Master list of physical objects

Introduction


Information in the master list of physical formats


The following table defines the information elements in the master list of media formats

Information ElementDescription
IdentifierUnique identifier for the media format descriptor. Used as the Data Object Type ID. 
FormatEnter the specific type of digital storage device. Link to relevant format page when available.
Type of storage deviceEnter the general format of the storage device (e.g., hard disk drive, magnetic disc, magnetic tape, optical disc, solid state drive)
DimensionsEnter the dimensions of the digital storage device (if applicable).
Typical maximum storage in MBEnter the typical maximum storage size of the storage device in megabytes (MB).
Typical maximum run time in minutesFor audio and video formats, enter the typical maximum run time in minutes
Manufacturing notesProvide notes about any known issues with the manufacturing of the format.
Notes about hardware requirementsProvide notes about any general hardware requirements for accessing and preserving data stored on the format.
Functioning hardware for playback?Yes/No checkbox to indicate if the Dalhousie Libraries has functioning hardware for playback.

Analog formats


IdentifierFormatTypeDimensionsTypical maximum storage (MB)Typical maximum runtime (min.)Manufacturing notesHardware requirementsFunctioning playback equipment?

Audio cassette tape/wiki/spaces/TW/pages/706641967




Yes

/wiki/spaces/TW/pages/204669167Magnetic video tape


Released by Sony in 1982.
No

/wiki/spaces/TW/pages/204669167Magnetic video tape


Replaced Betacam, superceded by Digital Betacam.
No

/wiki/spaces/TW/pages/320471066Film






/wiki/spaces/TW/pages/320471062Film






/wiki/spaces/TW/pages/320340003Film






IBM 2403 magnetic tapeMagnetic tape

N/AIBM 2400-series magnetic tapes were designed to work with the IBM System/360 "Administrative Terminal System"


/wiki/spaces/TW/pages/213221401Phonograph12 in. diameter

12 inch 78 rpm records were introduced in 1903. 10 inch 78 rpm records were popular at the beginning of the 20th century.


/wiki/spaces/TW/pages/204669167Magnetic tape21.9 x 13.7 x 3 cm (8 5/8”x 5 3/8”x 1 3/16 in.)





/wiki/spaces/TW/pages/204669167Magnetic tape187 mm x 103 mm x 25 mm (7 3⁄8 × 4 1⁄16 × 1 in.) cassette




Digital formats


IdentifierFormatTypeDimensionsTypical maximum storage (MB)Typical maximum runtime (min.)Manufacturing notesHardware requirementsFunctioning playback equipment?

8 mm data cartridge (Data8)Magnetic tape

40,000


Pioneered by Exabyte Corporation. First form of helical scan tape used commercially for data storage.


No

BD (Blu-ray Disc)Optical disc

12 cm diameter (4.7 in.)

25,000




Yes

BD-DL (Blu-ray disc - double layer)Optical disc

12 cm diameter (4.7 in.)

50,000




Yes

BD-R (Blu-ray disc recordable)Optical disc

12 cm diameter (4.7 in.)

25,000




Yes

BD-R DL (Blu-ray disc recordable double layer)Optical disc

12 cm diameter (4.7 in.)

50,000




Yes

BD-RE (Blu-ray disc recordable erasable)Optical disc

12 cm diameter (4.7 in.)

25,000




Yes

BD-RE DL (Blu-ray disc recordable erasable double layer)Optical disc

12 cm diameter (4.7 in.)

50,000




Yes

BDXL (Blu-ray disc extra large capacity)Optical disc

12 cm diameter (4.7 in.)

128,000


BDXLs that store 100 GBs have three layers (triple-layer disc) and BDXLs that store 128 GB have four layers (quad-layer disc).


Yes

Bernoulli Box II diskMagnetic disc13.6 cm wide, 14 cm long and 0.9 cm150N/AReleased by Iomega. Superceded by Iomega zip disk technology.Requires Bernoulli Box II system.No

Betacam IMXMagnetic tape


Introduced by Sony in 2001.


No

CD-Digital AudioOptical disc

12 cm diameter (4.7 in.)

700




Yes

CD-InteractiveOptical disc

12 cm diameter (4.7 in.)





Yes

CD-R (Compact Disc recordable)Optical disc

12 cm diameter (4.7 in.)

700



Older CD players could not play CD-R and CD-RW formats, but most modern CD players can play audio CDs as well as CD-Rs and CD-RWs.

Yes

CD-ROM (Compact Disc Read-Only Memory)Optical disc

12 cm diameter (4.7 in.)

700




Yes

CD-RW (Compact Disc Rewritable)Optical disc

12 cm diameter (4.7 in.)

700



Older CD players could not play CD-R and CD-RW formats, but most modern CD players can play audio CDs as well as CD-Rs and CD-RWs.

Yes

CompactFlash (CF) - Type IFlash memory solid state storage device 

43 mm × 36 mm × 3.3 mm

512,000


Introduced in 1994 by SanDisk. Intended for portable devices such as cameras and video recorders. CompactFlash remains popular and is supported by many professional devices and high-end consumer devices.


