Archiving "raw" movies

This is probably a fairly basic question, but I am wondering what is the best way to archive movies on DVD so that if I lose my hard drive I can still edit the movies.
From DV (Standard Def) would it be to load the movie into iMovie and then write the project (or events) to DVD? I know how to save it to a iDVD project and write it to DVD there, but thought at that point I could not edit the content if I needed to.
How about with a high-def AVCHD? Should I just copy the file directly to DVD in order to save space, because once I bring it into iMovie I understood it is usually way too big to put on DVD.
Thanks!
Michael

Greetings Michael.
If you want to save raw footage to DVD, check out a post I made some time ago:
http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=5098991#5098991
Most people say to save your raw footage on mini-DV. The drawback to this method is re-importing it via camcorder if you want to edit. Playback also stinks because of the linear nature (fast forward / rewind) nature of tape. I have all my raw footage backed up on DVD so if I want to quickly grab a 1 minute clip I can do so. The key is to import via iMovie 6 and have it split the files into 3 minute or less chunks. You can then break the files up to fit on DVD.
Longer term Blu Ray will greater solve the huge file size problem of DV and Hi-Def. But if you're like me I don't just hit record on the camcorder and tape a whole event....I try to limit my takes to a minute or so. It makes for much more interesting home movies.

Similar Messages

Best format/process to archive raw minidv tapes..

I'm trying to find the best way to archive raw minidv footage to external hard drive. I'm selling the video camera and will no longer have a way to play the tapes, so i'd like to preserve the raw footage so I can later edit it or output in some other way. I'm well aware of the size of raw footage, I'm just not sure of the process of getting raw video off the camera and onto the hard drive.
I've almost exclusively used the camera for viewing and playback of tapes and am just now getting into imovie (getting a new tapeless video camera, so i need to learn the way).
thanks for the help

Hi
There are no good economically reasonable way to do that.
• One tape needs 13-14Gb space to be stored.
• Even if possibly - external hard disks are fragile - tapes 1000 times (or more) less so
A drop -> dead
They get mechanically old - and stops to spinn especially if not used from time to time
To keep movie material up to date on hard disk storage - means a maintenance scheme and DISIPLINE.
If this is a must then the Hard Disk HAS TO BE - *Mac OS EXtended formatted*.
UNIX/DOS/FAT32/Mac OS Exchange has a 4Gb limit resulting in corrupted movie files.
AND miniDV tapes are interlaced material - not optimal for iM'08 & 09 - they discard every second line.
So if You want to store 100% on hard disk - *USE iMovie HD 6* (or prior) or FinalCut
to do Your safety QuickTime (full quality) .mov files.
My strategy is
• Tapes are easy to store and get a cheap miniDV Camera to use as Playback/Capture tool. (about 300 up till today)
Yours Bengt W

When I select files to archive, they move from my file folder, but then I go to the archive folder and it says Empty? Where are those files?

When I select files to archive, they move from my file folder, but then I go to the archive folder and it says Empty? Where are those files?

Your account names are probably different on the two Macs. If you know the UNIX command line, open a terminal window and run:
$ id
You should see a line that starts with something like this:
uid=501(your_user_id_here)
now check the owner of the folder you copied over:
$ ls -ld Music
drwx------+ 8 some_user_id_here staff 272 May 14 16:08 Music
Do the IDs match? If not, you could change the ownership. Say your id is "johnsmith"
$ chown -R johnsmith Music
Now try and access it with iTunes.

Best way to archive HD movie (Raw, events, projects, etc.)

Hi everybody,
I've been using iMovie for the last 12 months, to make small family movies (shared on internet and via DVDs).
I am having more and more footage and the question comes about the archiving of all this.
What's the best way to keep all important files ? (keeping the quality, and saving space if possible)
How do you proceed ?
I have the different ideas, found on internet, but not sure what is the best.
I can directly make disk image from the camera memory cards. If at later stage I need to import again, I can do it from that mounted image. And this is keeping the original quality. (I think.. right?)
After finishing a project, do you still keep the imported files ? (the events, I think it's called).
And, do you also keep the final version of the project, accessible in iMovie ?
I usually send the movie on internet, and burn on DVDs. Is there a need to keep this project, in my archives ?
I am very curious to learn how the advanced users, with tones of footage, are doing to archive their precious movies.
Thanks a lot for your help and information.
Thierry.

