Digital Archive Project
Encyclopedia
The Digital Archive Project (DAP) is an online collaboration that provides advice and support for individuals interested publishing television program
s that are not produced or distributed through mainstream content distribution
. DAP offers support on capturing television broadcasts, how to clean up old VHS
recordings, and how to author DVDs.
The project consists of a loose online association of people formed through common interests in humor, encoding, and archiving television programs that would otherwise not see the light of day. The group does not attempt to publish or make these shows available.
, originally from a suggestion in the Ars Technica
forums in the year 2000. The size of the group has fluctuated in size over the years, all while having many shows added to the list of archived material. The current qualifications for a show to be on the list include: no commercial release, no immediate plans for release, and not currently in production.
The group does not host any of these files; however, when one joins the IRC channel there are people there who may assist visitors, depending on the visitor's behaviour.
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
s that are not produced or distributed through mainstream content distribution
Content delivery
Content delivery describes the delivery of media content such as audio, video, computer software and video games over a delivery medium such as broadcasting or the Internet.Content delivery has two parts:...
. DAP offers support on capturing television broadcasts, how to clean up old VHS
VHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
recordings, and how to author DVDs.
The project consists of a loose online association of people formed through common interests in humor, encoding, and archiving television programs that would otherwise not see the light of day. The group does not attempt to publish or make these shows available.
History
The DAP was originally created as a means of sharing and preserving, in a digital format, episodes of the cult classic TV show Mystery Science Theater 3000Mystery Science Theater 3000
Mystery Science Theater 3000 is an American cult television comedy series created by Joel Hodgson and produced by Best Brains, Inc., that ran from 1988 to 1999....
, originally from a suggestion in the Ars Technica
Ars Technica
Ars Technica is a technology news and information website created by Ken Fisher and Jon Stokes in 1998. It publishes news, reviews and guides on issues such as computer hardware and software, science, technology policy, and video games. Ars Technica is known for its features, long articles that go...
forums in the year 2000. The size of the group has fluctuated in size over the years, all while having many shows added to the list of archived material. The current qualifications for a show to be on the list include: no commercial release, no immediate plans for release, and not currently in production.
The group does not host any of these files; however, when one joins the IRC channel there are people there who may assist visitors, depending on the visitor's behaviour.
Current shows
- Mystery Science Theater 3000Mystery Science Theater 3000Mystery Science Theater 3000 is an American cult television comedy series created by Joel Hodgson and produced by Best Brains, Inc., that ran from 1988 to 1999....
- Single episodes compressed to under 700 megabytes
- DVDDVDA DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
-quality (and size) encodes - Various specials, guest appearances, documentaries, etc.
- Dennis Miller LiveDennis Miller LiveDennis Miller Live is a weekly talk show on HBO, hosted by comedian Dennis Miller. The show ran 215 episodes from 1994 to 2002, and received five Emmy awards, plus an additional 11 Emmy nominations...
- On the Air
- Upright Citizens BrigadeUpright Citizens BrigadeThe Upright Citizens Brigade is an improvisational comedy and sketch comedy group that emerged from Chicago's ImprovOlympic in 1990. The most recent incarnation consists of Matt Besser, Amy Poehler, Ian Roberts, and Matt Walsh...
- Cartoon PlanetCartoon PlanetCartoon Planet is an animated variety show that premiered in 1995 on Superstation TBS, and ran afterward from 1996 to 1997 on Cartoon Network....
- TV FunhouseTV FunhouseSaturday TV Funhouse is the title of a recurring skit on NBC's Saturday Night Live featuring cartoons created by longtime SNL writer Robert Smigel as well as a short-lived spinoff series TV Funhouse that ran on Comedy Central...
- BrimstoneBrimstone (TV series)Brimstone was a short-lived Fox television series, featuring a dead police detective whose mission is to return to Hell 113 spirits who have escaped to Earth. The series ran for only one partial season....
- The Mystery Science Theater Hour
- EZ StreetsEZ StreetsEZ Streets is an American television drama series created by Paul Haggis. It premiered on CBS on October 27, 1996 with a two hour pilot telefilm...
- QuarkQuark (TV series)Quark is an American science fiction situation comedy starring Richard Benjamin broadcast on NBC. The pilot first aired on May 7, 1977, and the series followed as a mid-season replacement in February 1978. The series was cancelled in April 1978. Quark was created by Buck Henry, co-creator of the...
- Let's BowlLet's BowlLet's Bowl was a short-lived bowling game show that aired on the Comedy Central television network from 2001 to 2002 after a brief run on several TV stations across the U.S. in the mid-1990s, the first three being Minneapolis-St...
Past shows
In the case of DAP-supported material gaining an official release, the material is dropped from the DAP's list and trading it is no longer permitted. Shows dropped from the DAP include:- DuckmanDuckmanDuckman: Private Dick/Family Man is an American animated sitcom that aired from 1994–1997, created by Everett Peck and developed by Peck. The sitcom is based on characters created by Peck in his Dark Horse comic...
- Freakazoid!Freakazoid!Freakazoid! is an American animated television series created by Steven Spielberg, Bruce Timm, and Paul Dini for the Kids' WB programming block of The WB. The series chronicles the adventures of the title character, Freakazoid, a manic, insane superhero who battles with an array of super villains....
- Max HeadroomMax Headroom (TV series)Max Headroom is a British-produced American science fiction television series by Chrysalis/Lakeside Productions that aired in the United States on ABC from March 1987 to May 1988. The series was based on the Channel 4 British TV pilot Max Headroom: 20 Minutes into the Future...
- Mystery Science Theater 3000Mystery Science Theater 3000Mystery Science Theater 3000 is an American cult television comedy series created by Joel Hodgson and produced by Best Brains, Inc., that ran from 1988 to 1999....
(episodes which have been released to home video) - Upright Citizens BrigadeUpright Citizens BrigadeThe Upright Citizens Brigade is an improvisational comedy and sketch comedy group that emerged from Chicago's ImprovOlympic in 1990. The most recent incarnation consists of Matt Besser, Amy Poehler, Ian Roberts, and Matt Walsh...
(seasons 1 and 2 which have been released to home video)