Cube-Tec International GmbH

30/06/2025

We are returning from Bologna with inspiration after an insightful week at Il Cinema Ritrovato 2025. This festival is a global hub for film historians, restorers and archivists, dedicated to film heritage.

From open-air screenings on the stunning Piazza Maggiore to deep dives into newly restored classics, the event is a celebration of cinema’s past and future. It was a great opportunity to meet like-minded professionals.

As a long-standing technology partner in the archive community, Cube-Tec combines deep domain expertise with cutting-edge tools. We understand the full lifecycle of film elements and bring innovative solutions to the challenges of inspection, preservation, and sustainable long-term access.

Thanks to Cineteca di Bologna and all the contributors for creating such a remarkable space for exchange and learning!

13/06/2025

is coming to an end, but our mission continues!

On International Archives Day, we thanked the SILENT HEROES.
Today, we’re showing how we actively support archiving and why it matters far beyond archive walls.

At the heart of the archive mission is this challenge:
Millions of audiovisual carriers around the world are quietly deteriorating — slowly, silently, and irreversibly.
Why? Because most archival film is made from instable materials like acetate or nitrate, which degrade over time, becoming brittle, warped, or chemically unstable.

As the decay progresses, playback becomes risky and digitisation becomes extremely laborious.
When they’re gone, their stories are lost forever.

It is important that more people understand the urgency, because without awareness of the urgency there will be no action.
And without action, there is no future for these fragile pieces of our shared history.

That’s why we developed QUADRIGA INSPECTIONscan, a tool built by film preservation experts for archivists.

This solution is designed to:
- preserve brittle film materials and unlock analogue film.
- automatically generate inspection reports and digital viewing copies
- work reliably and efficiently, even when processing large film collections.

I'm sorry to have to say this, but time is working against us.
With a strong will and the right tools we still can turn the tide.

Curious to see how it works? Check out our website: https://inspectionscan.one/en

06/06/2025

International Archives Day

On 9th of June we jointly celebrate the silent heroes: archivists and archives, who work hard day-by-day to preserve the world’s cultural memory - on paper, on audio & video and on analogue film and increasingly in digital form.

The audiovisual history of the 20th century is highly in danger to fade away unseen in the archives. Support the archive community to preserve an authentic memory. Help us to provide access to this rich audiovisual heritage. As you know: preservation without access is pointless.

How to get archive holdings accessible on a large scale without endanger the original film reels, which are threatened by vinegar syndrome, dye fading, shrinkage and mechanical damage?

We at Cube-Tec, have developed INSPECTIONscan - a solution designed that meet this challenge.

Through precise, automated, large-scale film inspection and digitisation, we help archives evaluate and preserve their collections efficiently and with the utmost care for the original carriers.

Archiving is not just about preservation - it's about understanding, inspecting, contextualising and taking action to provide easy access to authentic audiovisual documents.

Today we would like to thank everyone who is committed to this herculean task! We are proud to support your work with the technology it deserves.

02/05/2025

Enjoy some fresh impressions of the FIAF Congress 2025 in Montreal, a major international gathering of film archivists, restorers and preservationists. The week was filled with insightful presentations, networking, in-depth discussions, highlighting case studies.

For the the further development of sustainable archiving practices the professional discourse on new technologies is important. What is possible today especially with AI-driven tools and what are the risks of AI in archiving and the development of long-term access strategies? The responsible use of these powerful AI technologies is crucial in order to avoid sacrificing ethical requirements in archiving to pure rationalization strategies.

Cube-Tec has been rooted in the archive community as a trusted partner for more than 25 years. With a deep understanding of historical processes in the creation and preservation of filmic elements and at the same time with great practical experience with the latest technologies, we are certainly a good partner to help you make your archiving practice fit for the future.

We're returning home with fresh ideas and a renewed sense of purpose. Thanks to FIAF and all the participants for making this such a memorable and meaningful experience. We look forward to what's to come!

26/03/2025

Playback speed identification for early shellac records

In the current issue 1/2025 of the VDT magazine you will find a 5-page article by Torsten Ahl (Deutsches Musikarchiv) and Tom Lorenz about finding the correct playback speed for historical shellac records (78 rpm discs).

The article deals with various aspects of determining the correct playback speed of early shellac records. Digitising records from the early 1900s requires specialist knowledge of tuning, the recording mechanism, playback equipment, the physics of acoustic reproduction and historical knowledge of pitch and musical performance.

The choice of the right equalisation curve and playback speed in conjunction with the choice of the right needle plays an important role in obtaining a signal that is as true to the original as possible. Subsequent corrections to the digital levels are possible. However, losses due to incorrect signal extraction cannot be restored.

QUADRIGA products are used for accurate digitisation and precise documentation. In cooperation with the Music Archive at the German National Library (DNB), a customised solution was installed that enables all parameters to be meticulously stored in a specially developed database.

