What is digital media?

By digital media we mean digital still image, audio, and full video. Being digital, means it can be more easily manipulated, modified, accessed and distributed when compared to its analogue equivalent. This brings benefits, as it is now easier to prepare audio/visual material for specific needs. In areas where proof of compliance is a key factor, such as the police and criminal justice, this additional capability needs to be effectively controlled, and managed.

What are the differences between analogue and digital recording?

 

With analogue you have a physical representation of the events recorded such as wet film or magnetic recordings.  As these records deteriorate they do so gradually or gracefully producing grainier photos or faded videos.

 

With digital recordings we are replacing this physical record with a set of digits that need to be interpreted in their entirety to reproduce the image or footage.  Digital media does not deteriorate gradually; if the storage medium is damaged such that a small part of the digital record is destroyed then it is likely that the entire recording is no longer retrievable.

 

This distinction has already been addressed during the transition from paper to electronic documents. Digital media must be treated in the same way as electronic documents to ensure their long term integrity.

 

What is digital media management?

By digital media management we mean systems that enable digital audio/visual material to be easily accessed, modified, distributed, and protected in a controlled environment.

Existing manual paper based processes that originally supported analogue operations are not appropriate when working with digital media. These processes need to be replaced by automated ones, as they can handle the ever increasing volumes of audio/visual material.

This technology is already tried and tested and has been successfully deployed in some of the most demanding audio/visual environments that rely on round the clock availability.

Is digital media important to my industry?

Organizations such as the police and criminal justice have relied on audio/visual evidence since the first cameras. The emergence of the digital age means that more of their activities rely on audio/visual evidence.

Many different types of organisation are taking audio/visual records of operations for purposes beyond traditional media and marketing activities. Where these records are kept for compliance purposes the case for using digital media management becomes strongest.