Does Digital Format Matter?
So, we’ve established that physical media changes over time. Whether they’re photos, video tapes, or cassette tapes, being exposed to the elements will change their quality over time, and not always in ways that are immediately noticeable. CDs and DVDs change over time, too, but the changes tend to be less gradual. One day your music will play, and the next day it just…won’t. Digital storage will keep your things preserved, but can they still change over time? More importantly, does HOW they’re digitally stored matter?
The answer to both questions is a resounding YES! Digital files can change over time, because how we view the files can change over time. We call that the file format, and it does not stay the same. For example, most people who grew up with computers will know of the JPEG image format, where your photos end with .jpg or .jpeg. This format was created FORTY YEARS AGO, all the way back in 1986! It was designed to be a standard to compress photos so they could be sent over the early internet, which was very slow. Because it was designed for compression, not detail, JPEG format photos do change as they’re opened, edited, and saved repeatedly. For digital storage purposes, more modern formats such as PNG are preferred, as none of the information is compressed, so the format is entirely without loss. JPEG photos can be fine if you have the choice to lower the amount of compression and don’t edit them, but for preservation purposes, PNG photos are safer.
You also have different digital video formats to choose from. Unlike photos, videos didn’t have a standard format early on, so there were a bunch of different incompatible types (QuickTime Player and RealPlayer were two of the popular early versions). The two most popular video formats these days are MP4 and MOV. MP4 videos are universally compatible, meaning they can be played on any modern device, but they do compress video files, meaning some information will be lost. This information mainly includes things that are not noticeable to human eyes and ears, and leads to MP4 being the standard of convenience. For strict preservation, MOV formats are the way to go. They are not always compatible with every device, and file sizes will be larger because no data is lost during compression. In both formats, once your video is saved, it is saved indefinitely. They won’t change over time unless you edit them, or the device they’re being stored on fails.