Hi Thierry,
I am using AVCHD, on MSDuo. Until now, I was doing disk image, from the Apple disk utility. I saw the back up feature in iMovie, but never tried it.
Is it doing the same ? You prefer to use the integrated back up from iMovie ?
Yes, the built-in archive feature in iMovie works much the same as the disk image method you have been using. iMovie can't use the .MTS files on their own, so the archive replicates the camera contents, including the full directory structure. Full quality is preserved, just as recorded by the camera. The only downside is that each time an archive is performed, iMovie archives the full camera contents, irrespective of the fact that some content may have been archived previously. In other words, you can't selectively archive individual clips - it's all or nothing. So, if you do an archive then record further footage without deleting the previous content from the camera (or card), the full content (including the earlier clips) is archived when next performed.
To get around this limitation, I use RevolverHD from Shedworx - found here: http://www.shedworx.com/revolverhdmac (this allows selective archiving from the camera, but there are issues with retaining the timecode when importing from the archive to an Event).
John, you are using external drive for the Events and Projects, meaning that you are working directly from external drive? (or you were refering to the storage, after you are done on the mac?)
I'm working directly from the external FireWire 800 drive for the Events. My Projects are all on the MacBook Pro's internal drive. My understanding is that iMovie works more efficiently with this set-up. My archives are also on the same external drive as the Events - this is probably not a good idea, but I do back-up the drive frequently, and also copy the archives to a portable drive as added security.
Note that my exported Projects are stored by default in the Projects package contents folder on the internal drive (I use Share>Media Browser). But I also copy these exports to a separate portable drive which I connect to a Western Digital Media Player for playing through my widescreen LCD TV. I also produce DVDs from the exported files (but only as required).
And what about the final versions of your movies ? (the one in the media browser, or on the DVD that you burnt) Are you also archiving the final products ? (it's not too heavy to keep all ?)
As I mentioned above, by default iMovie places the shared movies (via Share>Media Browser) in the Project folder (on my internal drive). To access the shared movie, go to your User/Movies/iMovie Projects folder and right-click (or Control-click) on the Project name. From the pop-up menu select "Show Package Contents". Click on the Movies folder and you will see the shared movie, labelled (for example) as 720p.mov or medium.m4v and so forth. The main reason for copying this shared move to a portable drive is to view it through my Media Player. I just unplug the drive from my Mac and plug into the Media Player. I don't need it as a back-up as I'm running Time Machine - this backs up my internal drive, so all my original Projects and exports are covered by Time Machine.
Hope all this makes sense Thierry. I'm probably keeping too much, but have plenty of storage capacity so prefer not to get rid of anything at present. Things may change as storage runs down, of course! I may need to do some housekeeping then.
John

Archiving raw images to DVD

Hi,
I'm new to Lightroom, unable to find answers to my question, perhaps I still not very similar to the concept of Lightroom.
I have been using Nikon CaptureNX to do processing of the raw files, photoshop to do detail touch up for each assignment, I create a folder which contain NEF, tiff and jpg in their respective folders, I burn DVDs to archive them and delete them from my HD after the assignment completed.
Like to know how do I archive each assignment like the way I used to do? Should I export a catalog of the NEF to folder and burn the folder into DVD? or using export to CD/DVD function with file format as original? or save a set XMP files with the NEF files and burn the entire folder.
Please enlighten me.
Thank you.

