[bahia]

Hi,
I'm planning to digitize many old personal tapes using Sound Studio 3 (and a Firewire Audio Card) ,and then export the files as .m4. files.
Since I have a lot of tapes, I would like to throw them away once they are digitized.
In your opinion, is it totally safe to throw the original tapes away? (yes, I know, it's never safe to throw the original material away, but I really need to make some room in the studio..).

Once a .aiff or .m4 files is created, I guess I'm safe right? Any risk that in the future these files get corrupted or something like that?
Any advise regarding compression? .m4 at 192kbps should be fine?
Also, I own Logic Studio, would it be a better choice quality wise?
Sorry, so many questions, but I would like to find the right way to do this whole thing.
Thanks a lot!!
Chet

[Cold Warrior]

I'd test each recording -- run through it to make sure the digitized file is acceptable to you. Then make a backup of what you've digitized.

And just to be safe, I'd store your tapes for a couple months. Stuff them away in shoe boxes until you've had time to spend with the new digital recordings. That way if you realize something went wrong or you need to revisit a particular tape, they're not in the land fill.

[bahia]

Ok many thanks!

[analogika]

The old question of what to do with archives...

Analog material lasts forever - it deteriorates, but decades are not a problem.

Digital material is as lasting as either the medium - hard drives break after a few years, CDs will start getting destroyed after ten years in storage (or sooner, if you don't take care of them), DVDs much sooner than that.

And then there's the question of lasting data formats. We're losing immense amounts of data, simply because there are no applications around able to import them anymore...

I *certainly* wouldn't throw away the analogue tapes. Ever.

Unless they're really not that important.

[gradient]

As far as compression goes, do yourself a favour and back them up digitally in uncompressed format. At the very least as CD quality (16 bit / 44.1) .aiff or .wav files.