# Digital master

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Digital_master
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Digital_master.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_master
> Source revision: 1322819498
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

{{refimprove|date=November 2025}}
{{Short description|Digital asset deemed original of a work}}
{{For|the Sony product line called DigitalMaster|DVCAM}}
A '''digital master''' is an [image](/source/image), [PDF](/source/PDF) file, [digital recording](/source/digital_recording) or another [digital asset](/source/digital_asset) preserved as the "original" for the purpose of archival storage, reuse and re-expression.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-02-11 |title=Preservation Master |url=https://www.archives.gov/preservation/products/definitions/preservation-copy |access-date=2025-11-18 |website=National Archives |language=en}}</ref> For [image](/source/image)s, it is the digital analogue to a [photographic negative](/source/photographic_negative).

As the master from which variations for specific uses can be derived, the digital master may be in the form of its initial capture (like an un[retouched](/source/retouched) photograph) or in a form that has been somehow enhanced, reformatted or edited (like a manipulated photo or a completed film).

==See also==
* [Audio mastering](/source/Audio_mastering), a form of audio [post-production](/source/post-production)
* [Digital remastering](/source/Digital_remastering), the quality enhancement of sound and/or picture to a previously existing recording
* [Digital cinema](/source/Digital_cinema), the use of digital technology to [distribute](/source/Film_distributor) or [project](/source/Video_projector) [motion picture](/source/motion_picture)s as opposed to the historical use of [motion picture film](/source/motion_picture_film)

==References==
{{reflist}}
Category:Digital photography
Category:Television terminology

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Digital master](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_master) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_master?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.