AVI-maybe rendered-back to tape???

[dalebo]

I guess I don't understand what AVI really is! Is it not the form of video that comes off of a digital camcorder? If I edit it in a videoediting program will I need to render it and then save it back as an AVI file or if I don't render it can I not save it back to the camcorder as an AVI file? I like to archive my stuff and back it up on CD or DVD for posterity. Thanks.

[Conquest10]

what?

[Conquest10]

avi from your camera is not the same. that avi is uncompressed. anyway you can't play avi on dvd players. you have to convert it to mpeg to burn on a disc.

[bugster]

An AVI file is simply a wrapper or container format. When you 'copy' the data from your DV tape onto your PC, the 'capture' software wraps it into a convenient avi file.

Whenevr you edit any form of movie, at least parts will have to be re-rendered and a new file saved of the edited movie. What format you render to depends on what you want to do with the movie.

DV data IS compressed (contrary to what Conquest10 says) but not heavily, only about 5:1.

you say

like to archive my stuff and back it up on CD or DVD for posterity

But the question is, are you looking at this simply as data storage for PC retrieval or do you want to play this stuff on your DVD player. If the former, the leave it as DV AVI for best quality. If the latter, the you will have to learn abou mpeg encoding and (S)VCD or DVD authoring.

Hope this helps.

[Conquest10]

damn, i forgot to add the quotes. what i mean was: 'uncompressed'.

[dalebo]

Actually, Bugster, that does help. I am just looking to backup for archival purposes; not to re-edit later. So what you are saying then is if I simply want to save it back to DV tape I will still have to render it in AVI form before I store it back on DVD tape (again for strictly archival purposes)?

[SaSi]

Yes, and once you edit the DV footage on the PC, you can "export" it through the TV_out port (if your VGA has one) to a tape recorder. If your DV camcorder can record from external sources, you can save it on that. Otherwise you can save it on VHS. These new tapes will have lower quality compared with the original footage.

Also, tape won't last long. For "posterity", as you mention, you should use DVD (and not CD because it will only hold 20~30 minutes without losing quality). Of course, if your edited material is shorter than that, CD will be fine.

To record on DVD (for archival purposes), you can save the AVI files on a UDF 4.7 Gb DVD-ROM. You won't be able to view them on TV but only on PC. However, once you master the art of editing and DVD authoring, you may want to revisit these DVD archives and re-edit or author DVDs.