I've been using MSP7 for a number of years with my Sony TRV-70 mini-dv camera. I load the tapes onto my computer and edit the AVI files. Iv'e got plenty of disk space, a fast PC and have had great success with the editing.
I'm not into professional taping, but am looking to upgrade a bit. At first I looked at the mini-dv camcorders under $1000 but am now thinking of a hard disk camcorder that saves in mpeg2 format (Sony DCR-SR300, this is an SD camcorder not HD). There are a lot of pros to tapeless recording.
I do not want to edit the mpeg2 files due to all of my bad experiences in the past when trying to edit mpeg files.
So my question is, what's the drawback in immediately converting the raw mpeg2 files from the camera to AVI and then editing those files?
It'll actually be faster to do this than capturing from tape to AVI (one hour tape=one hour capture). I ran some tests with my own mpeg files by creating AVI files from them, quality does not seem to suffer.
I'd appreciate any input/suggestions.
Thanks,
Steve
Camera MPEG-2 to AVI
There are a lot of cons to tapeless recording as well as pros. The extra conversion from MPEG-2 (lossy) to AVI (which codec????) being one and the relative reliability of HDDs being another.
This is very much a personal opinion, but if that's your thing, so be it. I'm sticking with mini-DV with my neatly archived tapes.
This is very much a personal opinion, but if that's your thing, so be it. I'm sticking with mini-DV with my neatly archived tapes.
[b][i][color=red]Devil[/color][/i][/b]
[size=84]P4 Core 2 Duo 2.6 GHz/Elite NVidia NF650iSLIT-A/2 Gb dual channel FSB 1333 MHz/Gainward NVidia 7300/2 x 80 Gb, 1 x 300 Gb, 1 x 200 Gb/DVCAM DRV-1000P drive/ Pan NV-DX1&-DX100/MSP8/WS2/PI11/C3D etc.[/size]
[size=84]P4 Core 2 Duo 2.6 GHz/Elite NVidia NF650iSLIT-A/2 Gb dual channel FSB 1333 MHz/Gainward NVidia 7300/2 x 80 Gb, 1 x 300 Gb, 1 x 200 Gb/DVCAM DRV-1000P drive/ Pan NV-DX1&-DX100/MSP8/WS2/PI11/C3D etc.[/size]
Yes tapeless is a fine thing when it works. I record directly to a nNovia hard drive and can record over 8 hours of DV and can record to DV tape simultaneously. Hard drive for editing straight away, and miniDV tapes neatly stacked (like Devil!) for archive.
I assume when you say AVI you mean the DV codec (same as recorded by a miniDV camera). I think this is a great idea. However, I would experiment with different encoding programs and find one that gave the best results, not necessarily the fastest.
The other great thing about doing this is you only have to convert the clips you choose to use in your project, saving you time.
In theory you might notice some quality loss, or introduced artifacts from the conversion process, but should be fine for non professional use.
I assume when you say AVI you mean the DV codec (same as recorded by a miniDV camera). I think this is a great idea. However, I would experiment with different encoding programs and find one that gave the best results, not necessarily the fastest.
The other great thing about doing this is you only have to convert the clips you choose to use in your project, saving you time.
In theory you might notice some quality loss, or introduced artifacts from the conversion process, but should be fine for non professional use.
Troppo, thank you for the response.
I assume that I'd use the DV codec and MSP7 to convert the mpeg.
I film Medieval Renaissance festivals and create a full two hour DVD of the show for the actors. Just me and my one camera taking about 25 hours of footage of the show on different days and splicing it all together.
I'm lazy with regard to the actual labels on the tapes but I number them instead and then track the information via an Excel spreadsheet. Easy to search for keywords to find the tape that I'm interested in. I also track my backups that I store on DVD via the spreadsheet.
I figure that I'd backup the mpeg files from the camera straight to DVD for long term storage, convert the ones I need to AVI for editing and get rid of the AVI files when the project is complete. I am aware that tapes last longer that DVD backups, and it is a concern.
Now my only other concern about tapeless recording is the expression "when it works". I see that both in your post and the previous one. Is the issue with losing the camera mpegs spontaneously, or something else that happens 'from time to time' with hard disk cameras?
