I've noticed cases where notes are held longer than needed, rather
than using a continuous sustaining pedal, and I'm not sure why the
coding was done this way.

A good example of this is at the very beginning of Prelude in C# minor
by Rachmaninoff. If you watch the keys being played at the beginning
of the roll (in the third bar of music), it is clear that one person
could not hold down all of the keys at the same time.

Looking at the sheet music, the sustaining pedal is to be used to hold
the chord in the second bar for two counts into the third bar. Using
the sustaining pedal allows these notes to be held, while the pianist
uses his fingers for other notes.

However, on the roll, rather than having the sustaining perforations
run from the start of the second bar to halfway through the third bar,
the note perforations are used to hold the chord during this period
and the sustaining pedal perforations are stopped and started again.

This seems unnecessary. Does anyone know why the coding was done
this way?

Thanks,
Craig Sander