Video format for future use

[indijay]

Hello All,

So soon I am going to get my wedding video footage as DV and I am planning to make DVDs out of it, at the same time Xvid. Then of course, planning to delete the tranferred DV footage.

Wondered, apart from original footage which other format is best for future use?

Apologies if it sounds stupid question, but I am not really well aware of these things

[mats.hogberg]

Best would of course be to keep the DV files.
2nd best is the DVD format mpg's encoded from the DV files.
XviD is too compressed to be cosidered an option, IMO.

/Mats

[thecoalman]

Persoanlly for important footage like that I'd chop it up into 15 minute segments and burn each segment to data disc so you have the original DV tape and an additional disc backup.

I'd use the DV for future use, that or a low compression mpeg. Persoanlly I don't see the point of not using the highest quality source. The difference between using the DV or mpeg as a source may be minute but it's there. It becomes more prominent if you have a really good quality DV video to begin with.

[guns1inger]

DV is cheap. Keep the tapes safe. Burn it to DVD for now, and use the tapes again later to possibly upsample for HD recording when the kit is cheaper.

If you are really concerned, write the footage back to multiple DV tapes before you delete it, and store them in different locartions

[indijay]

DV is cheap. Keep the tapes safe. Burn it to DVD for now, and use the tapes again later to possibly upsample for HD recording when the kit is cheaper.

If you are really concerned, write the footage back to multiple DV tapes before you delete it, and store them in different locartions

guns1inger - upsample for HD recording when kit is cheaper - Actually this is exactly what my idea is but I thought when my original video itself not HD how can I make it 1000 line resolution?
Good to know that you can 'upsample' video. So I will keep tapes as it is, plus will take back up on DVDs.

Now another question, if I should be backing up DV, I have two options at disposal, to transfer DV to HDD, either use iMovie HD or WinDV. I am sure they maintain their own file formats after transfer so which one do I use? or these formats can be interchangeable.
(I have used iMovie 3 before and it transfer as 'clip' file which after putting *.avi extention on PC, works but don't know if its same in iMovie HD as well)

[Cobra]

If you want to keep it in a compressed format, try x264. That's a really high-quality codec, and is a generation ahead of XviD.

Gordian Knot can encode x264.

[guns1inger]

Both will just transfer the DV file from tape to your HDD. No proprietry formats etc., just a simple file transfer. Unless you encode it as something else.