Thursday, July 19, 2007

Ishi meets IRENE

Ishi was a native American who was recorded in 1911 on a wax cylinder. It is unique authentic material and reproducing the sound can deteriorate the wax cylinder. There are many such recordings and for those who have an interest in such things the invention of IRENE is absolutely fabulous.

IRENE is a method that in stead of a needle uses a camera to find all the little grooves in the track. With this information it is able to emulate what a needle would find and, play the music. There are many priceless recordings and it will be great when they are digitised. This will ensure that they are less likely to get lost.

Obviously, given the age of this material, is it all public domain.

Thanks,
GerardM

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