Alternate format other than DV.

[cowmix]

I'm using a A/D passthrough of my Canon camcorder to rip a ton of VHS tapes.. I'd like to transcode all the output to a format that will preserve as much of the DV quality as possible but maybe use 1/2 the disk space.

Is there a good codec / format that I should chose that will let me ditch these DV files with peace of mind?

[zoobie]

this depends how you plan on playing them back
you want to keep them on your HDD?
[vhs isn't a very good source but you're stuck]
I'll guess and say h264 in a mp4 container
but I have no idea at what I'm guessing...

[cowmix]

I want to have them in a format that I can do further processing and edit down later.

I realize if I transcode them I'll lose something.. but I want to keep that to a minimum.

[guns1inger]

MPEG-2 at around 12 Mbps should halve the file sizes and still leave you with a little wiggle room come editing time. Not ideal, but probably the best option if you still hope to edit down the track.

[jagabo]

Don't bother. All encoders with higher compression will deliver lower quality and/or harder to edit files.

The only exception is if your final format will be DVD with less than 1 hour on a single layer disc, or two hours on a dual layer disc, most of your editing will be simple cut/paste, and you have a suitable editor. Then you might encode with DVD compatible MPEG 2 settings so the bulk of the material doesn't have to be reencoded while editing (only cut GOPs and transitions have to be reencoded).

[Abas-Avara]

First I captured to DV format and then converted to MPEG2 with Vegas, it went from 40GB to 6GB/7GB after that I realized the best format to save is DV AVI. I know it takes lots of space, but in 5 years the Harddisk will extend and GB arent so much anymore. I think for the future.

[Verify]

Since external HDDs are about $0.10/GB you can store DV (13.5GB/hr) for about $0.14/hour. A 1TB external USB drive will hold ~75 hours of DV (from 12+ 6 hour Video Cassettes) for under $100.

Of course, if you have hundreds of VCR tapes it could cost thousands of dollars.

After thinking about the costs and the fact that I have not looked at any of my tapes in many years, I bulk-eraser all but the few important (to me) tapes and donated the others to Goodwill.

[creamyhorror]

You might consider a lossless codec like Lagarith, Huffyuv or FFV1. They have varying compression/decode-speed tradeoffs, but will gain you some space over uncompressed video.

[jagabo]

You might consider a lossless codec like Lagarith, Huffyuv or FFV1.

For most material those will give bigger files than the DV he's capturing.

[edDV]

Hard drives are getting so cheap. For example 1TB ~$80, 1.5TB ~$120 and now 2TB ~$180.

Why invest in more labor to reduce quality?

[jagabo]

Pair of Samsung 1.5 TB drives for US$99 each, free shipping:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152175
Slow but good for bulk storage.

[cowmix]

Hard drives are getting so cheap. For example 1TB ~$80, 1.5TB ~$120 and now 2TB ~$180.

Why invest in more labor to reduce quality?

How I have my workflow setup is I have a script that will see new video and automatically transcode it so the labor isn't an issue.

I just would like to keep it in a format that is a little more compact if possible.

[edDV]

Hard drives are getting so cheap. For example 1TB ~$80, 1.5TB ~$120 and now 2TB ~$180.

Why invest in more labor to reduce quality?

How I have my workflow setup is I have a script that will see new video and automatically transcode it so the labor isn't an issue.

I just would like to keep it in a format that is a little more compact if possible.

Why if quality will be reduced? Are these camcorder videos or TV captures?

I treat my camcorder material like gold but 98% of TV captures get converted to interlace MPeg2 or deinterlaced progressive MPeg4. VCR dub or TV to DV capture is great for speedy editing but most gets converted.

[creamyhorror]

For most material those will give bigger files than the DV he's capturing.

Oh, I thought he was capturing to uncompressed for some reason