Crawford Communications, Atlanta.

As a result of our Washington visit we came to the realization that much research was required into the whole area of the robotic automated system. The prime consideration on whether to use this system would be its efficiency, time and the low cost per tape would also be factors. However, against this would be the question of quality and whether the human touch is really necessary.

That's me in the middle, getting a lesson in the SAMMA System

I personally traveled to Atlanta because I was convinced that due to the absolute importance of the process and our desire to obtain a high quality, I began to doubt whether an automated system could deal with our collection that unlike others, is composed of different quality and uniformity.

The idea behind the journey was to take with us a selection of tapes from the original collection,The taperoom at Crawford, with the master tapes we brought as samples lined up on the tablecomprising of various formats (3/4" UMATIC, S-VHS and VHS), and to transfer them through the automated process and compare them to the quality of transfers we had already completed on our own.

Our journey began with a security check at La Guardia airport where we had to convince security personnel not to pass our tapes through their x-ray machine for fear of damage it might cause. After a brief explanation of their importance, they agreed to hand check them.

In Atlanta we visited the Crawford studios, which surprised us by its size and scope. The studios were engaged in many other areas -- dealing with archives being just one of them. I think this gave them a special uniqueness, if only by their appearance. The place looked like a giant studio built on an immense budget, making other places that we had seen, by comparison, very small studios of a completely different nature. What was also interesting was the SAMMA System that was built like some futuristic product, which really seemed to fit in with the general look of the place.

We then began our long day by familiarizing ourselves with the process. The staff that worked there impressed us with their expertise and professionalism, which enabled us to feel comfortable to entrust them with our collection. I'm uncertain what impressed as more, the SAMMA or the staff!

Slowly, we went over each tape and transferred them. We used the SAMMA Solo, which is the same process, just without the robotic arm that carries the tapes automatically. During the process we discussed various subjects such as the Database and Media Asset Management and they showed us a few old formats, like the 2" ones, which was really amazing to see, if only to someone like myself who comes from the digital world. The size of the mechanism that drives the clips is simply not to be believed, and to imagine that the end product transfers it to a tiny file which can be simply played on any computer!

We completed our visit with a hard drive in hand full of files that we would take with us in order to compare the quality of the transfer. At least from my stand point, even though the files were yet to be checked, I became more positive about the whole process, I felt that was a reasonable chance that we could use this system. Looking back, I think that one of great points of the system is its simplicity and efficiency. After the realizing the size of the project and its complexity, and then arriving at this point where the solution seems so simple, this encouraged us to believe that we could be one signature away from moving it forward. The big question, is the result and the quality good enough?