Future proofing video files, codec,resolution etc?

[Leanoric]

Im going through my vhs captures and some of them just arent worth keeping as losslessly compressed files.

I normally crop and letterbox to 704x576 and then x264, mp4. Is this sufficient for when the master copy isnt being kept? Or should I be upscaling to HD and using a different encoder?

[Sharc]

Depends what you understand by "sufficient". This can mean a lot. What are your criteria?
If you are happy with the quality there is a good chance that in some future it will always be possible to re-process these files. But what is lost by the current compression can't be recovered. Also think about a backup strategy for your .mp4 files.

[Leanoric]

TV’s and monitors are moving further away from SD as the years go by. I’m wondering if it would be better to upscale it now, myself to HD. What about x264 and mp4, you think they will still be ok 10,15 years from now?

[Sharc]

What about x264 and mp4, you think they will still be ok 10,15 years from now?

Yes, I think so.

[krykmoon]

I normally crop and letterbox to 704x576 and then x264, mp4. Is this sufficient for when the master copy isnt being kept? Or should I be upscaling to HD and using a different encoder?

It's ALWAYS better to keep old files as they are.. or at least - if you want to "enhance" them - to ALWAYS keep the original files as a backup.

The reason is simple: upscaling/enhancing a video is ALWAYS a LOSSY process.

Today we have upscaling algorithms very different from those used 10-15 years ago.. and probably they will continue to improve over time (upscaling will ALWAYS be a LOSSY process.. but a "good" upscale may offer a perceptually better result that an SD viewed with "basic" upscaling filters applied.).. so I strongly suggest to ALWAYS keep the original video files somewhere for future "improvement" attempts with better algorithms when they become available.