New Technique Uses Synchrotron X-Ray Light to Digitize Historic Audio Tapes

Researchers are developing a groundbreaking technique that utilizes synchrotron X-ray light to digitize historic audio tapes without causing damage, preserving rare recordings, including treasures from the Montreux Jazz Festival archive. The method aims to address the ongoing challenge of digitizing analog magnetic media before they become unplayable, with a physicist at PSI leading the development of a non-destructive digitization method using X-ray light to achieve the highest quality results.