Newbie question on Huge AVI (DV file)

[mrash]

I'm brand new at this, so please bear with me. I've been unable to find the answers elsewhere.

I finally figured out how to copy my first Digital 8 home video to my computer (using Ulead 5.0). I had it capture seamlessly. I ended up with 3 avi (or dv) files. 2 were around 4gig and the other one a bit shorter.

Here are my questions.

1) Are these the highest quality? If so, should I save these to work from in the future?

2) If I save these files can I join them into one large AVI then split them into chunks so I can put them on CDs rather than leaving on my hard drive? (If so, what program[s]?)

3) Is it best to make a VCD from these large AVIs? Or should I convert to an MPG2 or 1 or regular AVI and then make a VCD from one of these? If so, which format first?

Thanks for any help.

[tryoty]

mrash...

1) Are these the highest quality? If so, should I save these to work from in the future?

Yes on quality, but to save them you would need to use 3 DVD's (4.7 Gb each)... kind of expensive. You'd be better off rendering a high quality MPEG-2 and saving those, IMO.

2) If I save these files can I join them into one large AVI then split them into chunks so I can put them on CDs rather than leaving on my hard drive? (If so, what program[s]?)

Maybe, Win ME and earlier have a file size limit of 4 gigs. If you are running Win NT or Win XP *AND* have the hard drive set up as an NTFS partition you can create larger files.

3) Is it best to make a VCD from these large AVIs? Or should I convert to an MPG2 or 1 or regular AVI and then make a VCD from one of these? If so, which format first?

I would recommend rendering MPEG-2 from each AVI and then combining each resultant MPEG and burning a VCD... BUT, I don't think you'll be able to fit it all on one VCD. It depends on what quality trade-offs you are willing to make.

Troy

[DVWannaB]

It all depends on what your future needs will be. If the AVI files will be used to make ONLY VCD or SVCD or CVD or DVD, then I suggest converting your AVI to any or all of the above.

To store over 8GB on CD-R is a waste and may turn into a logistic nightmare. Misplace just 1 of your 10 disks and evrything is lost.

So I would say convert and archive. You could store a DVD conversion on an inexpensive DVD disk. You can archive 1 VCD, 1 SVCD and maybe 1 CVD on 1 DVD disk. Cheap DVD-R are great for archiving, but not good for playing.

[ZacMan]

The best archiving technique for you DV files is to save the original source tape. This is the most inexpensive method of storage. If you need the AVI files in the future all you have to do is capture the video again.

[rkr1958]

I created two backup copies of all my DV tapes by capturing them to my hard-drive and writing them back out to a new tape through my camera. Since I'm using W98SE, which has the 4GB file size limitation due to FAT32, the capture of each 1-hour tape required 4-segments. I got my DV camera when my son was born (19-months ago). I currently have 10-hours of tapes (i.e., 10 tapes) and 2-backups of each (i.e., 20 tapes). I keep one backup copy of each tape at work. The video that I have of my son is priceless, so 20 backup tapes is cheap compared to what I'm protecting.