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Project Description

The BIRTH of TV archive is one of the major results of BIRTH project, which was launched following a call for proposals for pilot projects in the MEDIA Plus programme of the European Community.

BIRTH stands for Building an Interactive Research and delivery network for Television Heritage. The BIRTH project consists of a multimedia and multilingual pool of archive material from the first broadcasting days over 50 years ago. BIRTH is for television professionals, the scientific community and the general public. Audiovisual content, accompanied by text, photographic material and program guides have been collected from a representative number of European broadcast archives. The aim of BIRTH is to give attractive online access to the first years of European television history in a way it has never been presented before.

The BIRTH partners have researched and collected representative audiovisual material from televisions early days in their archives. The partners have also collected further information and material to cover ‘gaps’ in the early television history. The audiovisual material has been transferred from their original analogue format to a digital long-term preservation format with the addition of specially generated preview-material.

The BIRTH project formally ends in December 2005. But it is the intention of the BIRTH consortium to establish co-operations with relevant institutions and organisations and to ensure that the BIRTH of TV archive will be sustainable service.

Access to the material shall be possible by three different access possibilities:

  • Access to the material on the BIRTH Portal is possible through three different access layers. Each layer is catered to the needs of a specific user group: the general public, the scientific community and television professionals.
  • The aim of BIRTH Portal is to provide as much content material and information as possible to all visitors. Everyone who visits BIRTH can access the low-resolution programme clips, photos, program guides, articles, the timeline, the Knowledge Based Articles and the European Studies Network.
  • The scientific community will have special access to the European Television Studies Network. This is a searchable database consisting of institutes and academics who are involved with the history of European television. The participating academics and institutes will be able to upload and maintain their own listing so that it always remains up to date.
  • During the second phase of BIRTH, which starts in December 2005, the access possibilities will be expanded. Both the general public as the scientific community will be able to contribute relevant articles to the portal.
  • For television professionals the BIRTH portal will function as a platform for the exchange and selling of high-resolution archive material, done on a bilateral basis between the two parties. This will include both television programs and photos. This part of the portal will act as the business-to-business access. This layer will be launched in the final phase of the formal project duration.
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