Let’s forget about the longevity issue of DVD disk storage and look at the cost and practicality of using DVDs for backup of photo libraries and other precious files on your computer or laptop:
Cost for 'Archival Quality' DVD = $1 (may be less, may be more!)
To backup 1,000 GB (1 TB) of files you will need 213 DVDs at a cost of $213 – EACH TIME YOU DO A BACKUP, since no practical incremental backup methodology will work using multiple DVD disks.
Now look at my proposal using a portable USB hard drive and Dmailer WD Sync (or similar File synchronization software):
Hard Drive Capacity 1,000 GB (1 TB) readily available in small almost pocketable size!
Cost for 1 TB hard drive less than $125
Using Dmailer WD Synch you can very quickly perform an incremental backup that will 'update' the contents on your portable USB hard drive, with modified file update, new files added, and deleted files removed. NO OTHER FILES NEED TO BE TRANSFERRED TO THE DEVICE, saving money, storage capacity and time!
Of course if you can backup your entire document, email music, photo and video collections using one or two DVD disks, then by all means burn away:
4.7GB / 25MB RAW file = 188 image files per DVD disk!
As for saving to the cloud, do you really know how reliable the storage system is, do you trust them not to use your files for other purposes (yes you can use encryption), and what happens if THEY have an earthquake fire, flood etc. – WHAT IS THEIR BACKUP PROCEDURE? However, I do think it is a good idea for everyone to backup their files to at least two (2) different storage media devices, allowing location of one away from the computer (i.e. fire, flood, theft, and earthquake). That is what makes the WD My Passport drive and any other similar "small drive" so useful!
Speaking as a system design engineer and semi-professional photographer with over 40 years experience, I will not be using either of these backup methods for any of my files! As far as file sharing is concerned, very small USB thumb drives are available in 16 GB capacity for less than $25, and soon up to 64GB.....and they are 'rewriteable!' Just be sure not to lose it if you have information that needs to be kept secure. Again another advantage of Dmailer WD Sync software – It encrypts all your files on the USB hard drive (or thumb drive!) and requires a password to read, transfer, or add files!

Best way to archive RAW Images and keep JPG?

Hello everyone,
I have what I believe to be a fairly simple question. My iPhoto library, comprised mainly of RAW images, is taking up a majority of my MacBook's 500GB storage capacity, and I want to fix this. I want to keep all the photos in my library accessible on my mac, but they do not necessarily need to be in RAW format.
My thought:
1) Archive my entire iPhoto library in original format (RAW) to an external hard drive
2) Convert the MacBook's iPhoto library to JPG format, freeing up a considerable amount of space on my hard drive
My only concern is the safety of my original (RAW) library. The last thing I want to do is lose those minimally processed images. Is it safe/possible to export an entire library to an external hard drive? If I do that, will I be able to hook up that hard drive and view the images under iPhoto? Is there a simple way to convert an entire library to JPG? Is there a better way to accomplish my goal of freeing space?
Thanks in advance for any advice/help y'all can provide.
Best,
Steven

You won't be be "exporting" a library, just moving it:
Make sure the drive is formatted Mac OS Extended (Journaled)
1. Quit iPhoto
2. Copy the iPhoto Library from your Pictures Folder to the External Disk.
That's the Library with the Raws moved.
3. To view that Library: Hold down the option (or alt) key while launching iPhoto. From the resulting menu select 'Choose Library'
There is no way to "convert" a library. The best you can do is export the images from the Library as Jpegs to folders in the Finder. Trash the Library. Make a new one. Then import the images from the folders. A lot of work, and a job that will need to be repeated as you add images.
This User Tip
https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-4921
has details of the options in the Export dialogue.
It might be time to upgrade to Aperture.
With Aperture you can have your Library on the internal disk but store the Raws on the External. You'll still be able to view and share your images without the external connected if you choose to generate previews. While this is theoretically possible with iPhoto, it lacks the tools to manage the referenced images properly.
Regards
TD

How to list RAW movie files?

Currently iPhoto is not listing on my Movies smart album all my .mov files. If I click in one .mov, iPhoto shows as RAW. How can I create a Smart album to see all my movies?
Still, how can I create a Smart Folder on finder that shows my .MOV files that are in iPhoto? I've tried to create one, but even the files are there, they are not listed in the createria.

