Domesday Duplicator – preserving AIV (including BBC Domesday) laserdisc data #Laserdisc #Preserve @BBC
The Domesday Duplicator allows high-quality back-ups of the analog information contained on the BBC Domesday laserdiscs. Direct RF sampling allows all information on the laserdiscs to be duplicated (unlike conventional RGB sampling of the video output). Since the BBC Domesday AIV laserdiscs are a combination of video, pictures, sound and data (as well as numerous VBI streams), direct RF sampling is the preferred method of preservation. The Duplicator is not limited to duplicating just Domesday AIV laserdiscs and can be used to capture any type of laserdisc supported by an attached laserdisc player.
The Domesday Duplicator captures the raw RF signal from a laserdisc player’s laser. The player provides the mechanical tracking, focus and movement of the laser over the disc’s surface and the duplicator records the signal. This effectively turns the laserdisc player into a highly accurate optical scanner. The resulting sample is the spiral of analogue data represented by the continuous track on the disc.
The Domesday Duplicator project is completely open-source and open-hardware. For details of how to obtain the source code and hardware files, see the software overview page.
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