Best format to store DV long term

[Craig876]

I'm working on transferring my 8mm tapes to DV, but not sure exactly where it's going to end up (DVD, Blu-ray, something else...).

Any suggestions on what format I should store them in to keep my options open? Should I leave them as AVI, or is there some compressed format that would not limit me in the future...

Thanks!
Craig

[JimboS]

Save as AVI on an external hard drive....

[Craig876]

That's what I was planning on but I wanted to see if there was a more compressed format that also would not limit my options down the road...

Thanks,
Craig

[PuzZLeR]

Not what you want to hear, but the best, most "lossless" format to store them in is indeed the source itself. After a few bad encodes, or bad decisions, I've learned this the hard way.

Keep the source.

This way you always have a backup and the peace of mind that your options will always be open forever no matter what the future may bring.

Here's what I do. I backup my source on data DvD-R(L) spindles, even if I have to break up some videos among more than one disc. Everything is numbered and documented so I can find any "master".

I store them in the back corner of a closet, which can store years more. But the rate of growth of HD capacity per unit space will be much faster than a need for new closet space, so I'm not worried. Storage is getting bigger, more efficient and cheaper by the month.

Remember, just over 10 years ago people had the same problem with image files. No big deal today.

As for "compressed", if you still want to, you don't have many options without loss.

You can try Cineform, which is a bit smaller and visually lossless, but not free. You can also try the MSU lossless codec and eliminate "noise" to save space.

Or you can be adventurous and save tons of space by creating new "source" using MPEG-2 at small GOP values, or with CCE encodes using 1-pass VBR, Q=10, Min 0, Max 9000, or or even x264 at CRF=18, but loss is still loss.

I still say keep the source, especially for the most special stuff.

[JohnnyMalaria]

I vote for keep the original tapes nice and safe (dry, cool) and also capture them as AVIs to external drives. If they are very, very important then buy a high capacity external drive and dedicate it to your tapes. That's what I do.