Where does this come from, and can I check it?

Drives fail and file formats go obsolete, so archives rewrite their holdings. The figure is taken from BFI, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.

Is this really a movies & tv fact?

Yes. It sits on the Movies & TV shelf, one of 2,600 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.

What else can I read about it?

The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.

Mondo Knows Facts

Digital masters need copying every few years

Drives fail and file formats go obsolete, so archives rewrite their holdings A digital master is only as safe as the media it sits on, and hard drives and data tapes have working lives measured in years. Preservation plans include checksums to catch corruption and migration to new carriers on a schedule. Film, stored well, can outlast several rounds of this. It sits in Mondo's movies & tv collection, one of 200 facts that each trace back to the reference below.

Where this comes from

BFI

Facts that can change over time are reviewed and updated. If something here looks wrong, Mondo would rather know than be confidently incorrect.

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Technology trivia

More facts like this

Safety film replaced nitrate in the 1950sAcetate stock burned slowly, though it decayed into vinegar over time The Academy keeps its own film archiveIts collection holds thousands of titles for preservation and study The registry protects home movies and newsreelsNewsreels, adverts and family films sit alongside studio features Federal money pays for film preservationThe national preservation programme gives grants to archives and libraries Nitrate film is stored in isolated vaultsArchives separate it because a fire could spread through a collection Old film can decay into vinegarAcetate stock releases acetic acid as it breaks down over time

Tags: preservation, digital, archives

Digital masters need copying every few years: the short answers

Where does this come from, and can I check it?: Drives fail and file formats go obsolete, so archives rewrite their holdings. The figure is taken from BFI, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.
Is this really a movies & tv fact?: Yes. It sits on the Movies & TV shelf, one of 2,600 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.
What else can I read about it?: The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.