Jonathan has an interesting piece on the value of past data in the present, and how we need to preserve the present so the future has a rich past upon which to draw. He makes two points.
- Analog films from the past, when digitally remastered to DVD in the present, give the viewer a higher quality viewing experience than the original viewers experienced.
- The production of a digital full-length movie in the present requires 1 Pedabyte of storage
This will be true not just for the film industry, but for all sectors. For example, the current value to present genealogists of a 17th century parish register of births, marriages, and deaths, far exceeds the value of the register to the priest who recorded the data.