[dirk1843]

I am using an older digital 8 camcorder to shot my home movies with.


I am using 1394 to import them into my computer where I do some editing, and then burn them onto DVD.


Here is my question: I have some small fears about the longevity of DVD media. To protect my fragile hide from the wrath of my wife , I want to make a backup copy of everything using a S-vhs vcr. Will it make any quality differece if I make the back up straight from the camcorder, or from the burned DVD??


I would think that the d/a converter in the DVD player would be better than my lowend camcorder. But on the other hand the video is totally uncompressed coming out of the camcorder.


Any input(aside from how I'm making a mountain out of a molehill)??

 

[sivartk]

I would go out and by a cheap 80G or 120GB hard drive, create an image file of all of the final Home movies DVD and keep a copy there.


Another option would be to just keep the digital 8 tapes.


For my home videos, I have the following

1) Raw footage on 8mm (early 90's) tape (stored at my parents)

2) Raw footage on DVD

3) Edited footage on DVD

4) ISO Image of each edited DVD on my PC


Hopefully this will cover me

 

[videonut]

I also store important footage on Panasonic DVD-RAM discs; I've never had one of these go bad (three years and counting).


However, over the last few years I did have two HDDs and a bunch of DVD-R discs fail (most of the discs were the unbranded Maxell type).


Happy Archiving,

Peter M

 

[muffyn]

Quote:

Originally posted by sivartk I would go out and by a cheap 80G or 120GB hard drive, create an image file of all of the final Home movies DVD and keep a copy there. Another option would be to just keep the digital 8 tapes. For my home videos, I have the following 1) Raw footage on 8mm (early 90's) tape (stored at my parents) 2) Raw footage on DVD 3) Edited footage on DVD 4) ISO Image of each edited DVD on my PC Hopefully this will cover me

now I am sure this will be offtopic, since its going to computer questions,,


but what exactly IS an ISO Image?

& what do you do with it?


> NOT computer illiterate, but don't know everything.....

 

[ayrton911]

Why do DVD backers continue to say that a DVD will last 100 years? One reason I'm going to DVD is that people say VHS only lasts 20 yeras and I have VHS tapes that are about 15 years old, work very well.


Am I stupid to throw out the VHS tapes when I transfer to DVD?

 

[Gary Aide]

Do not throw out your important vhs tapes! Or 8mm or hi-8 etc. Yes they will continue to de-grade over the years but still, I would never throw away a master tape of something like a home movie. Store them in a room or closet, standing on end like a book, at a temperature your would be comfortable in. Never store them in an attic or garage or an area with very high humidity. Also never in direct sun.


Maybe I just haven't had enough experience or faith yet in DVD-R to feel totally safe in discarding my original home movies.


Just my "to be on the safe side" opinion.

 

[sivartk]

an ISO image is a single file on your PC that can be burned with a DVD burner and create a duplicate of the original DVD. Less clutter when storing on your hard drive and you don't have to worry about accidently leaving out a file when burning to a DVD.

 

[PatsWonSB]

Quote:

Originally posted by videonut I also store important footage on Panasonic DVD-RAM discs; I've never had one of these go bad (three years and counting).

I recently had a Panasonic RAM disk go bad (non cartridge type). Only used 5 times and then came up with read errors. Neros CDSpeed surface analysis show some bad spots on the disk. Strange thing was that a physical level format corrected the bad areas on the disk. I've been reluctant to use the disk ever since.


You should keep the original tapes as suggested previously. Copying them to VHS doesn't buy you anything

 

[dirk1843]

The reason I was considering transfering to S-Vhs is two fold.


One VHS tapes are cheaper than Hi8, and how much longer will playback devices for Digital 8 be around??


Sony is the only maker that I know of, mini DV is taking over the consumer camcorder market. I dont want a bunch of Digtial 8 tapes that wont play on anything.


As much as we all hate VHS, no one can say that is has not proved it's long term realiabilty when properly cared for, and is not over used (ie rentals).

 

[webscout]

Why do DVD backers continue to say that a DVD will last 100 years? One reason I'm going to DVD is that people say VHS only lasts 20 yeras and I have VHS tapes that are about 15 years old, work very well. [.......]


Response : Well u have 5 years to go and find out on the 20 year (longevity)

I would assume the quality of the original tape could make a diff. Sure would not trust those Sylvania tapes......noisy.

I have a bunch of EK Broadcast quality tapes with quality cassette shells.

I hope these last a long time.

 

[Amethyst Dancer]

Dirk,

Quote:

The reason I was considering transfering to S-Vhs is two fold. One VHS tapes are cheaper than Hi8, and how much longer will playback devices for Digital 8 be around??

VHS tapes can be cheap, but if you're going for higher quality media (which supposedly lasts longer), you wouldn't want to use the cheapest ones you can find.


SVHS tapes, on the other hand, are NOT cheap. The resolution is better, but I don't know if there's any difference in longevity.


Is there any reason not to just carefully store your original tapes as a backup, preferably off-site? Perhaps also burn duplicates of the DVDs, and store them with the original tapes? DVDs aren't terribly expensive these days.


I have read that DVD-R/+R media is expected to last 100 years, especially if it's not exposed to sunlight, but DVD-RW/+RW supposedly has about the same shelf life as videotapes (and it's best to also keep those away from sunlight.)


There's a lot I still don't know, so I guess this post is more questions than answers.