SF COMMONS Playback Lab

For 30 years, BAVC Media has been a leader in video preservation, working with some of the most prestigious and celebrated institutions, universities, and foundations in the country. These collaborations have ensured long-term access to thousands of hours of our collective history, doing so with the highest standard of care and at the cutting edge of technology.

But what about those histories that are truly hidden, trapped on video and audio tapes in our Bay Area community that remain undocumented? While formal video archives house a portion of media materials, smaller organizations and community members hold a majority of this content. It is widely acknowledged that local stations, regional documentarians, home movies, and independent artists have amassed a significant collection that lies outside the national narrative.

Inspired by the Memory Lab Network at public libraries nationwide, BAVC Media and SF COMMONS now offer free, do-it-yourself audiovisual preservation services for our San Francisco community. Boasting a variety of playback machines, the SF COMMONS Playback Lab empowers our community to control their own stories held on video formats most common to the average creator.

Launching in conjunction with BAVC Preservation’s 30th anniversary, the Playback Lab will initially offer VHS, Video8/Hi8, and digital video (DV) digitization capabilities.