Archiving Video

[The Sumerian]

What is the best media to store video for long term at best quality? I've heard MiniDV is unstable. I've also heard DVCam is much better for storage but that BetaCam SP is even better than that. But what about DigiBeta? And which is better for archivng HD?

[nlec]

From everything I've read miniDV is not unstable. Where did you see that? It's been around for quite a few years and is projected to be around for many more. I haven't seen any reports of premature breakdown or instability. Like all mag tape, store it away from environmental extremes and it should be good for at least 15 years. I'm not versed in the other formats you ask about.

[edDV]

What is the best media to store video for long term at best quality? I've heard MiniDV is unstable. I've also heard DVCam is much better for storage but that BetaCam SP is even better than that. But what about DigiBeta? And which is better for archivng HD?

DVCAM uses the same tapes as MiniDV. It records wider tracks for easier playback on other transports than the one that recorded the tape. LP MiniDV should not be used for storage. It uses narrower tracks than normal MiniDV.

Betacam SP is analog YPbPr. Analog playback is more difficult than digital for older tapes.

Digital Betacam uses 90Mb/s 4:2:2 YCbCr for recording SD in broadcast archive quality.

What kind of HD masters are you looking to archive? HDCAM or DVCProHD are used for broadcast tapes. A good price for a 124min blank HDCAM tape is $94. You can rent the HDCAM deck for about $700 a day.
http://www.tapeandmedia.com/detail.asp?product_id=BCT-124HDL
http://www.studiobfilms.com/rentals/deck_hdcam_HDW2000.html

[thecoalman]

For mini-dv I keep the original tape which is ultimately stored elsewhere and have an additional local copy on external HD .