Where did the xmp files come from, ie. what app have they already been in?
What is the file extension?
Can the files be recognised in preview or any other program.
Should not make a difference but have your tried moving the folder to anther location other than the desktop, I have imported many images from the desktop so would doubt this, but need to cover all bases.
Can you drag the folder from the desktop into Aperture?
Have fiels been renamed since coming from the camera?
Can you rename a single file and see if AP sees it?
Took me a few lines but I think I have the answer, given they are from a 20D and 40D are the files Canon sRAW? If so they are not compatible with Aperture!
Tony

Can I download JPG, RAW, MOV from Canon 7D along with helmet cam MOV's

I'll be going on a motorbike trip this summer and I'd rather take an iPad with a camera kit to download my Canon 7D jpgs, raw, and mov files. I also have a helmet cam that outputs MOV movies.
Will this kit allow me to download all these files? I'm not concerned in the least about previewing any of this stuff. I simply want the ipad to store the files until I get home.
Once I get home, how do I move the files to my macbook?
Thanks.

Hi,
Jpg and .mov files yes, I'm not sure if the iPad can read raw format.
Follow the instructions at this link for transferring images and video to your computer from the iPad.
Copying personal photos and videos from iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch to your computer
Carolyn

Oracle archive log move

Dear All,
Please help me at the time of Netvault RMAN backup how i move the archive log file another location.
Normal case if i moved the archive log file Netvault RMAN backup fail, so please suggest.
Thanks,
Manas

Hi;
You have to login https://support.oracle.com/CSP/ui/flash.html and you have to CSI account.
This site is oracle site for tech. documents for can rise SR etc.. for more details please check Re: Installing Oracle Database 10.2.0.4
you need to customer support identifier which is called CSI for can login metalink(https://support.oracle.com/CSP/ui/flash.html)
If you dont have metalink account there is no way to see doc or download patch.
Pretty simple process:
1) You purchase a perpetual or term license from Oracle;
2) At the beginning of the period, during the valid term you purchase
Support for the period (1 year);
3) Oracle sends you the CSI.
Easy to do at http://store.oracle.com armed with a credit card.
You can also see:
http://repettas.wordpress.com/2008/11/01/restore-archive-logs-to-new-location-using-rman/
http://oracledisect.blogspot.com/2008/06/when-your-archive-log-destination-is.html
Regard
Helios

File Archiving Post Movie iMovie 08

First, iMovie 08 allowed me to make my first movie(s) with very little up front learning. I know others have been disappointed with '08, but it worked for me and my needs. I have "shared" the movies to the media browser and made DVD's using iDVD. The project involved editing down over 5 hours of captured video to a half dozen movie clips of 3-9 minutes each. Now I want to take the raw video off my internal hard drive. I am a recent PC convert and sometimes mac file handling confuses me (due to my PC background). Assuming I attach an external drive, what steps should I take to transfer the files to an external drive and still maintain the ability to go back to my files complete with key words and favorites?

welcome dohearne to the  boards..
you incidently posted your question at the iMHD board .. which is for vers. 5 .. your question relates to vers. 8 ...
all iLife apps (iPhoto, iTunes...) have their own, very elaborated file management.. the goo' ol' +'manually create & name my own folders on drive d:/e:/f:/..'+ doesn't work here AND could cause trouble..
luckily, Apple included the idea of de-locating the Events Folder to an ext. HDD..
follow my illustrated advice given on my website:
http://karsten.schluter.googlepages.com/im08tricks
(Project Library (and Events) on External Harddrive) ...

When i import movies from my iPhoto app to my iMovie app does it make a copy (thereby using double the hard disk space) or does it link to my iPhoto app? The reason i ask is i want to archive all my videos from iPhoto/iMovie. HELP!

When i import movies from my iPhoto app to my iMovie app does it make a copy (thereby using double the hard disk space) or does it link to my iPhoto app? The reason i ask is i want to archive all my videos from iPhoto/iMovie. Do i need to archive the movies in iPhoto AND iMovie? HELP!

Hi - I'm having the same problem with freeing up space on the HD. If I can't free space if I'm using any part of the clip, how can I split up the clips so that I can discard the part I won't use? This is crazy! I have only 4 GB of free space left!
Also, I've tried to transfer the project file to my external HD but I keep getting an error saying I can't transfer it. I've been told this is because I don't have enough space on the HD for the transfer. I tried a similar transfer with another computer with plenty of HD space but the same error occurred. Is there a way to break up the project file into small pieces for the transfer (I'm thinking the whole movie file is just too big)?
Thanks for any info!

