Conservation of Moving Image and Audio Archives

The moving image and audio preservation labs are the largest of their kind in Canada. Working with specialized equipment, conservators handle all types of film, video and sound documents including numerous obsolete formats. Documents are stabilized, repaired, cleaned and inspected, and, when required, new preservation copies are made. Transferring information from deteriorating or impaired materials also can require the use of vintage machinery to render authentic signals and images. New equipment is also utilized to create state-of-the-art copies in analog and digital formats. Restorations of important documents such as silent era nitrate film, early kinescope recordings of early television shows, and transcription recordings of vintage radio dramas are typical projects undertaken by the team of specialists working in these labs.