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  1. I'm upgrading my camcorder from a Sony HC90 to the new Canon HF100. So I have 4 or 5 miniDV tapes that I need to backup to hdd. I will keep the tapes for archival purposes, but after selling my HC90 it will become difficult to watch/edit them (I'd have to borrow a miniDV camera from someone), so I want the video files on my PC.

    So I need to transfer my tapes to hdd. Should I just capture them in DV format?? Or is there a better option that I can use which would keep high quality and cut the size down a bit (like mpeg2, h.264, etc.)??

    I don't do a lot of editing...mostly just watch the clips I have. However, I do dabble a little in video editing.

    I haven't been following the latest/preferred methods for backing up DV. So if you guys reccomend something besides DV format...what is the latest/best tools and codecs for the conversion with quality first priority and ease of use next??

    Thanks very much for any help!! Hopefully this hasn't subject hasn't been beaten to death. I did some searching, but mostly found threads that are fairly outdated 1-3 years old, so I am looking for 'current' opinions.
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  2. Member yoda313's Avatar
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    Even though I don't have a dv camera the best option is always to preserve the original format.

    First of all don't get rid of or erase the orginal tapes unless you ABSOLUTELY need them and can't get easy access to new blank ones. It's always preffered to start over from the original source for any new projects.

    With harddrive prices dropping all the time 13gb per hour for dv format avi files is no big deal. Just transfer to your dv codec of choice and leave it that way. Then you can always go back to the digital original file.
    Donatello - The Shredder? Michelangelo - Maybe all that hardware is for making coleslaw?
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  3. Member
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    Yoda is correct, especially since you only have 4 or 5 miniDV tapes. We're talking about 65 gigs total. Capture with WinDV (very stable freeware). Make sure you have a nice DV codec loaded -- but just one (avoid conflicts). Cedocida and Panasonic DV codecs are both free. You'll avoid future editing nightmares by storing as DV-format .avi files.
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