A General Question re DVD Life

PeterK2 · Post by **PeterK2** » Fri May 13, 2005 3:24 am

When I first started looking at video editing I was told not to use home burned DVD's for long term archival storage as they only last 3-5 years before the dyes fade/run/whatever.

Consequently when I have finished a project I record it back to tape on the camcorder in AVI format for long term storage. I also then burn the DVD for ease of playback.

I haven't seen any reference to anyone else here doing this. Am I wasting my time with the record to tape step?

Peter

BrianCee · Post by **BrianCee** » Fri May 13, 2005 10:41 am

I do the same as you Peter and if you read through all the posts in this forum you'll find several other members also archive to tape. It is not only in case of natural detioration of the DVD but also physical damage like scratching and jam covered fingers that can give you problems re-playing a DVD. I certainly do not think your wasting your time.

jbcoop · Post by **jbcoop** » Fri May 13, 2005 11:50 am

Why archive to tape? Why not just make several copies and spread their location (family members work best). On a regular basis, say every year, makes copies of these disks. Store those in the same way. It won't matter if the DVDs deteriorate over 3-5 years as you have several younger versions, and are covered for the odd lost/damaged disk.

BrianCee · Post by **BrianCee** » Fri May 13, 2005 12:14 pm

because it also gives you the option at a later date to re-capture from the tape at full DV quality if you want to re-edit (rather than from a compressed DVD ) besides I would rather store one little tape from which I can make brand new DVDs (and VHS tapes) whenever I want and not rely on friends and relatives keeping their copies in good condition.

erock1 · Post by **erock1** » Fri May 13, 2005 1:56 pm

That's interesting because I got into video editing and burning DVDs some 8 or so years ago because I started to notice deterioration in my VHS and camcorder DV tapes. Do you keep saving back to tape every few years?

GeorgeW · Post by **GeorgeW** » Fri May 13, 2005 2:11 pm

burning dvd's about 8 years ago? yikes, weren't dvd burners VERY expensive 8 years ago (I mean thousands of dollars)?

heinz-oz · Post by **heinz-oz** » Fri May 13, 2005 2:24 pm

The fact of the matter is that DVD disks, provided they are not stored in unsuitable conditions, like UV exposure, heat, moisture etc. will outlast any tape many times over. If you look after them, they should outlast you, regardless of your current age.

Backing up to DV tape is not a bad idea either, but for different reasons. If you keep the project files with it and get the program to package the files, you should be able to reload the tape into your PC and output again to a fresh tape in AVI while at the same time burning a new DVD. Chances are that we will have completely different technology in 5 or 10 years from now also. Having an uncompressed source of your DVD archived should help you to convert the footage to newer technology when it comes around. Trying to do that from highly compressed DVD (mpg2) files will not be good enough. If you copy a VHS tape to DVD, you do not get DVD quality either, do you.

erock1 · Post by **erock1** » Fri May 13, 2005 2:30 pm

GeorgeW wrote:burning dvd's about 8 years ago? yikes, weren't dvd burners VERY expensive 8 years ago (I mean thousands of dollars)?

At first they were but prices came down quickly. The media stayed expensive. I purchased Sony's first dual format burner, the internal DRU500A. I paid about $450 from CC back then and it was a great deal. Great for the time. These days you can pickup a dual format, dual layer burner for $80! The biggest challange was finding compatible inexpensive media that would burn consistently and also play on your set top DVD player. Oh, the good old days were a barrel of fun

erock1 · Post by **erock1** » Fri May 13, 2005 2:44 pm

heinz-oz wrote: Backing up to DV tape is not a bad idea either, but for different reasons. If you keep the project files with it and get the program to package the files, you should be able to reload the tape into your PC and output again to a fresh tape in AVI while at the same time burning a new DVD.

I never thought of backing up the VS project info and files to tape. It's so funny because I guess it would be the same as the tape backup of PC or server data. Have you tried this? Are you able to sucessfully transfer the VSP files back to your HD and have VS re-construct the project?
TIA,
Erock

GeorgeW · Post by **GeorgeW** » Fri May 13, 2005 2:46 pm

but 8 years ago???

My first DVD Burner was the Pioneer A03 -- about $500 4-5 years ago -- and the technology has been getting better while prices have dropped big time (I see Officemax has a 16x dual layer for $30 -- no rebates).

BrianCee · Post by **BrianCee** » Fri May 13, 2005 2:54 pm

erock1 wrote:That's interesting because I got into video editing and burning DVDs some 8 or so years ago because I started to notice deterioration in my VHS and camcorder DV tapes. Do you keep saving back to tape every few years?

No because the tapes are very seldom played - some possibly never - but they are all carefully stored in a dry cupboard and on the odd occaisions when I have viewed them I see no deterioration at all - not even from my early VHS-C tapes, I think it's playing them causes the problems, I always think the thing about DVDs is that they are for playing - that = possible problems.

erock1 · Post by **erock1** » Fri May 13, 2005 3:03 pm

GeorgeW wrote:but 8 years ago???

My first DVD Burner was the Pioneer A03 -- about $500 4-5 years ago -- and the technology has been getting better while prices have dropped big time (I see Officemax has a 16x dual layer for $30 -- no rebates).

GeorgeW, I don't have the dated sales receipt in front of me

I'm judging the timeline by how old my daughter is. Give or take a few years on either side. Either way, what you ahnd I paid for our burners was a whole lot of money compared to today's prices and technology. BTW, I still use my DRU-500A even though it's max burn speed is 4X.

maddrummer3301 · Post by **maddrummer3301** » Fri May 13, 2005 4:04 pm

Hi,

I do both methods.

Saving back to the tape for me is important.
Reason:
To convert the dv.avi high quality material to HDTV spec's will be
simple. We have dvd recorders now and will have HD recorders
in the future. The future is HDTV and larger storage medium.

Convert an archived dvd written at 6Mbps and converting that to
18Mbps. Poor video qualtiy compared to dv.avi conversion.

DV Tapes will lose their magnetism after years that results in data errors.
(Chunky blocks in the picture).

I prefer to archive DV back to tape.
Manufacturer of the tape and storage method is most important.

MD

MikeGunter · Post by **MikeGunter** » Fri May 13, 2005 4:07 pm

Hi,

Stability Comparison of Recordable Optical Discs

Data Longevity on CD, DVD Media: How Long Will They Last?

Mike

erock1 · Post by **erock1** » Fri May 13, 2005 4:12 pm

maddrummer3301 wrote:Hi,

Saving back to the tape for me is important.
Reason:
To convert the dv.avi high quality material to HDTV spec's will be
simple. We have dvd recorders now and will have HD recorders
in the future. The future is HDTV and larger storage medium.
MD

Thanks maddrummer. Question on the HD conversion. Wouldn't you need an HD camcorder to start with to get true HD. Right now camcorders record DV at what, 550 lines of resolution. I thought you would need a camera that could film at 720p or 1080i for HD? How could the burner upscale?