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

Similar Messages

Best format/compression for archiving old VHS home videos?

To those who have digitized old VHS home videos: what format/compression did you choose for them when archiving? I have been experimenting with all the different choices when exporting from iMovie, and the tradeoff between size and image quality. Just curious to see what others have decided on.

Thanks for the responses. Is MPEG-2 the best choice for VHS footage? i.e. is it sufficient for the relatively low quality of VHS? I thought MPEG-4 was superior to MPEG-2. Or is MPEG-4 for HD videos? I have been importing from a VCR through a Canopus ADVC-55 (i have eyetv but i think the imported video was blocky...it was a long time ago). Editing in iMovie 09 and exporting to QuickTime movie H.264 on the "high" quality setting, just below "best". Anyway, now I'm wondering if i can just export to MPEG-2, have the same quality image, but a smaller file size.

Archiving to MiniDV Tape

Is is possible to use the print to tape function for archiving HD footage through an SD camcorder via firewire?

I just wanted to know if it was possible to do it through my old SD camcorder in HD through Final Cut.
I understand that, but by playing it to a mini DV you are changing its format. You also lose the reel and clip names, the source timecode and the ability to remove or change any filters, color corrections etc.
Wouldn't a better solution be to archive the .mp4 camera files to a dedicated external drive? That way they take up very little space, compared to the transcoded media.
Message was edited by: Nick Holmes

MiniDV Tape issues

Hi. I am using P-Pro CS4, and trting to capture miniDV tape without the jagged edges (interlace?). When i use the de-interlace filter the image is unacceptably soft. Can someone help with steps, from the beginning on how best to capture and work with minidv tapes keeping the near broadcast quality and no jagged edges? Thanks!

Hi All,
I am not sure how to answer some of your questions. I am not at a computer with Premier pro, perhaps i should hold this until I am (also, in a few weeks i will have CS6 at work, now I have nothing).
It could be that I am setting up the project not to match the video (?). Also, I guess this has really been done on SC5 (I forget i did most of it at school, at home I have CS4).
What is "SD"?
I did not realize that the Canon GL2 gives me much choice in how it shoots, it is digital, but not HD. I never saw anything about "shooting interlace" or not.
So, the tapes were transferred onto the computer in a tape deck, I assume it is attached via firewire. I always wondered if I could do this without going through Premier Pro? As I mentioned, I am not there and cannot recall what the project settings were.
Is there different miniDV camera-setting? Should therebe just one "best' setting for minDV tapes? Can anyone enlighten me?
So, the files are .AVI and that's when they look jagged. I put one file on a computer at home, attached to my 55inch LED and they still looked jagged. I assume these are "raw" files? That is unprocessed? Maybe I am doing this part all wrong?
The final product will be for DVD, but if it is good enough, maybe for a TV broadcast. Doesn't this get decided in the "export' after i am done editing?
I am just at a loss as to why it plays back with thesedges. I don't think it did that with the old monitors.
So, if anyone can tell me about the settings, i will double check next time i am at capturing.
Thanks. Let me know if more info is needed.
Richard

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?

What is the best miniDV camcorder to buy to export miniDV tapes to Macbook pro?

Hey there,
I have miniDV tapes with home videos that I want to export to iMovie or FCP 5.0 so I can turn the footage into digital video clips to burn to DVD's. They were shot on a Sony handicam that no longer works. I bought a Panasonic PV-gs15 in order to do the job but it doesn't export video, only pictures from SD card. Now I just want to get the best camcorder or device (within financial reason) for the job. Can anyone tell me the best way/Camcorder to get this video off these miniDV tapes and onto my computer please?

