OT:Long term storage:choice of video format

rendernow wrote on 9/26/2012, 5:37 AM

I acknowledge that it is very difficult to predict where things are going, but I would like to hear the forum's opinion on what format you would use for the purpose of long term storage of HD content, e.g. H264, MJPEG2000, etc.. I don't mean the physical format (DVD, Blu-Ray, harddisk). My original content is AVCHD.

I'm having a look at the Amazon Glacier system. There are pitfalls to this system and it is certainly not recommended for frequent download. I'm considering using this system as a a long term backup. I will have a 2nd backup off-line.

Looking forward to hearing what you people think.

Best regards

Rendernow

Comments

musicvid10 wrote on 9/26/2012, 8:53 AM

Save as an exact copy of your source, in your case AVCHD. It's not going anywhere.
If you have the space and the need, you can save a mathematically lossless copy as well (UT RGB and Lagarith RGB are good).

I don't recommend any form of JPEG compression. The transcode from h264 is lousy (and lossy).

larry-peter wrote on 9/26/2012, 9:26 AM

Our philosophy is that camera original footage is not secure until it's put on system hard drive, backup hard drive and BluRay data disc immediately after shooting. No compression other than zip is ever used. (We use Backup4All) Projects, intermediate files and renders are backed up to the same disk formats, incrementally, weekly during editing. If I had a DLT system I would be using it, and I may still go that way. With the death of tape, multiple backups are the only thing that allow me to sleep, and I still lie in bed wondering if I have enough.

rendernow wrote on 9/26/2012, 2:29 PM

Thank you very much for your input which I will take into consideration.

Best regards

rendernow