How do you import movies that were previously archived by iMovie

Hello there,
I recently archived a movie from my Canon M31 using iMovie and put it in a folder on my hard drive (not an i movie folder, a folder i created).
How do i import those files later? I tested it right after the archive was done and there were no files that iMovie recognized to import. iMovie basically made a copy of my canon flash memory on my hard disk which is great, but how do i now import the file? is there a parent file i need to start that will initiate the process?
Thanks in advance
Marc

Thanks...was hoping you would respond and in the meantime i looked at the import options and saw the import archive option....funny hoe reading the options can answer the question...
thanks for the reply...
Marc

Movie footage archiving

Hi everyone, I would like to know the best way to archive my movie footage coming from a Sony HDR-SR12. So I can use the footage for projects and to save. I just purchased a 1TB External HD which I made 2 partitions one 150G for photos and the other 781G for movie. Im not sure under the options though which formatt to use apple something or Guid. I also would like explained how to import and export and all the stuff involved using the External for this purpose and maintaining the best quality through out
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Jess

Still patiently waiting, help would be greatly appreciated
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Moving Events and archiving videos directly from Canon HF100 to External HD

Hello,
After purchasing my Macbook and my canon HF100 camcorder I got too carried away and excitedly imported too many videos to Imovie. When the Macbook had no more space to import new movies, without reading instructions ( NOW I KNOW... ALWAYS to read instructions first) I archived the videos directly onto an external HD ( 500 gb FAT 32 format).
Now in order to free up some space I tried to move the existing events and projects from macbook to the same hard drive , but the HD icon has a yellow exclamation mark, which I now know means that it has to be formatted to MAC OS. and MAcbook will not allow moving of any events or projects to the hard drive..
My problem as below:
1- If I format my external HD now, it would loose all the previous data etc which I do not want. Since the directly archived videos are stored in FAT 32, does that mean they are now unusable for I Movie import? What should I do next in order to store the currently archived movies properly that Mac recognizes and reads the data correctly?
2-I need to free up space on my macbook as soon as possible as the startup disk is totally full. I do not want to buy another external HD to move my data but i do already possess an I book external hard drive which is also Fat 32 format and has photos etc.. which I do not want to loose by formatting it.
Can I copy all the files from my external HD ( where I archived the movies) to the I book ( where there are other movies and photos from windows computer) which is FAT 32 format and then format it to MAC OS and re transfer the archived movies back. Will Macbook recognize the files then?
All the videos and photos are very precious to me and I do not want to lose them. Any help with my problem is highly appreciated. I wait eagerly for an answer. Many thanks in advance.

Do I need to create a seperate folder for the RAW archived files which are yet to be processed by I >movie?
In general, you want to be able to move it back exactly as it was, you can drag it over to the iBook, then drag it back. If it helps to put everything under one folder to do this, that is OK. When you move it back, make sure it looks like it looked before you moved it.
Can the RAW files be transferred to a FAT 32 HD without formatting to MAC OS.. will this not >corrupt the data?
Probably. I'm guessing you are using an 8GB SDHC card or similar with your Canon. If you put your card in a card reader on your Mac you should see it in the Finder (or you can connect your camera directly). If you see it in the Finder, do a right-click/Get Info. I would bet that your SDHC is formatted as FAT32. So if the original camera is Fat32, you know that FAT32 is fine for the archive.
Here is why. FAT32 has an architectural limitation for file sizes. Files cannot be more than 4GB (minus one byte) - or 3.999999999 GB.
The files on the camera are highly compressed AVCHD. Further, you would typically press record and stop several times while shooting, so no one clip is going to be bigger than 3.999999999GB. The only way you would exceed this is if you recorded a 2 hour event by pressing the record button once and letting it run without stopping. Even then, Canon probably has a workaround where they divide it up into 2 files that are each smaller than 3.999999999GB.
So if the camera can accept FAT32, why can't iMovie? The reason is that on import, iMOvie converts the highly compressed AVCHD into full frames of Apple Intermediate Codec. The file size will typically increase by a factor of 8 to 10. So now it is quite possible to have a clip that exceeds the 4GB limitation. So iMovie does not allow FAT32 as a valid file structure.

