Re: Bit rate for "temporary storage" of 8mm
- From: Scubajam <jmcgauhey@xxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 20 Feb 2008 09:58:05 -0800 (PST)
I have leanred the the encoding is the same, but I am also concerned
about the longevity of the medium. I dont believe that i can buy new
8mm machines anymore, but miniDVs seem to have some legs.
Capture, edit, archive in DV avi files. mpg2 is a lossy codec due to
compression. Plan on 13 gigs/hour on HDD, or just one tape for under
$3. The only time to render to mpg is when making the final render
for a production to create a DVD. Your 8mm has a quality issue
anyway, don't degrade it more.
What is the quality issue with the current 8 mm tape?
Don't try to "capture" to mpg. Then your computer has to convert what
has already been done in the camera "on the fly" and make mpg. You'll
probably lose frames and quality both. A capture is technically an
exact copy of what is on tape. In your case, it is a digital copy of
the analogue images, which will be converted by the D8 camera. Under
$200 should get you what you need, and you'll have a decent DV (just
not miniDV) camera to use until you step into Hi Def.
I was thinking of my next corder to be a Hi Def, but even if i do, I
will be in the same boat wrt the 8mm ones.
How about recording onto the hard disk with DV, and then pushing back
to the hidef camcorder on miniDV?
That would address the longevity of the medium issue
1) If you get a Digital8 camcorder that plays your old 8mm, then you
are set. There will be D8's available used for many years.
2) Tape is still the archive medium of choice. If you have a
camcorder that plays your old 8mm, then just keep that as the
archive. Saves buying new media and time. 99% of all professional
archives are tape. Hard drives are actually much more fragile, and
software changes every few years. There are those who store of HDD,
and it is a choice, but then all other discussion is moot. Just make
up your own mind. I store mine on tape. I started with D8 and have a
couple hundred tapes. 8mm, D8, and miniDV are all basically the same
for archive. As long as you have something to play them on, you're
OK. If and when you move to HD, and if you want to take the time to
copy and store on HD miniDV tape, then do so. But what you have now
is fine.
3) As for quality, 8mm was generally inferior to digital, and now
certainly to HD. You can actually improve quality by capturing and
tweaking with video filters in the computer. I've heard of it being
done, but haven't myself. There's no quality issue with the tape, I
just meant the images of 8mm are inferior to later types. Most of us
capture, which creates an avi file, then edit in avi. Render to mpg
only when ready with final version to burn DVD's. A mpg file has loss
when edited and re-rendered, at least in general. There are
exceptions, as with cuts only and using smart-render, but that's the
rule. Since your 8mm images are probably not the sharpest resolution
anyway, don't work in a way that will make it worse.
So, start with researching ebay for Digital 8 models, then make sure
that model will play the old 8mm tapes, and buy one. Hopefully you
understand ebay and how to be careful by reviewing sellers feedback,
rating, etc. Personally I buy several $1000s on ebay each year and
have had great transactions. Get a D8 camcorder cheap just to play
your archives. Then move to HD. That begins a complete new set of
questions.
Jim McGauhey
.
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