Best SD Video Archive Format

[BmacSWA]

I started this conversation over at digitalFAQ and it had little interest, so I'll ask here.

I've been going through the process capturing and archiving SD VHS, Hi8 and DV with mostly 1st gen tapes with the purpose of making modern viewable video on contemporary consumer devices: Phones, tablets, TV, YouTube and so on. Below are my workflows...

DV:
It is what it is. I just use WinDV and store it as is. File size isn't insane and its as clean as the format will provide. I just leave it as is.

SD Analog:
I have been capturing with VirtualDub 1.9.x (1.9.1.1 I think?) compressing lossless with Huffy 2.1.1 then running through QTGMC to deinterlace and convert to 60fps outputting to ProRes422 HQ to be edited in Final Cut Pro.

Both processes work fine. It may be overkill, but I've been archiving both the Huffy AVIs and the ProRes Files. My thought being with the Huffy files I could have a lossless copy to convert to whatever the new editing software may be in the future I keep the ProRes so I can drop it into Final Cut if I decide to re-edit the clip.

However this is the issue posing the question. I've been experimenting with different capture processes and start with an 8 bit uncompressed .mov file after the capture. The files are obviously larger than a Huffy2.1.1 lossless capture, but considering I can go direct to a ProRes422 HQ file from there after using QTGMC, Is it worth converting the uncompressed video to Huffy or another format? My thoughts being I'd like a reasonably sized lossless file to archive that is in an "original" interlaced format that also could be used down the road for perhaps newer software or hardware that may replace QTCMC.

I'd love to hear everyone thoughts.

Bmac

[BmacSWA]

Wow, zero replies here too?

[Bwaak]

veryone has their reasons. Huffyuv is lossless, but if you feel that uncompressed will ensure you better compatibility down the road then use uncompressed. I suppose Apple will support ProRes for s long time, and Apple is going nowhere.

I've been thinking and re-thinking my approach, and I have no clear strategy myself.

[dellsam34]

I answered your post in the other forum, You said you're using HuffYUV as the raw lossless capture format, this is the format you keep for the future before any further processing. Any de-interlacing, restoration or other geometry manipulations considered loss, therefore the file is no longer raw. Memory storage is cheap nowadays but you can minimize it by deciding which raw files are not worth keeping and processing them permanently into smaller playable files is all that's needed, but that's a call you have to make. I personally keep raw files for family videos only, Everything else gets de-interlaced, cropped, resized to HD and encoded to h.264.

[BmacSWA]

Just saw it over there. Appreciate the response.

[gs684]

I have recently been in the same dilemma as well for my SD footage, and ultimately I decided to settle on DNxHR HQ, which I believe is basically the same as your ProRes 422 HQ.

[Bwaak]

I have recently been in the same dilemma as well for my SD footage, and ultimately I decided to settle on DNxHR HQ, which I believe is basically the same as your ProRes 422 HQ.

About incompatible media in Final Cut Pro (originally published in 2018, updated in 2023).

[gs684]

I have recently been in the same dilemma as well for my SD footage, and ultimately I decided to settle on DNxHR HQ, which I believe is basically the same as your ProRes 422 HQ.

About incompatible media in Final Cut Pro (originally published in 2018, updated in 2023).

Yes, I'm aware. But I use Windows and Premiere

[BW37]

To the OP:

When I suggested you ask this question over here I was hoping you'd get some responses with information like this (post #356 in that very long thread) from poisondeathray or other experts discussing the pros and cons of various forms of lossless and near lossless codecs.

BW