Best Format for Archiving Video Files

I am importing old VHS and 8mm family videos for my cousin, to both burn them to DVD, and to archive the movies in case he wants to edit them later.
I am planning on purchasing for him, a "write once," external HDD, probably firewire, (though I am open to suggestions), to put both the backup Video TS folders on, as well as the Quicktime movies themselves.
My guess is, the best format for the QT movies would be their original DV-NTSC, but at around 13GB an hour, this can add up pretty fast.
The h264 .mov codec looks great, takes forever to render, and it seems the file size difference to DV-NTSC is nominal at best.
Obviously the future is some kind of HD, so these movies will never look great years from now, but I want them to be preserved for him at the best quality possible, at the smallest file size, if it will not compromise the quality too much.
I know I can render them significantly smaller as h264 .mp4 files, or as DIVX, (which also takes a long time), but I imagine they are of significantly reduced quality that would be visible in future video editing he might do.
If DV-NTSC is the only way to go, so be it. But if not, then any suggestions for what other format I could use to save these QT files, without visible loss of quality is greatly appreciated.

Thanks for all the advice. And I mean everyone.
Here is my latest dilemma.
Though 15 years old, the original Vhs's play beautifully. Aside from some (expected) glitches in the beginning or end of some of the shots, the video has not degraded appreciably. This is great news, as my cousin wanted to make back ups before degradation begins.
First, I captured the Vhs movies and corrected some bad color, mostly due to poor white balancing, and on the computer, they looked great in comparison. I burned DVD's and they looked terrible in comparison with the originals. Now I know I am going to lose some resolution when going to DVD, but it seemed harsh, so I ran some tests.
I burned a DVD of the original capture, with no color correction, just the raw footage and the DVD did not look much better, so it wasn't the color correction.
Not satisfied, I made a copy from the FCP timeline straight to Vhs, (I should note, through the ADVC-110.) This looked significantly degraded as well.
Finally, I made a straight dub from Vhs to DVCam, figuring that had to look good, and that also looked significantly degraded, compared to the, (now looking pristine), Vhs original.
As the original Vhs looks so good, what good would a TBC do? Or a proc amp?
Is there some secret to capturing and exporting Vhs that I am missing? Or, will it always look significantly degraded, even straight to DVCam?
+David Murray wrote: There is an industrial way to get good VhS copies but it is extremely expensive+
I don't know what this is, but I am sure it is clearly out of our league, but David M., if you are still following this thread, I'm curious, would this ultra expensive method actually result in a dub that looks like the original? I am actually really shocked at how bad the straight DVCam dub looks. It really does not look much better than the color corrected, computer exported version.
The Vhs tapes of my cousins daughter are as precious to him as anything he has.
As they date back 15 years, he is concerned about the longevity of the tapes.
As there are over forty hours of them, he wants them to be in an editable format, so later he or his daughter can make a highlight reel, or whatever. So thus the QT movie archive/backup on HD.
Whether as Finalcutter said, that this drive, even if unused, and put in a cool dry safe, might not function years down the line, makes it iffy, but what other choice is there for editable versions, unless I break the QT movies up into 20 minute chunks and archive them to over a hundred DVD's instead. Perhaps that is the safest solution, though certainly time consuming.
As failure of the HDD somewhere in the future is likely, though not certain, I am still not sure that the HDD holding all his QT movies for future editing is the wrong way to go.
As it is a digital version, and not an analog copy, I get that a DVCam backup of the originals is the best option. I will suggest to him that we do this as well, even though he does not have DVCam himself. But again, is there something I am missing here? Why does the Vhs to DVCam copy look so degraded? Is there anything I can do to keep the original quality, or will it die with his original Vhs as it slowly degrades over time?

Archiving "raw" movies

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