Re: [ARSCLIST] cataloging question

[Mike Richter <mrichter@xxxxxxx>]

At 02:44 PM 1/27/2005 -0800, Brandon Burke wrote:
> Friends,
>
> I am in the middle of defining fields for a database of audio (and
> video) holdings.  I am trying to base as many physical description
> tags as I can on AACR/IASA standards but I am not sure how to handle
> sound files that have been saved as data on a DVD-R.
>
> For instance:
> * a DVD would usually be a "videodisc" but the contents in this case
> are audio files.
> * the contents, despite being audio files, are saved as data--in other
> words, one cannot simply pop the disc into a player and hear the
> matreial.  So do they qualify as "audio"?
>
> I'm inclined to call it a "videodisc" simply because the carrier is a
> DVD, regardless of the contents.  Details as to the disc's contents
> can be fleshed out in an open text field such as "Summary" or "Notes".
>  I should also mention that, since this is a database and not a MARC
> record, I'd prefer not to have exceptionaly long phys description
> chains a la "1 sound tape reel (20 min.) : analog, 15ips, stereo, 1/4"
> tape."
>
> Any thoughts or suggestions?

I am not an archivist and am a librarian only in that I have collections of
my own. Still, let me point out that there is an a priori definition for
the medium itself which may provide guidance.

DVD-Video is a specified video standard playable in video devices (settop
players, DVD-ROM drives) subject to constraints on rights and regions.

DVD-Audio is a specified family of audio standards playable in some present
devices and probably more generally playable in the future. Where CD-DA is
a fixed standard, DVD-Audio implements a range of sample rates and
compressions.

DVD-ROM is a format in which data files are stored on a DVD. Those files
may be video, audio, or neither - or any mix of those. Even if all have
video content, I would not recommend calling the disc video; even if all
are audio, the disc is not DVD-Audio.

Further complicating the matter, one may put data and audio files onto a
DVD-Video without violating the standard. In fact, most DVD-Video discs
have a folder for audio; it may be part of the standard, though discs
without it have given no trouble in any player I have used.


Mike
--
mrichter@xxxxxxx
http://www.mrichter.com/