Backing up old VHS

[ClarkWGriswold]

I am converting old Super 8 and VHS tapes using Roxio 10. My first tape converted without a problem, however I now have a 35 minute, 9 gb .avi file. I have various questions so I can do this right the first time.

• Does it make sense to convert to a larger, uncompressed format, and then to always keep this as my main archive?
  If so is .avi a good format to use?

• Would it make more sense to just burn the .avi onto a dvd in VIDEO_TS format and call it a day?

• If I convert everything I have it will likely be a total of .75-1.0 TB. If I keep it in .avi (or some "better" format) what is a good way to store these files? 2 Hard drives - an original and a backup?

• Can I winzip the .avi files before archiving them? Will I realize much savings? Will I suffer quality loss when unzipping?

I know these are going to be poor quality, I would just like to maintain what I have.

Thanks for any help.

[WinstonWolf]

Hi Mr. Griswold

I'm certainly no expert, but I have had some decent results capturing in MPEG2 using Corel DVD MovieFactory 6 Plus. I'm not familiar with Roxio 10, but try these capture settings: VIDEO 352 x 480 / Variable bit rate: 4000 mbps (nominal) Upper field first / 29.97 fps
AUDIO mp3 128 bit rate

On my 47 inch tv there's very minimal artifacts and looks just as good as the source. File size for a 110 minute movie is just over 3GB, enough to fit on a single layer dvd-r. In my opinion, anything more than these settings is overkill for such a low resolution format as VHS.

BTW, how are you capturing Super 8? I'm very interested in shooting some projects in Super 8 but am a total noob. I absolutely love the nostalgic look of this format.

Hope this helps you.

[jman98]

• Can I winzip the .avi files before archiving them? Will I realize much savings? Will I suffer quality loss when unzipping?

Yes. No, maybe 1% at best. No quality loss, but the trouble of having to unzip in my opinion negates any miniscule space savings you'll get. With the total amount of storage you project needing, worrying about zipping is kind of like spending over $1000 US on a new TV and worrying about whether you can find it for 25 cents cheaper somewhere else.

[WinstonWolf]

To answer your questions,

Yes, uncompressed AVI will produce a file indistinguishable from the source at the expense of HUGE file size. In my opinion (and I'm sure many experts will disagree) I don't think this is a good way to archive your movies, especially if they are mostly VHS. Capturing at the settings I previously mentioned will look just as good at significantly smaller sizes. I know hard drives are getting much bigger in capacity but why waste all that space unneccessarily? Plus you will save time in converting from AVI to MPEG2 and eliminate a step.

I always backup my files regularly. I store my originals on an external HD but back up to DVD just in case. These are 1:1 copies (meaning 1 movie per disc). Until I can afford a BluRay burner and 50 GB blanks are more economical (and available), this will have to do.

[thomasj]

I've doing the same more or less. I'm thinking you have a DV format file here. I archive that to an external drive--I need another one. Then I encode edit, encode, author to DVD. (9000 bps avg, 9500 max, 1 hr/DVD) I burn a copies to verbatim DVD+R and keep copies on two external drives.

But this is for home video. For movie you will probably use a lower bit-rate.

[lordsmurf]

The conversion does not have to be poor quality.