The professional archival standard right now is Digital Beta SP. This is
what LOC and NARA use. D-beta is very stable over long periods of time
and can be cloned with no appreciable generational loss. D-Beta captures
a LOT more information, but in ways that may not be noticeable to the
average viewer especially considering the source is 3/4". Were the
source film and quality a much bigger issue I would recommend D-Beta,
however in your case I would not recommend film as an archival medium.

An alternative is to transfer to DVCAM (this is a professional version
of the Mini-DV style tapes). They have proven fairly stable so far but
are smaller, thinner and less robust than D-Beta and would not reward
repeated tape handling. But they preserve a remarkable amount of the
original video/audio fidelity. The advantage to DVCAM is that with a
small investment in a deck (versus pricey D-Beta), the tapes are easily
digitized through firewire into a Mac Quicktime/Final Cut Pro/DVD Studio
Pro environment. Currently Quicktime is the most common and flexible
standard for editing/web/compression/viewing options. The natural
compression that occurs with a DV tape, which is then captured through
firewire, preserves much of the original quality and makes the footage
very user friendly. 

Firewire drives are NOT a stable storage medium even in the short term.
DVDs as data storage for Quicktime files are probably ok for a while and
would make a nice addition to the storage chain mentioned above, but may
have compatibility issues in the long run. DVD as a viewing/encoding
format will most likely be obsolete before too long. 

So a fairly safe approach would be to transfer to DVCAM (and then store
as protection masters), digitize the media as Quicktime files, and then
store these files on DVDs (as data storage, not encoded for dvd
playback).

Happy archiving.

John Sorensen, Producer
New River Media
4455 Connecticutt Ave., NW
Suite C-100
Washington, DC  20008
202-530-2550
202-530-8858 FAX
[log in to unmask]



Date:    Mon, 31 Jan 2005 03:15:07 EST
From:    David Lewias <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Video Storage

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We've been offered about 20 hours of profesional video shot in the early

1980s. The videographer would like to "copy" the tapes -- (and he is
willing to 
give us a letter/agreement allowing us to us it in any way we see fit).
My 
question, is it best to copy the videos -- professional grade 3/4" tapes
-- into 
another "tape" or (of the same or lesser quality) or onto a DVD?   Has
anyone 
experimented with storing/archiving digital files on a removable
hard-drive 
(like a fire-wire drive). 

I know neither tapes, nor DVDs, nor hard drives are particularly
"archival" 
-- and   I know if we go with a DVD or hard disk we will have to migrate
the 
digital files every few years to keep up with technology.   I'm worried
about 
the loss of quality if we simply go from tape-to-tape and because we
don't have 
the means to pay 3/4" tapes we'd probably look at copying them onto an 
inferior high 8mm or VHS tape.   A digital file also has the advantage
of being 
easier to view, edit, and use. (I am fairly techno-savvy -- we produce
several 
short videos each year in house using Final Cut and a Mac).   

Are removable/portable hard drives more stable (durable) than CDs/DVDs?
Any 
professional standards I should be looking at using when we digitize
this 
video?   Is "mpg" the industry standard format?   Any general guidelines
for how 
much file space a minute of video takes up?

Any advice anyone has to offer would be appreciated.

- David -
David Lewis, Curator (and chief ticket-taker/popcorn poper)
Aurora Regional Fire Museum
www.AuroraRegionalFireMuseum.org

************

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