The setting provides care for audiovisual materials stored in the form of files, or because originally created in this way or because resulting from digitization of previous formats (analog tape-based or otherwise).

This context is relatively young and in the process of settling. The short-term goal of many organizations working in this field is that of data protection, ie be able to guarantee the integrity of the media, with appropriate technological solutions, and reasonable cost for the storage of data.

The paradigm proposed by PrestoPRIME project inherits this starting point and extends it: the digital audiovisual archive will allow future access to content for a long period, the permanent limit. Save bits is necessary, but not sufficient. We must maintain the ability to interpret the data correctly saved, so you can always return the encoded content for future reuse.

The choice of store formats and tools capable of operating on them is therefore essential to define and choose the strategic plan for the preservation of each class of stock items.

Events that may put at risk the future access to content must be constantly monitored and, when they occur, adequate measures must be put into action.

Not only widely used formats today can fall into disuse in the space of a few years, but most applications and devices for decoding, playback, broadcasting, or the use (eg screens), may undergo significant changes , impacting on the actual useful life of the old content and their quality.

Change format using migration processes is an option to consider, but with due caution. Any errors can have cascading consequences and irreversibly limiting the quality of content. Saving the non-compressed video in the form put at risk by the shelter of not being able to decrypt files, but at a significant majority of storage cost.

The decoder equipment can survive the evolution of operating systems (Multivalent approach) is an alternative to be evaluated case by case.

The future audiovisual digital archive must be equipped with tools to support these decisions, able to evaluate the convenience of points of an approach with respect to another, according to the characteristics and quantity of archival elements, also taking into account the value editorial attributable to such restraints.

Always re-use of archive content is limited by the availability of exploitation rights, which originally were headed to the various authors and filmmakers and are then transferred, even temporarily, to those who are concerned with the “communication to the public”, such as broadcasters. With the advent of new and varied publishing platforms and the internet, the negotiation of these rights has become more jagged, specifying the conditions and restrictions governing its use. Only if in possession of adequate software tools you can keep the database up to date information about rights and use them as criteria for consultation for the control of content reuse.

The Research Center is involved in this project in general on all fronts, with the role of technical coordination, and in particular on the role of the exploitation rights management, along with the section Rights of the Teche Rai.