Re: [tlug] Linux / MacOS X and dv cameras

["Lyle H Saxon" <llletters@example.com>]

On 7/21/07, Shawn <javajunkie@example.com> wrote:
> Um, ok what is the lifespan of a DVD compared to a minidv or 8 mm tapes.
> I thought I ought to backup my minidv tapes but the information I found
> was that the tape has a much much longer life than a DVD (and I didn't
> want to have to keep doing it ...so I left them in minidv format).
>
> Anway, it might be something to consider.  Assuming my 30 minutes of
> googling turned up accurate information, I'd keep your original tapes
> should you digitize them.

Thanks for mentioning that.  There's another issue involved though.
Editing.  With analogue tape, every time you edit, you lose quality.
With old analogue professional equipment, the original was good enough
that it could fall a bit and still be good, but those "prosumer"
cameras I used produced good-looking tapes that cannot afford to fall
much.  Analogue editing produced mediocre results.  I'm hoping to get
that stuff digitized and onto external hard drives, and then do
something with the digital version on HDD and from there make DVD's
not as a backup, but as a finished product.

Lyle