Thanks,
Steve
I assume that I'd use the DV codec and MSP7 to convert the mpeg.
I film Medieval Renaissance festivals and create a full two hour DVD of the show for the actors. Just me and my one camera taking about 25 hours of footage of the show on different days and splicing it all together.
I'm lazy with regard to the actual labels on the tapes but I number them instead and then track the information via an Excel spreadsheet. Easy to search for keywords to find the tape that I'm interested in. I also track my backups that I store on DVD via the spreadsheet.
I figure that I'd backup the mpeg files from the camera straight to DVD for long term storage, convert the ones I need to AVI for editing and get rid of the AVI files when the project is complete. I am aware that tapes last longer that DVD backups, and it is a concern.
Now my only other concern about tapeless recording is the expression "when it works". I see that both in your post and the previous one. Is the issue with losing the camera mpegs spontaneously, or something else that happens 'from time to time' with hard disk cameras?
Thanks,
Steve
Haha, no, I wouldn't worry. My 'when it works' disclaimer refers mainly to workflow and file format issues. For instance, the one time I decided to record to hard drive and not worry about the tape backup, was also the one and only time I got weird glitches in the file. Murphy's law I guess.
My business does alot of conversions of all formats to DVD, and I've found some of the hard drive based cameras can have propriety file formats, requiring the use of specific software (comes with the camera) to convert. Some of the newer formats (AVCHD) aren't supported by video editors. For example a client came in with a AVCHD file he wanted to get onto DVD and although I was sure Final Cut Pro could read it, it didn't. It was then I found out there are more than one type of AVCHD and FCP wont read the type designed for SD card recording (!)
Luckily Nero came to my rescue, and was able to convert it to DVD compliant MPG.
Backup is another area of difficulty when moving to solid state recording. Like I mentioned I keep backups on tape, but I also store my clips on mirrored hard drive arrays. I liked the new Sony EX1 camera until I worked out there was no way I could archive footage reliably without spending ALOT of money for optical disc (not DVD) recording thingys. Plus I didn't feel like handing over a $700 SxS card to the newsroom with 3 minutes of interview on it, not to mention the fact they wouldn't know what to do with it.
It sounds like you have already thought it through anyway, but I share your concern with DVD reliability. Just recently I popped in a 2 year old DVD to retrieve some archived files and ... nothing. just gone.
I would recommend getting a few external RAID enclosures and popping in a few 500 or 750 Gb drives. Make sure they are mirrored and that should keep everything pretty secure.
But all in all, tapeless recording has saved me alot of time already. I'm looking very hard at the new Sony HVR-Z7 which comes standard with a flash card recorder (72 minutes on a 16Gb card) as well as miniDV tape.
Go for it, you wont regret it.
My business does alot of conversions of all formats to DVD, and I've found some of the hard drive based cameras can have propriety file formats, requiring the use of specific software (comes with the camera) to convert. Some of the newer formats (AVCHD) aren't supported by video editors. For example a client came in with a AVCHD file he wanted to get onto DVD and although I was sure Final Cut Pro could read it, it didn't. It was then I found out there are more than one type of AVCHD and FCP wont read the type designed for SD card recording (!)
Luckily Nero came to my rescue, and was able to convert it to DVD compliant MPG.
Backup is another area of difficulty when moving to solid state recording. Like I mentioned I keep backups on tape, but I also store my clips on mirrored hard drive arrays. I liked the new Sony EX1 camera until I worked out there was no way I could archive footage reliably without spending ALOT of money for optical disc (not DVD) recording thingys. Plus I didn't feel like handing over a $700 SxS card to the newsroom with 3 minutes of interview on it, not to mention the fact they wouldn't know what to do with it.
It sounds like you have already thought it through anyway, but I share your concern with DVD reliability. Just recently I popped in a 2 year old DVD to retrieve some archived files and ... nothing. just gone.
I would recommend getting a few external RAID enclosures and popping in a few 500 or 750 Gb drives. Make sure they are mirrored and that should keep everything pretty secure.
But all in all, tapeless recording has saved me alot of time already. I'm looking very hard at the new Sony HVR-Z7 which comes standard with a flash card recorder (72 minutes on a 16Gb card) as well as miniDV tape.
Go for it, you wont regret it.