Best way to "backup" a VHS tape

How are YOU "preserving" this type of old footage?

Good question - no one simple answer, but I'll tell you my thinking.

I also sent old 8mm video on "pass-thru" mode into iMovie. I exported the "raw" iMovie files to iDVD, and burned two disks, and saved the .img file on an external hard drive. After editing the footage, I made 2 new iDVDs with the edited footage, and exported the edited iMovie back to DV tape. Then I delete the iMovie files, which as you found out, are huge.

If I ever need some of the unedited footage from the DVDs, I can grab it with DVDxDV or MPEG2Works (ExportToQT). This will have reduced quality.....the only video that is close to the orginal quality is the edited footage I export back to DV tape. If you really want to preserve it "all" at the best quality, then you need to export it all to DV tape. Burning to DVD compresses the video and loses some quality. My method is a compromise - I save some at the best quality on DV tape, save the rest on DVDs. Make more than one copy - DVDs can degrade, and you'll need to check your copies every so often. That's one reason I often keep a copy of the .img file on a external HD too.

Hope this helps........and you'll have to decide what is best/reasonable for your case.


John B

Hi bit,

we have this issue often here... there's no clear answer:
* tapes claim to be very realiable, except magnetic fields nearby (CRT monitor, audio speaker, microwave etc)
* dvd claims to be reliable too, but no reallife experience more then a few years (some pros copy them every 5 years)
* harddrives are reliable too, as long you don't throw them around.... but expensive...

another thing is codecs and convenience:
*videoDVDs use a compressor called mpeg2; this a playback-only format, not meant for editing, complicated to re-converted (then loss of quality)...
* miniDV tapes have excellent codecs (dv) as iM or iDVD, but you need realtime to copy them (simply connect VHS>>analogue>>miniDV camcorder...
* harddrives offer instant access to any files, but $$$

I would backup for longterm storage on miniDV; store tapes vertical in a dry place; keep away from magnetic fields/put them in some metallic container

I've backed up all of my VHS-C tapes on Digital Tape in addition to DVD-Rs. I'm more concerned that the camera - playback machine may fail before the tape deteriorates (or the machine "eats" the tape.)

Regards,

Hi,

The suggestions you've already recceived are very good. I did the same thing you want to do with about 100 hours of "old" video.

I went out and bought an inexpensive deck (less than $250) that records directly from VHS to DVD...no storage issue with the computer and it doesn't take away any actual "production" time from the computer.

Mike

g4 quicksilver dual gig Mac OS X (10.3.9)

an inexpensive deck (less than $250) that records directly from VHS to DVD

This is defintely the best way to just archive the footage to DVD, but it will be hard to edit ...... as you'd need to covert it to use in iMovie/FCE/FCP, and you'd suffer compression losses.

I'd still import by "best footage" into DV files and store on DV tape

John

I own 50 years of home movie archives on film (8 mm and Super 8), on VHS and S-VHS, on 8mm, Hi-8 and DV tape. More worried about projectors and tape decks becoming unavailable than actual film or tape deterioration, I started converting all the valuable footage to digital data or QuickTime files. After many trials, I settled for the following method.

I project the film on an Optex transfer box and shoot it with a digital FireWire camera plugged into my computer, without using tape. The camera aperture control must be manual; I also adjust the aperture of the camera on the fly and capture the data in Final Cut Pro.

I use the best available tape deck or camcorder to play the tapes; I connect them to the computer through a Sony iLink Digital AV interface box.

Once the material is in FCP, roughly 13 Gig per hour of material, I do a rough cut, eliminating everything that's not worth keeping, for lack of quality or redundancy. I also make cuts where warranted between scenes.

Then I use FCP's Media manager to duplicate my project and save the valuable material to a new project. I rename the scenes, group them in batches of roughly 20 minutes and burn them to DVD-R's in DATA format.

Takes a lot of DVD's, but they come cheap, don't they. I also keep the originals in a safe place, just in case!

Jean-Paul

G5 Dual 2 G Mac OS X (10.4.5) G4 500 Powerbook

Hi John.

When I need or want to do any editing, I play the DVD on the player with my digital camcorder hooked from the player to the computer, acting as a pass-thru....importing directly into iMovie...I'm sure there is a compression loss but it's been indiscernible...

Due to the MANY, MANY, MANY hours of footage this has been the most effective way for me and my setup.

Mike

g4 quicksilver dual gig Mac OS X (10.3.9)