Archiving Format

[zmsakarya]

Hi Everyone,
Job definiton: We have education video's. Every day 2 lessons, each of them is 1 hour long and full HD in .MTS. We will archive them and deliver with DVD's
Equipment:
6 Core (12 Core's) 32 GB Ram middle 2012 Mac Pro
Sony Nex EA50
Software: Undecided. (i am using handbrake, aimersoft, wondershare, episode and learning sorenso squeeze)
Now,
1. In which format (i don't have much codec, Mbit knowledge's but a good reader) .mov, .mts or H.264 mp4 full HD.
2. In which program i must reencode for high quality. (aimer, episode...)
Thanks...

 

[catonfire]

Archiving format

zmsakarya,

ARCHIVAL FORMATS FOR FUTURE USE:


Ask your clients if they have a preferred archiving format and what their future needs are. That should be key to deciding how to proceed.


If quality is paramount:

You should just deliver the original .MTS files. Any transcoding to another format will at worst reduce quality or at best be negligible in terms of perceptible difference but it will never increase quality over the 'camera original files.' h.264 and mp4 will definitely add another layer of compression to the files.


If small file size is paramount:

Consider h.264 which is usually more efficient than mp4.


PS: For hardcore technical help, the Creative Cow forums are useful.

In addition to Handbrake, MPEG Streamclip can also be useful when you need a free & fast handy transcoder. I don't think it has been updated in a while but it has a good feature set of options for quick and dirty transcode jobs.

Sorry, I am unfamiliar with aimersoft, wondershare, and episode so I can't suggest anything there.

 

[nateo200]

Well these formats aren't necessarily codecs, and one of them is just a resolution. For example I could say you should store it as 720p in 16-bit DPX image sequences...of course that would be insane for anything less than a hard core film...I do not think regular H264 is a good archival format at all....for archival I generally prefer 10-bit when I can get it over 8-bit and 4:2:2 over 4:2:0...One option I like is AVC-Intra as its not an insane data rate, offers 10-bit and 4:2:2 chroma subsample, but thus far I can not figure out how to encode things properly. I would say ProRes 422 or XDCAM HD422 are some of my favorite archival formats, ProRes when I can and XDCAM when it won't fit somewhere I need it too...that or DNxHD...really you should look into formats/codecs more but know that some big broadcast companies in the US use ProRes 422 for archival of 16mm and 35mm reels considered of significant historical importance, its a very good codec. I would go to CreativeCow as well...they have a ton more pro's than over here and will put some of the stuff I said into your head a little better than I can.

MPEG streamclip can transcode to ProRes 422, DNxHD and XDCAM HD422 if you have the codecs installed on your computer (aka with Final Cut Pro, Avid, etc.)...

 

[Unami]

I archive the original avchd-files (essentially, the "private"-folder & subfolders, because Final Cut & Quicktime won't be able to use the .mts-files without the metadata stored in the other folders), then i archive the projects linking to them (in my case, as i'm using final cut pro X, i also archive the "final cut pro events" containing the h.264 .mts - files in .mov containers) and i create a master clip of the finished project (prores422 or prores422 HQ) where i transcode the videos i deliver to my clients from, which i also archive.

most of the times i also archive the transcoded delivery-files, because they are pretty small compared to the prores version anyway.

you can always reopen and reencode the original project, if you archive it and it's source media. saving a "master" and transcoded files just saves you time and hassle (like dealing with software you haven't used for years), when a client needs the movie in another format in a few years.

as the other two posters mentioned: mpeg streamclip is a good transcoding software. but by transcoding you'll never get better quality - you'll only get bigger files (with almost inperceptible loss in quality) that often can be handled by your comuter with more ease (because they are less compressed) or you'll get smaller files with less quality.

and, as nateo200 already mentioned - only h.264 is a format in your list -.mts, .mov & .mp4 are containers (which can contain h.264 encoded data, for example) - so one can re-wrap a h.264 file from a .mts cotrainer into a .mov container without reencoding it (and losing quality). sometimes even renaming a .mov file to .mp4 makes it playable on some devices.

so, in your case: archive the original .mts files with the whole folder structure surrounding it (up from the "private" folder in the root directory of your sd-card) and any project files you might create while editing.

 

[ChrisA]

Archive in whatever format came off the camera. Make a bit per bit copy.

Working copy of the files is different but those can be deleted later. An archive is what is kept longer.

 

[zmsakarya]

Thanks

When i read all the posts, understand that i have much way to walk. Now on i will keep .mts formats.
Thanks to everyone, your mini article's helps me so much.

(Another) Question: i must deliver them to many people in flash disc or dvd's
1. Is 720p h.264 (mp4) suitable for flash discs
2. In which format i must write them to DVD's. The DVD's may be open in pc's or DVD Player's.
Thanks.

 

[Unami]

1) yes any format that has a bitrate below the read speed of the disk you deliver it from should be o.k. ( e.g. if playback doesn't stutter ....)

2) Video-DVDs are encoded in mpeg2 but need a special format/folder structure to be readable by a stand-alone DVD Player. You need special software (like iDVD) for encoding DVDs.

 

[zmsakarya]

1) if you mean SSDs, SD/CF/.... cards or usb-sticks by "flash disks"... yes any format that has a bitrate below the read speed of the disk should be o.k.

2) Video-DVDs are encoded in mpeg2 but need a special format/folder structure to be readable by a stand-alone DVD Player. you need special software ( like iDVD) for this.

Sorry, i mean usb-sticks. Now i will try to write DVD formated DVD's, thanks for answer Unami.

 

[nateo200]

Oh also I if you ever need to keep a project long term without deleting the project files I find deleting the Render files and like others have said just keeping the AVCHD/H264/XD CAM/Whatever format is a good way to keep things nice and compact.

But to answer your question yeah USB flash drives are a good choice...although I would back up on two different ones depending on the durability of them...flash media is more reliable than say DVD's but still I'm not exactly trust worthy of modern digital archiving...if I could I would back up stuff to HDCAM, LTO-4 tape and film!