Best Method Of Import For Future Preservation

I would like to import all my home movies through iMovie to an external hard drive, but am wondering if that is the best method to ensure that I will always be able to use/access them in the years to come. A couple of questions:
**Does iMovie still preserve and save to the external drive the original format the movie was recorded in? Does it switch it to something that only iMovie can recognize and find?
**What if iMovie quits being made in 10 years or if I switch to a different editing program down the road? Will I still be able to use/access my movies?
**Would it be better to skip going through iMovie and just copy the movies/files directly to the external drive?
Thank you for any info you can give me.
Nkulu

Nkulu wrote:
.. Does iMovie still preserve and save to the external drive the original format the movie was recorded in?
in iMHD≤6: yes, even after editing, the unaltered original video is kept untouched; in iM08 answer is more complicated: the Events store the original data, but it is unable to export without altering it.. And: mpeg2 and AVCHD files get automatically converted.. but into a lossless codec ..
Does it switch it to something that only iMovie can recognize and find?
the .mov digged deep into the file structure of iM (in iMHD6: in the project packages; in iM08: in the Events Folder) are playable without iM..
.. What if iMovie quits being made in 10 years or if I switch to a different editing program down the road? Will I still be able to use/access my movies?
very hard to tell; my experience: cross-app/cross-platform, accessability is .. small. compare with 'opening iMHD6 project with iM08' , or 'transfer iM08 to FCE' .... and those are actual apps from one manufacturer..
.. Would it be better to skip going through iMovie and just copy the movies/files directly to the external drive?
that's why I'm in the process of decision making come back to tape (HDV) - I'm storing about an terabyte of my son's life on video in a simple shoebox.. no copying, backup, no transfer.. as long as I get some service which is able to playback that worlwide standard, I can watch and use those videos..
I often tell that situation: me being on Cuba, running out of 'storage space' ... 7$ and got a new tape, 60min.. imagine that with a fancy HDDcorder.. you need additionally in your travel luggage your Mac, power brick, prob. an ext. harddrive, just for 'emtpying' your camcorder .. honestly: not on MY vacations/my hotel rooms, tents.. ..
and don't tell me '17h recording time' .. IF HiDef camcorder, than FullHD.. which is actually a max. of 3h per device.. and I do record more than 3h on a 2 weeks journey..

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