Re: [OT] Video Driver box

On Sun, 30 Dec 2007 00:16:19 -0500, Galen <galen@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:

On Sun, 30 Dec 2007 04:08:06 GMT, Abraham Evangelista
<daken@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

On Sat, 29 Dec 2007 12:28:36 -0500, Galen <galen@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:

On Sat, 29 Dec 2007 15:08:35 GMT, Abraham Evangelista
<daken@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

On Sat, 29 Dec 2007 08:55:53 -0500, Galen <galen@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:

On Sat, 22 Dec 2007 21:29:37 -0600, Megane
<megane#fanboy.net@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

At this point I have 4 computers - a linux file server (MyBookWorld),
a Dell 1.4 ghz running Ubuntu (recently - Windows broke),

How's Ubuntu working out for ya?

The windows computers on the network can't access the files
on the Ubuntu computer drives;

No samba installation on that box? I thought ubuntu had it as part of
the default install...
Never heard of it ... looks tricky to set-up , but I'll consider it
when I've rested.


What flavor of video card are you using? Most of the Nvidia and ATI
models offer some control over overscan areas.
That same one from before - GeForce FX 5200.

The FX has the ability to control overscan. I'm not at all sure how
you do it if this is the ubuntu machine, but you'll be able to find
the relevant settings in the nvidia control panel application if this
is the windows box.

Buying a stronger computer is pointless unless I buy an HD
monitor to go with it, and I can't find a ~35 inch flat-screen
monitor with PC and SVHS inputs for under the $700 I would
be willing to pay - the market wants twice that.

If you're willing to go down to 32 inches, the numbers get much more
favorable. I bought two of them last year for under $500 each.
They've got to be cheaper now...
Even at 32 inches, I'm seeing prices of $650;
where do you shop?

It's more a question of WHEN do I shop. One of them I got from
www.woot.com. The other was a black friday special. A buddy here got
one at staples on BF this year, for just a hair over $400.


A MyBookWorld has to be hacked to load any software into
it; it's intended purely as a file server (and is not suited for
file storage, as currently implemented).

Isn't the whole point of a file server to do file storage? Can't be a
file server without files. :(
It's not that the storage doesn't work, but that the box simply
isn't reliable enough for archival purposes.



I should mention, the FAT32 out of the box drives mount
just fine on a cold boot through a hub; after reformating
to EXT3, they won't. Probably because the autorun and .ini

Does the mybook require you to use EXT3?
The manual specifies FAT32.


files get erased in the reformat. But FAT32 won't support
files over 2 GB, and I have some 18 GB avi files.

18GB... are you working with DV?
I presume so; it's one hour live recording from a video camera.

Yeah, that sounds like DV. You doing this sort of thing often, or is
it a one-off project?

BTW, when are XVDs that can handle that much data coming
out for use by home video makers?
XDV? I'm not familiar with that term.

I invented it. DVD, HDVD, BVD, EVD - just call 'em all XVD.

Well, you could go BluRay or HD-DVD if you're that desperate for more
archival media. But speaking from experience, if it's DV you're
trying to back up, it's generally cheaper to just purchase a second DV
tape and dub the original.
In this application I want storage that will still be playable
in 20 years. Is that on the market?

I'm going to assume you're working with Mini-DV format tapes. If
you're playing with one of those newfangled HD format recorders, I
claim ignorance.

If you have no objection to refreshing your media every so often, then
just stick with DV tapes, and give em an annual play run through your
camera/deck, to keep them from sticking. Also, if you haven't already
been told, keep to a single brand of media if possible. Tape
lubricants vary from brand to brand, and mixing them in a camera can
lead to extra wear and tear on both the media and the player.

The Sony Prosumer stuff is quite good. Their DVM-60EX tape is a nice
performer. Metal evaporated tape, so you ought to be able to get at
least a decade out of it if you store them in cool, dry conditions,
and run them every so often. (These are NOT candidates for sticking in
the barn.)

http://www.taperesources.com/DV60-S.html Tape resources charges $7.96
a piece for em. Not cheap, but good.

The alternative is to go to optical media. I'm rejecting HD-DVD and
BDR right now based on an unproven track record and hideous media
costs. That leaves DVD or DVD-DL. I'm rejecting DVD-DL right now
based on cost. Cutting down the physical storage space necessary is
nice, but it doesn't quite justify the 5x increas in costs or the 3x
increase in burn times.

When I'm feeling the need to archive to something other than tape, I
RAR the .avi file down to 100mb chunks, then generate 25% parity files
like you would if you were doing a usenet post. Takes about 5 DVDs to
do it. 10 really, since I don't trust cheap optical media, or 15 if I
do a third set to send off-site. From strictly a media cost
standpoint, it's cheap. These days you can get $.20 discs if you shop
hard enough.

But when you add up the CPU time involved in generating the parity
files, and the effort to burn, label, catalogue, and store the discs,
(Which are no easier to store than the original tapes...) you lose out
unless you're working a minimum wage job. I'm not, and I'm certain
you're not either.

My suggestion? Skip the PC if all you want to do is archive your
footage. Buy a second camera on the cheap, and a nice quality
firewire cable. (Heck, I picked up a refurbed Canon brand consumer
Mini-DV cam for $150 the other day. At that price, you could buy a
third unit for depot purposes.) Dub your tapes. Wait patiently and
see if the next-gen optical recordable formats pan out, and become
sufficiently cheap.

--
Abraham Evangelista
.

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