Question about archiving video.

[ChrisMc73]

I have a ton of video I need to get off tape, so I'm looking for a good program Mac or PC, I own both. Also how do you archive your video... what format? I'm mostly looking to archive my video.

I have about 5 mini dv tapes full of video over a span of 8 years. I want to store them on my NAS but I'm looking for a good common format. Something multiple programs can open and then format them as needed. For example, I rip all my music apple lossless and then I can create mp3 or aac files. I'm not worried about space.

Any suggestions to the format etc?

[bsaber]

Do you plan on keeping the tapes too?

[RWatkins]

There is Streamclip for OS X - that should work.

http://www.squared5.com/svideo/mpeg-streamclip-mac.html

However - why not keep it in the original DV file format as it comes off the tape w/o any extra conversions or encoding? Any encoding will likely cause a loss of data or will make file sizes as large or larger than what you have now. I have not used DV in years, so my information may be dated, but I don't think there is a big compatibility issue with DV and the major editing programs.

[mitchman]

^^^I agree^^^^ When working with the Mini DV format it's important to capture the video digitally. Here's what I would do:

1) Find the original camera or borrow one. It must have a iLink or firewire output (they are the same thing)
2) Using a 4-pin to 6-pin firewire cable, connect your camera to your computer. (most Mac's have FW400)
3) Use iMovie, Final Cut Pro, etc... to capture your footage.

Using this workflow, you would be copying the digital data off the tapes and on to your hard drive. The wrong way to do this would be to connect an S-Video (or other video cable) to a capture card. This will greatly reduce the quality of your footage because it will be converted to analog and then back to digital. There's no reason to do that.

Also don't get caught up in the discussion about saving in a higher quality format. For example saving your DV footage as ProRes 4444 or something crazy like that. Just follow the workflow above and you'll have an exact copy of your footage (a clone). Best quality possible.

Good luck!

[ChrisMc73]

Yes, I plan to keep the tapes, as long as they will last. I will try out these suggestions and report back.

[bsaber]

If storage isn't an issue then storing them in DV format should be the way to go.

[ChrisMc73]

Thank you guys, I think DV format is the answer to my question. Its the base or raw footage, then from there I can archive it, and whenever I choose to encode it into another format, I have that choice. You've all been a big help, I appreciate it.