The article has been jointly written by Torsten Ahl, audio engineer (Tonmeister) at Music Archive of the German National Library, describing the task from the user's point of view, and by Tom Lorenz representing Cube-Tec International.

We hope you enjoy reading the article:
https://tonmeister.org/de/magazin/

Verband deutscher Tonmeister @ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VerbandDeutscherTonmeister/

26/02/2025

Cube-Tec @ The Archives in the Digital Age Conference

Exploring cultural exchange and digital transformation at NCAR in Saudi Arabia

We recently had the privilege of attending the National Center for Archives and Records (NCAR) event in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The conference brought together experts from around the world to discuss the latest developments in digital archiving. Key topics included digital preservation strategies, automation of archival processes and AI technologies in records management.

We found it fascinating to exchange ideas with local professionals and gain a deeper understanding of their perspectives and approaches!

At Cube-Tec International, we are committed to supporting archives worldwide with our cutting-edge solutions such as QUADRIGA INSPECTIONscan and we will continue to grow with the technology of the future. Events like NCAR reinforce the importance of our mission to preserve cultural heritage for future generations!

07/02/2025

LWL presents new archive management system: Cube•Collections, the archive solution for the future

To efficiently manage and securely preserve their extensive audiovisual archive comprising over 24,000 audiovisual documents, the Landschaftsverband Westfalen-Lippe (LWL) in Münster (Germany) relies on the Media Asset Management System Cube•Collections from Cube-Tec International. Cube•Collections has been specifically designed to meet the requirements of audiovisual archives as a fully web-based application, eliminating the need for installation and maintenance of any software at user PC workstations. Cube•Collections can be tailored to meet individual customer requirements.

Read more: https://www.cube-tec.com/en/news/announcements/lwl-presents-cube-collections

27/01/2025

25 years of Innovation – the QUADRIGA anniversary

QUADRIGA celebrates a milestone birthday - a historical outline in several parts

At the 5th Joint Technical Symposium (JTS) in Paris in January 2000, QUADRIGA was presented to the international archiving community for the first time! The theme of the JTS in Paris 2000 was: Image and Sound, Archiving and Access: the challenges of the 3rd Millennium.

For 25 years now, QUADRIGA has been the world's leading archive solution for the quality-controlled digitisation of large media collections. This is a significant contribution to the preservation of the world's audiovisual heritage with millions and millions of quality-assured digital copies. Now that's good news!

To mark the anniversary, we look back at the milestones in the QUADRIGA success story and take a look at the forward-looking developments that continue to characterise the product.

Read the first part of the QUADRIGA story "The Beginning" on our webpage: https://www.cube-tec.com/en/news/announcements/quadriga-anniversary-25-years

17/01/2025

Here are some impressions from Cube-Tec's perspective of the HAMBURG OPEN, the networking event for professionals in media technology, broadcasting and streaming.

The day was packed with interesting presentations and discussions about the latest trends in the industry. Especially AI-powered innovations stood out, highlighting their growing impact on media workflows.

What made the day really special was the opportunity to network with other industries, exchange ideas and explore potential collaborations. The Meetup at the end of the event also gave us a chance to reflect on the day's presentations and consider how these insights will influence our future projects.

We're inspired by the energy of events like this and look forward to seeing how these innovations will shape our industry in the years to come!

Pic: Tom Lorenz, Agata Thomas-Sosnal (Cube-Tec)

13/01/2025

Interviews: Digitizing Video Cassettes at the National Library of Norway

We previously published our interview with Igor Djurdjevic (Digitization of cultural heritage) from the National Library of Norway. Additionally, we held a video conference with Stig Sivertsen (Head of the Motion Picture Department), who gave us further interesting insights about the QUADRIGA•Video installation at Mo I Rana. We have now combined these two interviews into one complete clip for you.

Background information: Approximately 550,000 hours of program material on video cassettes have to be preserved in the National Library of Norway's digital long-term archive. These recordings are part of legal deposit recordings of the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation. In order to protect these unique broadcasting assets in the long-term, these video cassettes will be transferred into archive files with the recently installed QUADRIGA•Video system.

Approximately 550,000 hours of program material on video cassettes have to be preserved in the National Library of Norway's digital long-term archive. These ...

16/12/2024

Season Greetings from Cube-Tec - https://mailchi.mp/8094c949a678/cube-tec-news-01-17465203

06/12/2024

“Safeguarding the national film heritage of Germany”

With Tom Lorenz still in attendance at the AMIA conference in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, there is yet an opportunity to get first-hand information about one of the largest film preservation projects ever.

Yesterday, Tom Lorenz gave the first public presentation on the Federal Archives' landmark project - the large-volume film reel inspection and digitization project.

You can find more information about this presentation and the exciting project on our webpage: https://www.cube-tec.com/en/news/events/cube-tec-amia-2024.