Hi
May be You find something of interest in my notes regarding this (and iMovie - but it is General)
NO CAMERA or A/D-box
Cable
• Are You sure that You are using the FireWire Cable - USB-Cable will not work for miniDV tape Cameras
FireWire - Sure not using the accompany USB-Cable but bought a 4-pin to 6-pin (or 9-pin) FW one ?
• Test another FW-Cable very often the problem maker.
Camera
• Test Your Camera on another Mac so that DV-in still works OK
• Toggle in iMovie pref. Play-back via Camera (on <-> off some times)
• Some Cameras has a Menu where You must select DV-out to get it to work
• Camera connected to "charger" (mains adaptor) - not just on battery
• Camera set in Playback mode - NOT Recording mode
Does Your Camera work on another Mac ?
Sorry to say it is to easy to turn the 6-pin end of the FW-cable 180 deg wrong.
This is lethal to the A/D-chip in the Camera = needs an expensive repair.
(Hard to find out - else than import/export to another Mac ceased to work
everything else is OK e.g. recording and playback to TV)
A/D-box
• Is the dip-switches set right ?
• Set to same standard as recorded/editing e.g. NTSC 29.97fps or PAL 25fps
• Try resetting it
Connections
• Daisy Chaining most often doesn’t work (some unique cases - it’s the only way that work (some Canon Cameras ?))
Try to avoid connecting Camera <--> external HD <--> Mac but import directly to the Mac then move
the Movie project to dedicated external hard disk.
• FireWire-port - Can be re-setted by - Turn off Mac and disconnecting Mac from Mains/Power for 20-30 minutes
External device’s (hard disk’s)
• Should be FireWire as USB/USB2 performs badly and so does Airport or Net-work connected ones too.
• MUST BE - Mac OS Extended formatted - UNIX/DOS/FAT32/Mac OS Exchange - DO NOT WORK for video due to 4Gb barrier.
Mac
• Free space on internal (start-up) hard disk ? Please specify the amount of free space.
(Other hard disks don't count)
I go for a minimum of 25Gb free space for 4x3 SD Video - and my guess is 5 times more for 16x9 HD ones
after material is imported and edited. No Camera or A/D-box
• GarageBands fix - Close iMovie, Open GarageBand, Play some notes, Close GB and iMove can now be OK
• Does Your Mac have a FireWire Port
• White MacBooks - don't
• MacBook-Air - don't
if not then a few Mac’s has a PCM-CIA slot and there are FW-Cards that makes a FW-port this way
else - NO SOLUTION
Only option as I get it is either
• Use another Mac to Capture material (to an external USB2 - Mac OS Extended formatted hard disk - or -
• Change to another Camera that can be used with Your Mac (no there are no miniDV tape Cameras that can)
• If Your Mac-Book has a PCM-CIA Card place - then there are FW-port-Cards and then
You can import via this - but I've not seen this on more modern Macs. My PowerBook G4
has one and this FW-Card-port works greatly.
SoftWare
• Delete iMovie pref. file may help sometimes. I rather start a new account, log into this and have a re-try.
• Any strange Plug-ins into QuickTime as Perian etc ? Remove and try again.
• FileVault is off ? (hopefully)
• Screen Saver - OFF
• Energy Saver - OFF
Using WHAT versions ? .
• Mac OS - X.5.4 ?
• QuickTime version ? (This is the heart in both iMovie and FinalCut)
• iMovie’08 (7.1.?), 09 or 11 ?
• iMovie HD 6 (6.0.4/3) ?
Other ways to import Your miniDV tape
• Use another Camera. There where tape play-back stations from SONY
but they costed about 2-4 times a normal miniDV Camera.
• If Your Camera works on another Mac. Make an iMovie movie project here and move it
over to Your Mac via an external hard disk.
(HAS TO BE Mac OS Extended formatted - USB/DOS/FAT32/Mac OS Exchange WILL NOT DO)
(Should be a FireWire one - USB/USB2 performs badly)
from LKN 1935.
Hi Bengt W, I tried it all, but nothing worked. Your answer has been helpful insofar as all the different trials led to the conclusion that there was something wrong with my iMovie software. I therefore threw everything away and reinstalled iMovie from the HD. After that the exportation of DV videos (there has not been any problem with HDV videos) to my Sony camcorders worked properly as it did before. Thank you. LKN 1935
from Karsten.
in addition to Bengt's excellent '9 yards of advice' ..
camera set to 'Play' , not rec/computer/etc.?
camera not on battery, but power-line?
did your Mac 'recognize' this camera before...?
a technical check.
connect camera, on, playback, fw-connected...
click on the Blue Apple, upper left of your screen ..
choose 'About . . / More . .
under Firewire.. what do you read . . ?
More
• FileVault - Secure that it’s turned off
• Network storage - DOESN’T WORK
• Where did You store/capture/import Your project ?
External USB hard disk = Bad Choice / FireWire = Good
If so it has to be Mac OS Extended formatted
----> UNIX/DOS/FAT32/Mac OS Exchange is NOT Working for VIDEO !
mbolander
Thanks for all your suggestions. What I learned is that I had a software problem. I had something called "Nikon Transfer" on my Mac that was recognizing my Canon camcorder as a still camera and was preventing iMovie from working properly. After un-installing Nikon Transfer and doing a reboot, everything worked great.
I never liked the Nikon Transfer software anyway--I guess I'll get a cheap card reader and use that to transfer photos in the future.
No Camera or bad import
• USB hard disk
• Network storage
• File Vault is on
jiggaman15dg wrote
if you have adobe cs3 or 4 and have the adobe bridge on close that
or no firewire will work
see if that helps
DJ1249 wrote
The problem was the external backup hard drive that is connected, you need to disconnect the external drive before the mac can see the video camera.
MaryBoog wrote
Maybe your problems is solved in the meantime, but for all others this might help as I had the same problem, also have the Sony HDR-HC7, but the 7e (Europe, PAL). I found this link today and it works perfectly
//support.sony-europe.com/tutorials/dime/videotransfer/vtransfer.aspx site=odw_en_GB&sec=DVH&m=HDR-HC7E
What I exactly did.- put camera in play mode - open guide - choose connection guide - choose comp./printer (where to transfer movie to) - select connection.- i-link (on my camera) but equal to firewire - OK - choose HDV - choose NO for conversion of i.link.
Settings are shown then (VCR HDV/DV.- HDV and i.link-conv..- OFF), press OK, OK, END.
Switch camera off. Connect firewire cable to camera & Mac. Switch camera on, in play/edit mode.
Open i-movie, choose import from camera. On screen below the camera connection is shown.- DV (HDV). Now you can import, automatically or manually.
This worked perfectly for me. Took me 2 days to find out. Could not find any clear thread explaining what I had to do on the camera and the manual was not clear either.
Yours Bengt W

