Archival format that will stand the test of time ??

[raigan]

Hi folks,

Im looking for some advice on how best to store my digital video memories...

I have hours of video on MiniDV tapes and now MemoryStickProDuo. Using the various software packages that came with the cameras I have been able to make DVD's etc. But doing this you tend to just get a finished product that can't be re-edited.

What I really want to do is download the video into an unfinished format that preserves the full quality at a reasonable filesize. I want this to be a kind of 'master archive' - so the format would need to be some kind of standard that could be used across different software, and will be still around in years to come.

I really appreciate any advice!

thanks in advance,
Raigan

 

[KeyserSoze]

whatever's shot on tape, keep in tape form.

whatever's on memory flash memory, be prepared to shell out for a 3.5" Hdd (1 terabyte has the best value for money price point right now) to be used with say, a hdd dock.

once you have a Hdd filled, keep it in the dry box with your video/still camera. buy 2nd Hdd and continue.

To archive videos without losing quality, always remember GIGO - garbage in, garbage out. Stick to the original format it was shot on, and do not use edited , transcoded, re-wrapped files, but only the original format.

tapes, and hdd that are properly archived w/o moisture, will be able to last you up to a decade or more.

 

[jaegersing]

I keep my tapes in an electric dry-box. Video projects and Digital files from CF cards I keep on a 4-drive NAS with RAID for redundancy. My hope is that if a hard disk fails I will not lose any data. Still got fingers crossed.

 

[raigan]

Thanks for the tips so far guys. Very much appreciated.

I'm kinda looking for a bit more about file formats rather than media. I think my original thread title might have been a bit misleading.

cheers!

 

[jaegersing]

Thanks for the tips so far guys. Very much appreciated.

I'm kinda looking for a bit more about file formats rather than media. I think my original thread title might have been a bit misleading.

cheers!

keyersoze's advice is very relevant to you. You will waste a lot of time if you try to convert your tapes into other formats, and there will be quality degradation as well.

Similarly for video captured on CF or SD cards, transcoding takes time and will give you a quality drop. Try to keep the same file formats in order to preserve the original quality. Yes you can squeeze the files into smaller size formats, but you mentioned that you want to keep the "full quality" which I think will not be possible if you are compressing teh data even further.