How do you backup your HMC files ?

J

jeremy_az

New member
Hi, i'm a newbie and own an HMC. I will receive an i7 imac with Final cut studio 3 in the next days.

I would like to know what is the best way to backup the important files from the HMC. DVD ? if so which type ? External hard drive ?
What is the best way you guys are using for backup ? Thanks
 
Most files are over the size limit for a dvd. Either use an external hard drive or get a dock for drives that connect via usb 2.0 and uses internal drives. They're usually cheaper than externals. I don't back up the original file, just the quicktime created when I log and transfer. That way if I need the file again I don't have to spend the time transferring again.
 
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It will cost more but it is always a good idea to backup to a smaller external drive. If it breaks or is lost you won't lose as much since you have projects on separate drives.
 
I use a Drobo Device that is partitioned into 2 sections. One that houses all the raw AVCHD footage and the other section houses my project files.

Drobo device I have holds 8 x 1.5 TB drives.
 
I put the original Private folder on one drive, and then log and transfer using that same drive. Then, I put the private folder on another, separate drive and also burn to DVD for archival. I use Toast to "span" the discs on my mac for files that are larger than 4.7 gb.
 
I am backing up files on a spare external hard drive as well as the large spare internal drive on my PC. However, I will feel more comfortable backing up important material to DVD as well - just in case!

To do this can you just copy the complete private folder from the SD-card keeping only the equivalent of one disc worth of shots before burning, then copy the private folder onto the next disc with the next batch of shots listed?

Would this cause any problems if I ever have to retrieve the material?

Regards

Paul
 
As DVD is (slowly) replaced by Blu-ray, it seems like a viable alternative to HDD storage. A Blu-ray disc can hold up to 50gigs. There has been some debate about long term viability, but could it be less reliable than the moving parts of a drive? I think if you buy the discs carefully, it can be pretty economical.

Also, with a Blu-ray burner, you can actually output your projects to HD, so the burner is dual use. We are migrating to HD output right?

I am leaning towards this as a longer term solution as the quantity of my digital assets increase. I wish there was better info regarding disc quality. In another recent discussion of disc media on DVXuser, there was a lot of chafe about poor quality discs, but when it came down to pressing for specific info, it was mostly old info, anecdotal, or not specific to Blu-ray.

Grant
 
i back-up the private folders to 2 different drives, i also burn the folders to a DVD+DL... is great because i shoot with 8GB Sandisk Extreme III's cards and am able to burn the content from each card to a Dual Layer DVD.
You can also log and transfer in final cut pro right from the DVD =)
 
Two mirrored drives for raw footage. Mirror them using Carbon Copy Cloner (free) for OS X.

Once footage is pulled from one of the drives they don't get touched, and are treated as archives. One is kept in a different geographical location in case of fire, theft, etc.
 
I too backup to Dual Layer DVD in addition to external HDD. Going to Blu-ray asap.
But my main reason for two backups is to get one of them off site - DVDs go to the safe deposit box since recreating footage would necessarily take the other stuff (cash) out of that box. Knew a guy that lost his accounting business to fire with the backup discs in a file cabinet - toasted!
 
If you are backing up to a standard DL DVD aren't you losing your raw file resolution because you are compressing the footage to an Mpeg file before burning?
 
Not if you are shooting 8 gig cards and copying things over in the private folder as data vs burning an actual DVD.
 
pronghornproductions said:
If you are backing up to a standard DL DVD aren't you losing your raw file resolution because you are compressing the footage to an Mpeg file before burning?
Click to expand...

Nope, you're using the disc for DATA not video, is NOT playable on a dvd player... is like putting pictures in a cd.

You can put the files in any disc but i chose to use DVD+DL for size
 
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