PBCJ gets tech boost with South Korea's help

The Public Broadcasting Corporation of Jamaica (PBCJ) has acquired an optical digital archival system, which will enable the agency to convert source material of analogue images, sounds, and video recordings to digital format.

The system, which was handed over during a ceremony on Thursday at the PBCJ's South Odeon Avenue offices, was purchased at a cost of US$200,000 through support from the government of the Republic of South Korea.

In his remarks, board chairman of the PBCJ Gladstone Wilson said the acquisition of the equipment would help in archiving the country's heritage.

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"This piece of equipment is significant, not only to Jamaica, but to the Caribbean in this fast-moving digital age. It is really quite encouraging to see that we can accommodate such equipment," Wilson said.

He added that agencies such as the Creative Production and Training Centre, which has a great deal of cultural material, "will be able to store it here and be able to access it at a moment's notice".

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information Dean-Roy Bernard, said the occasion marks another milestone in the continuing bilateral relationship between the Governments of Jamaica and the Republic of Korea.

"I am advised that the Sony Optical Disc Archive System being presented today is a content-management system using the latest in digital-storage technology. It allows for the preservation of content, regardless of the source or origin, with a life expectancy beyond anything now in operation. This, again, is welcome news, as, unfortunately, we have had to deal with the loss of vital material for one reason or another," Bernard said.