Best format for exporting raw footage to a Windows PC (for editing)

Hi. I have 2 hours of raw MiniDV PAL footage and I want to burn that to DVDs so a friend can edit it on a PC (with Premiere I think).
I already had problems trying to play .mov footage (File>Export>QuickTime Movie...) on a Win PC. Tried installing different players and different codecs, and nothing worked. I cannot believe how Apple QuickTime for Windows doesn't play these files.
Well, which format should I use? (one that Premiere recognizes easily and doesn't need to re-render)
Thanks,
Rodrigo

1) The issue isn't as simple as playing a Mac file with Windows QT. You need a codec that is supported by the Windows NLE.
2) This means the NLE needs to open .mov files AND it can use a codec Windows has that matches your OS X codec.
3) The simplest is "M-JPEG A" because this codec comes as part of Windows.
4) If you load QT with ProRes on the PCc, the PR codec gets added to Windows codec list. So your NLE "should" be able to use it. Your PC may not be fast enough to play it smoothly.
WARNING: I've exported both ProRes and MJPEG directly via a network to a PC. From iMovie 08 and Premiere Pro, both came over as 29.97. From FCP, the files have conflicting frame-rates. QT Player claims they both are 13.3fps. Vegas claims they are 29.97.
Message was edited by: Steve Mullen

Can LabVIEW process images in RAW format? Can LabVIEW handle images in the multimegapixel formats produced by some of the current DSLR cameras (e.g. 5000x3500 pixels)?

Can LabVIEW process images in RAW format? Can LabVIEW handle images in the multimegapixel formats produced by some of the current DSLR cameras (e.g. 5000x3500 pixels)?
Can LabVIEW be programmed to remotely acquire images from a commercial DSLR camera with DirectShow capability? e.g. Canon Rebel T2i.

1) So RAW files have a multitude of possible file extensions / formats, and it depends on which of these extensions you use. If the image can fit in memory, it can be brought into LabVIEW. An image of that size should be able to come into LabVIEW. Are you considering using NI-Vision to do this? You would look into the VI called "IMAQ ReadFile." There are a certain set of standard formats that can be read.
2) If a camera is DirectShow capable, and there are USB drivers available to access that camera through a Windows machine, then you should be able to bring that camera up in NI's software such as LabVIEW.
Ravi A.
National Instruments | Applications Engineer

Formatting a MiniDV tape for Capturing into FCP 6

How do I format a miniDV tape so that I can review footage as I shoot without breaking the time code? I am having huge difficulty capturing because of broken time code.

You use tried and true shooting technique. Pre-striping is a myth, because all cameras crash record, not insert record.
Good practice states:
Run at least 30 seconds of color bars at the head of a tape.
If you're going to be doing a lot of powering down, reviewing takes in camera, etc, it's good practice to run 10 or 20 seconds of bars every time you stop the camera. Then when you are ready to record again, back the tape up into the bars and hit the magic button. That way the code will re-generate from where you left off.
Also good practice to roll tape at LEAST 5 seconds before you call action. and the same at the end of a take.
Shooting documentary style? Do the above, only more so.

