Video File Creation Necessary?

[StevieB]

My immediate need is converting 10-18 year old analog videotape to my hard drive and then immediately burning to DVD . . . creating the file seems like just another step that slows down an already arduous process . . . I have skipped the video file creation step and it looks fine but I am unwittingly creating a probelm for myself down the line,, pls tell me . . . am I sacrificing quality or future editing possibilities?

[jwarner]

• - Capturing analog video is very time consuming since it happens in real time.
  
  - Old video tapes can suffer from deterioration so each play could be their last.
  
  - DVD's (and especially burned DVD's) are prone to failure due to scratches, deterioration etc.
  
  - Hard drives are cheap these days.

So, if these tapes are something you want to preserve, I would highly recommend capturing the tapes to MPEG2 format using a hardware MPEG encoder and then saving the captured files to a USB or Firewire-attached external hard drive. Since this drive only spins while being used, it is a relatively safe and affordable archive tool.

Once you have them archived, you can edit and burn them to DVD's as often as you like...

[StevieB]

John - thanks. The challenge is that I have an enormous collection. Over a 15 year period, I captured most family vacations, Thankgivings and other holidays. Have 9 bros and sis and 4 kids and between 200-300 hours of tape . . . I would need a lot of hard drives . . . that's why I am burning to DVD and preserving.

I do plan to edit it all down to a watch-able collection someday . . . by the way, I am amazed that my videotape from 1987 is still as crisp as the day I shot it . . .

[jwarner]

At 4500 kbps variable capture rate, 1 hour of video uses about 2gb in MPEG2. The quality at that rate is as good as the analog source material.

That means you can store about 100 hours of video on a 200gb hard drive. Two of these drives or a single 400 gb drive would hold 200 hours of video (which, btw will take you 200 hours (or five 40-hour weeks) to capture).

Only you can decide what your time is worth and how much confidence you have in DVD's as an archive storage medium...

[StevieB]

John:

. . . at 8000 variable rate (which is what is what I have been doing) how might those numbes change?

Helpful feedback. You make a persuasive argument for storage on a drive. . .
Thanks, Steve

[kebrinton]

You do not improve quality with 8000 because the original is not at that quality. The suggestion to burn at a lower rate was appropriate because it (1) matches the quality of the original analog recording, and (2) gives you far more video storage potential per GB of harddrive space.

[kebrinton]

That said, I prefer DVD because it is so easy to view, store, keep separate, find exactly what I want, etc.

[DVDDoug]

StevieB,

I'm not sure what you're skipping... If you're just skipping the creation of the DVD files (AUDIO_TS & VIDEO_TS filders) on the hard drive, there is no harm in that. Your DVD has the normal AUDIO_TS & VIDEO_TS files... not just one big MPEG file... right?

- DVD's (and especially burned DVD's) are prone to failure due to scratches, deterioration etc.

- Hard drives are cheap these days.

I have a habit of making an extra archive/back-up copy every time I burn a CD or DVD. I also have several CDs full of archived packaging & label artwork. When I'm done with a project, I'll erase the audio/video files from my hard drive.

[StevieB]

Kebrinton - - thanks for the confirmation (of John's point) on capture rate speed for analog source footage . . . so is the optimal rate 4500?

DVDDoug -- yes, I have the normal MPEG files . . . and thanks for the tips on archiving . . . still have a steep learning curve with all this stuff

[jwarner]

In my experience 4500 kbps variable is the optimal setting for analog source material that you are capturing to MPEG2 format. 8000 kbps would almost double the storage needed with no appreciable difference in quality.

I'm not sure what kebrinton means by:

I prefer DVD because it is so easy to view, store, keep separate, find exactly what I want, etc.

All my MPEG's are on a single external hard drive each in it's own folder. I can view, find exactly what I want, edit etc. without handling or storing any media (eg DVD's). When I want to create a new DVD, all my source videos are readily available to me (and UVS8).

I do create DVD's but they are my edited (output) videos with Chapter's, Titles, Sound Tracks, Transitions etc. Often they are created from several source MPEG's from my archive HD. UVS8 then creates new files for burning leaving my original archived files untouched.