mounting AVID drives and tapes

[Shane Ross]

There is a reason that the Smithsonian keeps at least TWO of every type of playback device…be it 1″ reel to reel, BetaSP, Digibeta, Umatic…you name it. In order to have the means to play historic archives, recover data.

I did a search a year ago for a person trying to get their Avid project and media online…a project made on an ABVB Avid system on a Powermac 9600 running Avid MC 7.6 (the old version, not the rebooted version)…and media on LVD drives. Back then I couldn’t find an adapter for SCSI, not for sale in any mainstream store. Not for USB, nor firewire, nor TB2. Not even a card for current machines.

What I finally DID find is someone with an older, functioning Avid 7.6 system, and then another person who had an LVD chassis, that we could connect to that system. But then the person wanted to make all this footage available to cut in a CURRENT system. WELL…the media type, even though made by Avid back then, we weren’t sure could be read by the current system. Codec was AVR 3s…but the main struggle was…how do we get this footage even ONTO a current system. The Powermac 7200 we had this system on didn’t have USB, no firewire, only SCSI. Couldn’t get a SATA drive connected to it, much less any external…to even do the transfer to something a current system could read. When I left, they resigned to cut on the older system, and spit out an EDL to be able to online this from their tapes. Since a few linear bays still exist in this town (L.A.).

As for that tape, yeah, you’ll need the exact type of tape drive that was written on to recover it. Just like any current tape system.

There’s a reason I have a BetaSP deck, a Umatic deck, my 2008 MacPro, an iBook running os9. I keep getting approached with old old stuff.

So…yeah, good luck finding anyone selling SCSI to TB3, or anything TB…or even USB. They DID have a SCSI to USB thing about 12 years ago, I do recall someone i know getting that. Might have luck on ebay, but then, will the drivers even EXIST to enable that drive to mount? Those were all made during Mac OS 6 and os7 days.

Shane
Little Frog Post
Read my blog, Little Frog in High Def

[Pat Horridge]

Bob I suspect your pulling our chain ☺
And yes the tape is probably fine but it’s before LTFS so you need to know what backup software was used and if there is a current restore installer available.
Once you solve the SCSI to Thunderbolt issue.
More hope on a PC

Pat Horridge
Broadcast & Post Consultant, Trainer, Avid Certified Instructor
Free online Tutorials at VET digital media academy online https://vimeo.com/channels/752951
pat@vet.co.uk

[John Pale]

There’s this guy who used to post here a lot who’s name eludes me. Kinda looks like he fell of the tour bus of the original King Crimson, but he knows his stuff. If anyone knows, he would. Anyone remember his name? Ask nicely, he has a shotgun.