Capturing raw audio from MiniDV tape

I am relatively new to the Mac. I would like to extract the stereo audio from some Sony MiniDV tapes in the most economical way possible. If it can be done in iMovie or Garageband, I haven't been able to figure it out. I want to get to MP3 (or similar) as an end state, but I am starting with .DV files. Any ideas? Thanks in advance!

iMovie '08 may not support this, but iMovie 6 does (and is a free download for '08 users). Add your footage to the timeline, select them, then pick extract audio. iMovie will make an audio only copy of the footage and the files are stored in the project's media folder (right click the project and pick "show package contents" to see the folder structure.
Patrick

Unable to properly capture HD video from miniDV tape in FCE

unable to capture HD video from miniDV tape
When I connect my Sony HDR-HC3 miniDV HDV camcorder to my iMac via firewire cable and use Final Cut Express to capture the video from the tape, I do not get a Capture window that allows me to specify in and out points, I just get a playback window that immediately starts capturing and the only option I have in this window is hit ESC to stop capturing. If I let this capture window continue to capture the video from the camera with miniDV HD tape, then the entire tape would be captured as one massive single video clip.
QUESTION: Is there something I change or do to make the proper capture window appear where I can specify in and out points to capture from tape for each clip?
NOTE: using same camera and tape with iMovie with automatic capture enabled, all the clips get captured properly. I also tried to use the manual setting in iMovie and it worked too.
More details(read only if you want more information)
I have a several miniDV tapes containing HD video created on a Sony Sony HDR-HC5 and Sony HDR-HC7. Unfortunately, both these camera were stolen, and I have since moved to a camera that uses flash memory, not tape. However, I need to get the video footage off these tapes, so I bought a used Sony HDR-HC3, it plays the HD miniDV tapes just fine and iMovie reads the video from this camera just fine, but Final Cut Express does not.
When I setup Final Cut Express, I used the Easy Setup and specified:
Format: HD
Rate: 29.97 fps
Use: HDV-Apple Intermediate Codec 1080i60
These setting match those of the camera and recorded tape. If I use any other settings but these, then Final Cut Express never sees the camera and never opens any capture window at all. Using Quicktime 10 movie inspector on the clips captured by iMovie from same camera, all the clips match this setting too.
Final Cut Express version 4.0.1
iMovie 09 Version 8.0.2 (821)
iMac 2.93 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo with 4GB 1067 MHz DDR3 running
Mac OS X Version 10.6.4
My Final Cut Express scratch disk is a Seagate 2TB external USB 2.0 Hard Drive that has been formatted to be Mac OS Extended (Journaled). This external disk is also where iMovie successfully captured all the video from the same camera.

Thanks for the answer. It makes me sad. I thought using Final Cut Express would be an upgrade to a more robust editing system from iMovie, yet iMovie does a superior job of logging and capturing video from HDV video on miniDV tape in comparison to FCE. Not only does iMovie capture each clip on the tape into it's own video file automatically, it also includes timestamp information in the filename indicating when the clip was originally recorded, which appears to be something that is missing from Final Cut Express. Now I realize that HDV miniDV cameras had a relatively short life span in the consumer marketplace and have since all been replaced by flash and hard drive based AVCHD cameras, but from circa 2004 to 2007, miniDV HDV camcorders were very popular and I am sure there are lots of consumers that must be super frustrated by Final Cut Express limited ability to log and capture clips properly from these cameras.
Assuming I do not want to make a rough cut of video in iMovie and prefer to begin my editing project in Final Cut Express (not doing XML export of iMovie project), I need to determine the best way to get clips captured via iMovie into Final Cut Express and determine if there is anything inferior in the iMovie captured clips that I need to be aware of. So far it appears that both iMovie and Final Cut Express reduce the 5.1 surround sound captured on the HDV miniDV tapes to stereo sound, which is not a big lose given the 5.1 sound was recorded from camera's built-in microphone, but it makes me wonder if the video is reduced in any way by the iMovie import process, examining the video in quicktime's inspector window the video appears to be the same in both iMovie and FCE, but I'll research the answers to these questions elsewhere on this forum and post additional questions if I do not find the information I need.

Compression of MiniDV Tapes

I have quite a few MiniDV tapes stored up, and have put a few of them on my hard drive. Unfortunately, these tapes take about about 12 GBs per hour- and that's more room than I can afford (one or two of those is ok, but 20+?). What format do you recommend I save these in? I've tried saving them as MP4's in iMovie, but I'm a little bit iffy about the quality loss. Surely there's a format that keeps most of the quality with less space. Any help here would be greatly appreciated- the tapes keep stacking up.

