Backup of MiniDV tapes

[m0cka]

Hi!

I have received the task of making a backup of several MiniDV tapes which are played in a camcorder.

I'm using Adobe Premiere Pro to capture the video and then export it to H.264 video. At first the result looked terrible but after some research I found out that it would look better if the video was deinterlaced, and it did. However, I also read that one should avoid deinterlacing and let the TV do that job (I'm going to view the video files primarily on the TV).

For me the quality of the video is of first priority, although saving video uncompressed is out of question as it takes too much space.

Should I deinterlace the video or not and what bitrate do you reccommend for the video files (til now it has been 4000kbps)?

[filmboss80]

No, no, no. If you want to make a pure, unmolested backup of MiniDV tapes, you do a straight capture to the DV-AVI codec (like the Cedocida DV Codec).

[m0cka]

I see, but isn't that uncompressed?

[yoda313]

I see, but isn't that uncompressed?

No. DV codec is a compressed format but not overly so. Its about 13/gb hour.

[edDV]

I see, but isn't that uncompressed?

What do you mean by backup?

Usually it means a bit perfect copy to backup media (e.g. hard disk or DVDR as data) without compression.

Normally I backup DV tapes to hard disk with WinDV capture. I also make an interlace 720x480i MPeg2 DVD using max bitarate (1 Hour mode ~9500 Kbps CBR + AC3 stereo audio).

If the customer also wants something small for portable media players (cell phones/iPads), only then do you deinterlace and recode to an AVC codec (h.264 or mp4).

[m0cka]

Thanks for the quick answers.

13/gb hour would be a little too much as I have at least 60 hours to save, furthermore the video-quality is rather bad as it is, so I don't think I would loose much on some compression.

What codec should I use to fit the video to 2gb per 3 hours? The resolution of the camera is 720x576 and has a framerate of 25 per second.


EDIT:

I see, but isn't that uncompressed?

What do you mean by backup?

Usually it means a bit perfect copy to backup media (e.g. hard disk or DVDR as data) without compression.

I see, sorry for the confusion. Though isn't it possible to compress the video without loosing very much quality?

[yoda313]

without loosing very much quality?

That is up to you to decide.

You can make a dvd at that scale with good results but it won't be an exact backup as eddv was mentioning.

For true backups you must use a dv codec when working with sd minidv tapes.

Anything else is simply a conversion not a true backup. But you should not get rid of the tapes if you plan on only converting to a dvd format. That way you can always go back to the original tapes later.

[m0cka]

Okay.

Now I changed my mind. :P I will go for the full backup which means 13gb per video. Can I use Adobe Premier Pro for that or should I use another program?

[filmboss80]

Premiere's okay, as long as no re-compression is done. Better yet, WinDV (freeware capture utility) is straightforward and simple in its elegance.

With the DV codec, you are doing a bit-for-bit transfer from the MiniDV source. In essence, you're making an exact duplicate of what's on the tape. Choose Type-2 .avi files for better compatibility with most editing software (like Premiere).

If you want to trim and edit video clips before archiving, you could use a tool like VirtualDub in Direct Stream Copy mode. That way you could cut out unwanted footage without re-encoding or re-compressing.

[edDV]

Thanks for the quick answers.

13/gb hour would be a little too much as I have at least 60 hours to save, furthermore the video-quality is rather bad as it is, so I don't think I would loose much on some compression.

What codec should I use to fit the video to 2gb per 3 hours? The resolution of the camera is 720x576 and has a framerate of 25 per second.


EDIT:

I see, but isn't that uncompressed?

What do you mean by backup?

Usually it means a bit perfect copy to backup media (e.g. hard disk or DVDR as data) without compression.

I see, sorry for the confusion. Though isn't it possible to compress the video without loosing very much quality?

60 tapes x13 GB = 780GB which will easily fit a 1TB hard drive with space to spare. I'd suggest you also back the backup to a second TB drive for off site storage. 1 TB drives are cheap.

A desktop computer is recommended over a laptop. Make sure you capture to a drive other than the OS drive.

All MiniDV transfers will be at 1x speed so you are facing 60+ hours just to do that. Any further compression will extend that time as you do a second encoding pass. If the customer is demanding a DVD + a DV backup, you can use a hardware encoding capture card (e.g. a Hauppauge PVR or ATI 650)* in parallel with the IEEE-1394 DV transfer and record DV-AVI plus MPeg2 for DVD at the same time. Use the 1 Hour (~9500 Kbps CBR MPeg2 mode) for best results. DVD burning from previous transfers could be done while dubbing. This is best done on a second computer. That way your time spent would only be a few hours over the 60 hr. dub time.


* or a stand alone DVD recorder in 1 hr mode.

[zoobie]

try borrowing another cam and running a firewire between them...may save you a couple of thousand hours

[taxman]

I use Premier Elements to do this with tapes from my camera, so I would expect Pro can do it.

When the program first starts with a screen asking where to save the file and there is another box for resolution, I set at 1080i.

after the full program boots I select capture from the file menu, and HD video camera is an option. I then start it and it controls the camera. This saves the files in a avi file that is in the original quality.

[filmboss80]

When the program first starts with a screen asking where to save the file and there is another box for resolution, I set at 1080i.

The OP is looking to back-up MiniDV (standard def). Your method involves an unnecessary up-convert and heavy compression during re-encode. Not a great idea in this case.

[edDV]

MiniDV is 720x480i/29.97 (30i) same as DVD.

[Cornucopia]

MiniDV is 720x480i/29.97 (30i) same as DVD.

Actually, the OP mentioned 720x576/25i, so PAL standard def instead of NTSC.

Scott

[2Bdecided]

Kind of irrelevant to a two year old thread that's just been resurrected by a spammer!