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Advise please: Old analogue camera footage. Best way to store. CD? USB?


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Old 10-06-2012, 20:07
alikhan
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I have footage from my old analogue and digital camera since 1997 and very concern that I am going to lose the footage unless I preserve it. I went to Currys and was hoping to buy a recordable DVD set so I could transfer all the footage to CD. I was told at the store that CDs are most likely going to be phased out in future and the best thing to do is to store the footage into USB hard drive. A lot of DVD recorders have USB connection and I am able to store the footage along with HD contents.

I am still not 100%. I really need advise on this please. Thanks in advance.
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Old 11-06-2012, 09:23
chrisjr
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You actually believed a sales muppet at an out of town shed! You would get a more accurate and meaningful response asking a two year old to explain quantum physics than get good advice from the likes of Currys or Comet.

In any case what have CDs got to do with recording video to a DVD disk? Unless of course the idiot you spoke to believes that because a CD and DVD look very similar they must be the same thing! Which wouldn't surprise me really.

There a several ways to archive your footage. You could for instance buy a video capture device for a PC and use that to transfer the material to the PC's hard drive. You can then use video editing software to compile a "movie" from the footage and add loads of bells and whistles like menus and flashy special effects and then burn the result to DVD (if you have a DVD burner in your PC).

Or if your technical skills are not up to that buy a DVD recorder and plug the camcorder into that and simply copy the material direct to DVD disk. If you buy a recorder with built in hard drive then some models have basic editing functions built in. Plus it allows you to burn several copies of the same footage, eg if there is some family event you want to share with those present.

Ignore the muppets at Currys and if you want a DVD recorder then go out and buy one. Just steer clear of the "own brand" cheep and not so cheerful end of the market.
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Old 11-06-2012, 10:05
bobcar
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If these are valuable family recordings (and it sounds as if they are) then bear in mind you need to make backups whatever choice you make.
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Old 11-06-2012, 10:34
c4rv
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As bobcar mentions, you should consider a DVD recorder as the first step in the archiving process. Good quality DVD stored in optimal conditions, I would consider having a lifespan of around 10 years so after 5 years or so you need to make a new copy if you plan on storing on DVD.

Once you have the films on DVD, you should be backing the DVD up to your hard drive plus an external hard drive and if you want, back up to second external hard drive that you store at a different location.
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Old 11-06-2012, 13:17
Kodaz
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As bobcar mentions, you should consider a DVD recorder as the first step in the archiving process. Good quality DVD stored in optimal conditions, I would consider having a lifespan of around 10 years so after 5 years or so you need to make a new copy if you plan on storing on DVD.

Once you have the films on DVD, you should be backing the DVD up to your hard drive plus an external hard drive and if you want, back up to second external hard drive that you store at a different location.
I'd go along with this. The advantage of digital is that you can have multiple copies of the same footage, including holding it on different types of media. (And I'd recommend both!) You can back up the DVD to another DVD, hard drive or flash storage.

I'd definitely recommend using a good-quality disc- Verbatims are generally considered to be one of the better brands out there. (*) And store them in good conditions (e.g. not a shed or attic exposed to extremes of temperature and damp).

As for flash-based storage, I'm not sure what the longevity of that is. I do know that some have claimed it won't last forever.

Remember that once you have the footage in digital form, that's the most important part- it's easy to copy it to another disc or type of media after that!

(*) Verbatim are one of the few companies that makes their own discs. You'd be shocked how many "big name" brands don't, and merely slap their own name on mediocre discs from bulk manufacturers. The once-great TDK even sold off the rights to use their name on recording media, so today's "TDK" discs are just some arbitrary rubbish from brand-exploiters Imation.
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Old 11-06-2012, 14:53
flagpole
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to me this question falls into two parts. how to digitize your footage and how to safely back up digital files.
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