No

CompactFlash (CF) - Type IIMagnetic disc

43 mm × 36 mm × 5 mm

512,000


Most Type II devices are Microdrive devices (hard disks). Some flash-based Type II devices were manufactured. Support for type II CF and Microdrives is rapidly disappearing.


No

DAT (digital audio tape)Magnetic tape

73 mm × 54 mm × 10.5 mm (4 mm tape)





No

Digital BetacamMagnetic tape

(1/2 in. tape)



Launched in 1993. Supercedes Betacam and Betacam SP.

Can only be accessed or preserved with Betacam deck connected to computer via SDI. Specialized software required.

No

DTRS (Digital Tape Recording System) audio tapeMagnetic tape

23,431.68


DTRS (Digital Tape Recording System) tape was commonly used in the DA-88 digital multitrack recording system introduced by TASCAM in 1993.

DTRS tape systems use Hi8 video cartridges. 16-track and 24-systems were available.

No

DV (Digital Video)Magnetic tape


Released in 1995. Can store digital video recorded in DV, DVCAM, HDV, and other encoding formats

Can only be accessed or preserved with MiniDV deck connected to computer via Firewire. Specialized software required.

Yes

DVCPROMagnetic tape

13,000



Can only be accessed or preserved with DVCPRO deck connected to computer via Firewire. Specialized software required.

No

DVCPRO 50Magnetic tape


50 Mbps format

Can only be accessed or preserved with DVCPRO deck connected to computer via Firewire. Specialized software required.

No

DVCPRO HDMagnetic tape


100 Mbps format

Can only be accessed or preserved with DVCPRO deck connected to computer via Firewire. Specialized software required.

No

DVCPRO PMagnetic tape


Progressive scan version of the DVCPRO format

Can only be accessed or preserved with DVCPRO deck connected to computer via Firewire. Specialized software required.

No

DVD+ROptical disc

12 cm diameter (4.7 in.)

4,700




Yes

DVD+RWOptical disc

12 cm diameter (4.7 in.)

4,700




Yes

DVD+RW DLOptical disc

12 cm diameter (4.7 in.)

8,500




Yes

DVD-ROptical disc

12 cm diameter (4.7 in.)

4,700




Yes

DVD-ROMOptical disc

12 cm diameter (4.7 in.)

4,700






DVD-RWOptical disc

12 cm diameter (4.7 in.)

4,700






Floppy disk (3.5 inch)Magnetic disc

9 x 9 cm (3.5 x 3.5 in.)

1.44



Requires 3.5 inch floppy drive with FC5025 controller or KryoFlux controller.



Floppy disk (5.25 inch)Magnetic disc

14 x 14 cm (5.25 in.)

1.2

Requires 3.5 inch floppy drive with FC5025 controller or KryoFlux controller.



Floppy disk (8 inch)Magnetic disc

21 x 21 cm (8 in.)

0.8

Requires 8 inch floppy drive. Unsupported format at this time.



Hard drive (external Firewire)Magnetic disc


External hard drives with

Requires Firewire cable.



Hard drive (external USB)Magnetic disc



May encounter external drives with USB 1.0, USB 2.0, and USB 3.0 connections



Hard drive (SATA)Magnetic disc



Requires TC4-8-R2 cable found in adapter box %23 1 in digital forensics lab supply area



Hard drive (solid state)Flash memory solid state storage device



Requires Asus UX31 UX21 ADATA XM11 XM11ZZB5 SSD to 2.5 Inch SATA adapter card



MiniDiscMagneto-optical disc

68 × 72 × 5 mm

1,000

Sony brand audio players were on the market from September 1992 until March 2013.




MiniDVMagnetic tape


Can hold digital video recorded in DV, DVCAM, HDV, and other encoding formats.

Can only be accessed or preserved with MiniDV deck connected to computer via Firewire. Specialized software required.



MMC (MultiMedia Card)Flash memory solid state storage device

24 mm × 32 mm × 1.4 mm

512,000

Introduced in 1997 by SanDisk and Siemens AG.

Typically used for storage in portable devices, such as digital cameras and camcorders.



SD (Secure Digital)Flash memory solid state storage device
4,000

2 GB maximum is more common. Also known as SDSC (Secure Digital Standard Capacity).




SDHC (Secure Digital High Capacity)Flash memory solid state storage device
32,000

Introduced in January 2006 and defined in version 2.0 of the SD specification. SDHC cards shipped preformatted with the FAT32 file sytem.




SDXC (Secure Digital eXtended Capacity)Flash memory solid state storage device
2,000,000

Introduced in 2009. All SDXC cards use Microsoft's exFAT file system as a mandatory feature.

Can only be accessed or preserved with operating systems that support the exFAT file system.



USB flash memoryFlash memory solid state storage device






Zip diskMagnetic disc

7 x 10.2 x 10.2 cm

100

Newer zip disks can store up to 750 MB of data. Format introduced by Iomega in 1994. Fell out of favour in early 2000s.