Preview function in a digital data preservation system
View Patent ↗A digital preservation system ( 10 ) for accepting a digital data record as input, for providing a preview of the digital data record on a display screen ( 80 ), for writing the data record in human-readable form onto a preservation-quality medium ( 210 ), for storage of the medium ( 210 ), and for retrieval of the data record from the medium ( 210 . The digital preservation system ( 10 ) preserves a data record in human-readable form, along with an associated metadata record, allowing the human-readable preserved data record to be readable in the distant future, independent of specific reading hardware. A preview function allows an operator to specify storage and retrieval characteristics for the data record.
1. A method for storing a data record of a customer as an image, according to a storage request and for specifying a selectable retrieval image quality level comprising the steps of:
presenting a first set of preview images based on a simulation procedure that models an action of data recording and retrieval steps, taking into consideration operating characteristics of a writer, media, and scanner, to the customer at a time of said storage request;
(a) prompting said customer, at the time of said storage request, to specify a selected retrieval image quality level from the set, wherein said set comprises a first available retrieval image quality level and a second available retrieval image quality level, wherein said second available retrieval image quality level includes said first available retrieval image quality level;
(b) storing said data record on analog media at a higher image quality level which includes said customer retrieval image quality level; and
(c) pricing data record storage based on said selected retrieval image quality level.
2. A method according to claim 1 further comprising:
(d) prompting the customer, at the time of a retrieval request, to specify an actual retrieval image quality level from among a subset of said available selected retrieval image quality levels, said subset determined by said storage image quality level.
3. A method according to claim 2 further comprising the step of pricing data record retrieval based on said actual retrieval image quality level.
4. A method according to claim 2 wherein the step of prompting the customer further comprises the step of displaying a preview image to the customer.
5. A method according to claim 1 wherein the step of prompting the customer further comprises the step of displaying a preview image to the customer.
6. A method according to claim 1 wherein the step of storing the data record further comprises the step of recording said data record onto a photosensitive medium.
7. A method according to claim 6 wherein the step of recording said data record further comprises the step of recording said data record in a human-readable form.
8. A method according to claim 1 wherein the set comprising first and second available retrieval image quality levels is generated by simulating an image recording and scanning process in which an image writer, selected from a plurality of image writing apparatus, records an image onto a storage medium and a scanning apparatus scans the stored image.
9. In a digital preservation system for storing a data record of a customer as a human-readable image, according to a storage request, a method for specifying a selectable level of image quality, the method comprising:
(a) prompting the customer, at the time of said storage request, to specify a selected retrieval image quality level from a set comprising a first available retrieval image quality level and a second available retrieval image quality level, wherein said second available retrieval image quality level includes said first available retrieval image quality level; and
(b) storing the data record on analog media at a storage image quality level wherein said storage image quality level exceeds said selected retrieval image quality level.
10. A method according to claim 9 further comprising:
(c) prompting the customer, at the time of a retrieval request, to specify an actual retrieval image quality level from among a subset of said available selected retrieval image quality levels, said subset determined by said storage image quality level.
11. A method according to claim 10 wherein the step of prompting the customer further comprises the step of displaying a preview image to the customer, wherein said preview image is at the highest available selected retrieval image quality level.
12. A method according to claim 9 wherein the step of prompting the customer comprises the step of displaying at least one preview image to the customer, said at least one preview image having said first available retrieval image quality level.
13. A method according to claim 9 wherein the step of storing the data record further comprises the step of recording said data record onto a photosensitive medium.
14. A method according to claim 9 wherein the set comprising first and second available retrieval image quality levels is generated by simulating an image recording and scanning process in which an image writer, selected from a plurality of image writing apparatus, records an image onto a storage medium and a scanning apparatus scans the stored image.
15. In a digital preservation system a method for storing a data record of a customer as a human-readable image, the method comprising:
(a) displaying a plurality of processed preview images, each processed preview image having a display image quality corresponding to a storage image quality;
(b) prompting the customer to specify a first storage image quality according to one of said preview images;
(c) storing said data record on analog media at a second storage image quality, wherein said second storage image quality exceeds said first storage image quality; and
(d) pricing the storage of the data record according to said first storage image quality.
16. A method according to claim 15 wherein the first storage image quality is generated by simulating an image recording and scanning process in which an image writer, selected from a plurality of image writing apparatus, records an image onto a storage medium and a scanning apparatus scans the stored image at image retrieval.
17. In a system for storing a data record of a customer as an image, according to a storage request, a method for specifying a selectable level of image quality, said method comprising:
presenting a first set of preview images to the customer at a time of said storage request;
(a) prompting the customer, at the time of said storage request, to specify a selected retrieval image quality level from the set, wherein said set comprises a first available retrieval image quality level and a second available retrieval image quality level, wherein said second available retrieval image quality level includes said first available retrieval image quality level;
(b) storing the data record on analog media at a storage image quality level according to said selected retrieval image quality level; and
wherein the set comprising first and second available retrieval image quality levels is generated by simulating an image recording and scanning process in which an image writer, selected from a plurality of image writing apparatus, records an image onto a storage medium and a scanning apparatus scans the stored image.
18. A method of storing a data record of a customer as an image, according to a storage request, and for specifying a selectable image quality retrieval level comprising:
(a) displaying a preview image to the customer;
(b) prompting said customer, at a time of said storage request, to specify a selected retrieval image quality level from a set comprising a first available retrieval image quality level and a second available retrieval image quality level, wherein said second available retrieval image quality level includes said first available retrieval image quality level;
(c) storing said data record on analog media at a storage image quality level equal to or higher than said selected retrieval image quality level; and
wherein the set comprising first and second available retrieval image quality levels is generated by simulating an image recording and scanning process in which an image writer, selected from a plurality of image writing apparatus, records an image onto a storage medium and a scanning apparatus scans the stored image.
19. In a system for storing a data record of a customer as an image, according to a storage request, a method for specifying a selectable level of image quality, said method comprising:
presenting a first set of preview images to the customer at a time of said storage request;
wherein a simulation procedure models an action of data recording and retrieval steps, taking into consideration operating characteristics of a writer, media, and scanner;
(a) prompting the customer, at the time of said storage request, to specify a selected retrieval image quality level from the set, wherein said set comprises a first available retrieval image quality level and a second available retrieval image quality level, wherein said second available retrieval image quality level includes said first available retrieval image quality level; and
(b) storing the data record on analog media at a storage image quality level according to said selected retrieval image quality level.