norway
6 In-Vision Digital Imaging Technologie- und Beteiligungsges.m.b.H. Partner Austria
6 Nordisk Film Post Production AS Partner Norway
6 P+S Technik Feinmechanik GmbH Partner Germany
6 Tecnologías Digitales Audiovisuales, S.L. Partner Spain