Best codec and setting for archiving DV to harddrive

[Daft]

Ok I just got myself a new MiniDV cam, the Sony DCR-HC90.
I want to know what the best compression settings are for capturing DV to my harddrive for storing/archiving. The final purpose of the video varies; some I will burn to DVD, others I will just use for computer playback and some for internet sharing. Should I use Divx, Xvid, WMV or something else? Interlace or de-interlace source? What bitrate; I'm thinking about 4000kbps? I need the quality to be very good since some videos will be processed again for DVD burning, internet sharing, etc. Right now I use Divx6.0 @ 4000kbps interlaced. Let me know if I should be using something else, thanks.

[ZacMan]

If you plan on doing any editing and rendering to DVD then the only real choice is DV-AVI. Any re-encoding to another codec will cause a quality loss.

You need to decide what you want to do with the video before you capture it.

[takeshi]

Rule of thumb is use the highest quality possible and convert as few times as possible. Other than that, it's your judgement call on what to use. If you don't have the space to store DV clips then you might want to rethink the approach you're using.

If you're going to MPEG2 and some other unspecified format then my suggestion is to archive in DV. Really, you might as well leave the video on the tape until you'r ready to convert.

[edDV]

Best to edit out the crap first usually 25-40%. Then divide material by intended use. For quality archive material keep in DV-AVI format best stored on tape until larger capacity DVD formats become available.

DV tape ~$2.50/hr
3xDVDR ~ $1/hr but labor and time sensitive
HDD ~ $6-8/hr

future single side Blu-Ray ~$5-6/hr
(DVDR single side @$10 blank)