footage archive

[Andres Garcia]

We are thinking to buy a hvx200, but we are worried about the system to archive the footage after the postproduction proces. We produce corporate videos, thus we shut a lot. I was wondering if it would be an option, to shut with the hvx and then after the postproduction, to copy the rushes to minidv cassettes in a hdv vtr, in order to mantain al the footage in hd format. Is that logic?

[THoff]

It would still have spatial HD resolution, but the color sampling would go from 4:2:2 to 4:2:0, and the video itself would be far more compressed with inter-frame MPEG2 compression instead of intra-frame DVCProHD compression.

I would look at other alternatives, maybe Rev Pro drives.

[Jim Carswell]

I dedicate a FW hardrive (or 2) for each project as an archival tool. the drive then goes on a shelf in my office. In addition, I drop duplicate copies of the P2 cards onto DVDs. A dual layer DVD is perfect for an 8GB card. The DVDs go in my waterproof/fireproof safe. So far so good with both methods.
Jim

[DavidBeier]

DVD is currently the best method for archiving and the smartest. Trying to back up to mini-DV and or HDV is just gonna kill your footage. DVD will preserve everything with no degridation at all and it's damn cheap (I just got a pack at Walmart at 40 cent a single layer DVD). Dual layered will work fine for 8 gigers.

FS-100 stuff is going to be a bit harder to archive which is largely why I haven't messed with it.

[Andres Garcia]

For me that is expensive, because here the drives cost 50% more than in the United States. And since we produce corporate videos we shot an average of 4 hours per project.

[Andres Garcia]

But for our projects that would be a nightmare... we shut an average of 4 hours per project, thats would give you about 60 DVDs per project, the time to do and keep it in order, is very expensive.

[for_mlove]

Many people are looking at data tapes for archiving large quantities of footage. Check out Quantum or even a reseller like Dell.

[DavidBeier]

Well, first off what kind of corporate videos do you mean. Training videos and promotional stuff? If that's the case, consider that tapeless workflow is really going to mean that you'll have a lot less footage. Being able to delete bad shots and screw ups really makes things MUCH more economical. In several hours I find that I never even fill up my 20 minutes of record time from two 4 gigers.

Most people shoot 720p24pN for stuff since it saves space (10 minutes for a 4 gig card, 20 min for an 8 gig) and because you can do slow mo. At 720pN, two 8 gig cards will give you 40 minutes of recording time. Lets say that, because of the flexibility of tapeless workflow, instead of having four hours of footage you only end up with 3 hours and two minutes (which is very reasonible). 200 minutes with a dual layer is going to mean 10 8 gig cards which can be burned accross 10 dual layer DVDs. Honestly this really isn't that bad. I've done projects where I had 30 single layer DVDs and it never was an issue. It just gives you more organizational space since it's broken up into smaller groups. Yes, you'll spend more time burning but it's not a huge deal for some of us.

If you absolutly NEED longer record times then the FS-100 is a good option with 100 gigs of space. In that case, data tapes would probably be the best choice for archive.

[Andres Garcia]

Thank you very much for your advices... I will ask the last thing... nobody would consider to buy a hdv camera instead of the hvx to avoid this issue? Is the hvx so much better?http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/images/smilies/huh.gif

[Jim Carswell]

I believe you'll find most people here will say yes the HVX is better. Take into consideration 4:2:2 color space, 100mbps data rate, the versatility to shoot DV, DVCPRO50 and DVCPRO HD, 720 and 1080, variable frame rates and the durability of a camera with no moving parts I think you'll see where the HVX is superior. Of course if you go to a discussion board dedicated to HDV... people there will site the advantages of their camera. It all depends on what you want to accomplish and which camera best suits your needs.

I shoot a ton of material. I do long form documentaries so we're talking 15-20 hours of material per production. Sometimes more. For me making DVD and hard drive backups is just part of doing business. It's all factored into how much I charge my clients or funding agencies.

Good luck making your decision.
Jim

[Jarek Zabczynski]

I just ordered one of these and some extra drive trays.

http://www.cooldrives.com/esata-usb-enclosure-removable.html

Got a few 320gig seagates off Newegg for $95 each. Should last me a few projects at least. I'm keeping each new drive in its own tray...safer that way.