Audio restoration
Audio restoration is the process of removing imperfections (such as
Modern audio restoration techniques are usually performed by
Overview
The majority of audio restoration done today is done for music sound recordings and
The byproduct of these restoration efforts is that many audio sources are brought into the digital world and preserved for future use. An unfortunate fact is that most of the sound recordings and motion picture soundtracks created over the past century have been lost due to improper storage and neglect.
Enhancements are often done to motion picture soundtracks. For example, taking a mono or stereo soundtrack and re-mixing it to a modern 5.1 surround soundtrack. When sources from original discrete audio "stems" containing dialog, music and sound effects are used and properly restored, the enhancements can be significant and highly effective.
The annual Grammy Awards presents the award for Best Historical Album in recognition of restored recordings.
Recent developments
Two researchers at
The examples and perspective in this article deal primarily with the United States and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject. (September 2022) |
In the summer of 2007, the U.S. Library of Congress moved their audio, video and film restoration group to Culpeper, Virginia where the newly completed National Audio-Visual Conservation Center Packard Campus is sited. Gene DeAnna heads the Recorded Sound Section. With 3 million sound recordings and many more film and video works that include synchronized sound in the archive, the mission of the Sound Section is twofold: preserve the treasure of vintage sound recordings and increase public accessibility to the collection. One of the ways that access can be increased is through the diligent digitization of analog media. The Library has expressed interest in the Fadeyev/Haber 2D imaging method for quick digital archival of their vast collection of vinyl and shellac phonograph records. Audio restoration tasks will take place in parallel with the digitization effort. A massive, multi-petabyte storage array is nearing completion; it will hold the large digital audio and moving image files.[5]
Subjective issues
Audio restoration is a
Notable audio restoration engineers
- Michael Graves
- Bob Ludwig
- Gavin Lurssen
- Ward Marston
- Peter J. Moore
- James P. Nichols
- Joseph M. Palmaccio
- Christian Zwarg
See also
References
- ^ Digitizing the voices of the past / Science perfects sound of century-old recordings
- ^ Sarita Shaevitz. "Getting in the Groove: Particle physicists can play it again". Archived from the original on June 9, 2007.
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(help) - ^ Research News : From Top Quarks to the Blues
- ^ Digitization for preservation analogue recordings
- ^ William Jackson (2007-07-16). "New digs for old treasures: Library of Congress redeploys ex-Federal Reserve bank vault as a high-capacity digital archive". Archived from the original on September 30, 2007.
External links
- Review of several products on About.com
- Manual of analogue audio restoration techniques (The British Library Sound Archive)