FIAT/IFTA World Conference 2025

For audiovisual archives, the need to digitize magnetic media is urgent and immense. This urgency is driven not only by the physical degradation of tapes but also by the rapid disappearance of the equipment, spare parts, and technical knowledge required to play them back. Unlike film, which benefits from ongoing scanner development, videotape formats rely entirely on fragile, aging machines—many of which are no longer manufactured, increasingly difficult to maintain, and often irreplaceable. Without these tools—and the expertise to use them—segments of audiovisual heritage risk becoming permanently inaccessible. The window for mass digitization is closing.

This presentation explores the tension between mission and means in addressing this challenge. While broadcasters have often led the way in digitization and still face significant backlogs, the remaining analog collections extend far beyond this sector (including performing arts institutions, universities, government agencies, and local archives). The Netherlands Institute for Sound & Vision faces a difficult decision: whether to invest in preserving and operating a vast fleet of legacy video playback equipment, originally held by a private digitization partner at risk of dissolution.

We examine the rationale behind this proposed acquisition—not only as a response to shrinking digitization capacity but also as a symbolic affirmation of institutional responsibility. At the same time, the financial sustainability of this move remains uncertain. Will enough collections be offered for digitization in the coming decades to justify the cost? Can such infrastructure serve both the institution’s own needs and those of the broader field?

Ultimately, this presentation reflects on what it means for a public institution to act as a steward—not just of content but of the tools required to access it. It poses the question: if archives like ours don’t act, who will? And what happens if we don’t?