Yes, iMovies use about 13 GB per hour of video as imported. If you edit them, the size can increase dramatically, Most of the movies I have made are just under two hours and use up 25-30GB each, but several of them ballooned up to over 100GB.
It is not practical nor advisable to keep your edited iMovies on your computer's drive--unless you invest in several 1000 GB(1TB) drives.
You need to think through what you eventually want to do with all your movie tapes.
I disagree with you that tapes 'stacking up' is a problem. The miniDV tapes hold up well over time and the space they take up is minimal.
If you want to put your iMovies onto DVDs, you should import them a few at a time, just the portions that you want in one iMovie. The limitation for iDVD is total time length, not size. Using single-layer DVDs, you can burn up to two hours--that would include any menu/submenu videos and audios as well.
If you do a 'save as disk image' for each of your iDVD projects--and you should--you will be creating an image file that is self-contained, and can be used to burn DVDs of that same project in the future using Disk Utility.
SInce the disk image is self-contained, you can safely delete the original iMovie and iDVD for that project after you are finished with it.*See next sentence about exporting iMovie to camcorder.
I also export all my edited iMovies back to DV tapes as a way to save my movies*.
Those DV tapes are small, take up hardly any room, and keep my precious movies in digital format, ready for whatever technology follows DVDs.
But, I don't want to rely solely on DVDs to preserve my movies since DVD disks can crack, break, get stepped on, melt or meet some other disaster. If you have children or grandchildren around, accidents can and will happen.
I am a bit paranoid about saving my movies. I also keep a set of my DVDs in a safe-deposit box so that I can always duplicate it if need be, and I have each iDVD project's disk image saved on two external drives.
I have made DVDs of our family videos and still photos for a 20-year period. I have one plastic bin of the raw footage DV tapes, and another bin with the edited movies saved to DV tapes. Each of the bins is about the size of two shoeboxes. I consider them as valuables and feel fortunate that they occupy so little space!
There is no need to try to change the format of the DV footage. iMovie works best with it, and you don't want to do any conversion that may result in loss of quality.

HD Camcorder w/iMac - MiniDV tapes or Digital harddrive better w/iMovie08

I'm looking at purchasing a new Canon camcorder either the HV20 or HG10 and have a new iMac with iMovie08. The HV20 uses the miniDV tapes and the HG10 has a 40 GB harddrive. Does anyone have any suggestions between the two types? I like the idea of not having to buy tapes but wasn't sure if I would have any import or quality problems with using the camcorder with the harddrive. Thanks.

Welcome to Apple discussions robnorv,
Look through the threads here and compare the number of problems encountered with hard drive cams, as opposed to miniDV cams. The choice should be clear and, as a bonus, with miniDV you will have unfettered access to use iMovie 06, should you find that iMovie 08 doesn't offer you enough editing solutions. You will have some quality degradation using a hard drive cam due to the high compression the format uses. DV is what iMovies all use and a miniDV cam will need no conversion processes to get the video into any iMovie programme you choose to use. Do some more research about these factors before you decide.
Tape cams also allow you to back up your completed video to a tape for archival purposes. If you go miniDV, it is good practice to buy quality tapes and always stick with one brand. Different manufacturers use somewhat different tape formulations and changing tape brands can cause head clogging problems. I bought several boxes of one brand (Panasonic MQ) online, where you will find good deals.

Loading content from multiple MiniDV tapes to one DVD

I am being offered this "One Touch" feature on iDVD to copy my Camera footage to a DVD. I am wondering what the best process is to follow if I wanted to, say, merge :30 minutes of content from one MiniDV and :20 minutes of content from another. Should I be uploading to iMovie instead? If I have the ultimate objective of a. having copies on DVD instead of MiniDV and b. using the content for video editing in iMovie, what is the best process to follow?
1. Move all MiniDV to DVD and then work from that?
2. Import clips into iMovie and move them to iDVD?
Tips, best practices, advice appreciated.

Brian,
It's pretty much agreed here that the best storage medium for your MiniDV tapes, is the tape itself.
I tried OneStep once. Yuk. I bring everything into iMovie HD.
1.: No.
2.: Yes
iDVD 5 Getting Started
Apple's iMovie Learning Site
Apple's iDVD Learning Site
Ken Stone: Authoring in iDVD 5
My favorite, by far:
iMovie HD & iDVD 5: The Missing Manual
iPhoto 5: The Missing Manual

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 format/process to archive raw minidv tapes..

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