Editing in QuickTime 7 Pro

Is there anything else I should consider - eg will DV be higher quality than AIC/.mov? Is there any reason why you wouldn't recommend AIC/.mov?

(For info, my needs are quite simple - just editing old TV programmes previously on VHS/Beta) but I want a reasonable balance between quality and file size).

As always, the ultimate choice is just a matter of personal preference. I tend to prefer AIC/AIFF(Linear PCM) since it is not a "standards" based format like DV. That is, DV is based on older analog broadcast standards which always encode NTSC content to a 720x480 matrix whether the source is VGA (640x480) or widescreen (853x480) content which sometimes confuses novice users. In addition, if your source files are not 4:3 or 16:9, then you have to letterbox or pillar the content to preserve the original aspect ratio within the 16:9 or 4:3 display area with DV but AIC can be used in either anamorphic (compressor native) or non-anamorphic modes. Both provide essentially the same level of quality but, as previously noted, the AIC codec tends to be more efficient and can save a significant amount of file space on large projects and when archiving the data for possible later reuse. While others may have different opinions or reasons for selecting one codec over the other, these are mine.

FOLLOW-UP:

BTW, how are you digitizing the VHS and Beta tapes? For you, this may be a major consideration. There are many methods of doing this—FireWire or USB DV device capture, via USB MPEG-2 devices, HDMI to component, component to AVCHD/BD, etc. Of course, if the digitizing proicess captures content in a DV stream format, then there is no need for further conversions as DV files are supported by all QT-based apps and can be directly edited and exported to a target compression format suitable for computer, mobile device, internet, or other targeted use. The AIC conversion is only required if the digital source files are not already in a QT edit compatible compression format—e.g., importing "muxed" MPEG-2/AC3, HDV, or AVCHD files from directly from a camcorder, optical disc, or memory card rather than using iMovie to convert them directly to an edit compatible format. The rule of thumb here is to "never convert content if it is not necessary." The corollary to this rule being to "always convert the edited project to an export file best suited for distribution and/or use and archive the edited project in its current compression format if needed for further use and you don't plan to "keep" the original sourece files."

For concistency, I'll probably convert them to .mov files via AIC in MPEG Streamclip.

Sounds like a plan. File container type (as long as it is QT compatible) is not as important as the compression format of data inside the container (which MUST be in a QT frame level, edit compatible format). AIC video with nearly any QT compatible audio format format in an MOV file container should meet this criteria.

Enjoy!