Best format to convert to from .dv

[SouthernMac]

I've just taken all of my miniDV and loaded them onto my mac. The files are taking up a LOT of space. What is the best format to convert them to, so that I can still use the clips in iMovie and upload some of them on YouTube. I'm not looking for real high quality, just maybe something that will look decent on a DVD and the internet. BTW I am converting the files with VisualHub.

 

[MisterMe]

I've just taken all of my miniDV and loaded them onto my mac. ...

DV is a source format. Any other format that you convert to will lose quality. miniDV tapes are small and cheap. You can store dozens of the tapes in a shoe box and keep them for years with no quality loss. When you need the video, pull-out the shoe box, fire-up your camcorder, connect it to your Mac and you are golden. If you need additional archive capacity, then add another shoebox or upgrade to a desk drawer or storage cabinet.

 

[SouthernMac]

Well I was planning on selling the camcorder, that's why I was storing all the videos on my computer...

 

[aloofman]

You're not going to find a format that looks good on DVD AND on YouTube. Watching something authored to a DVD and streaming on the Internet are two different things and you need to optimize for both. I would recommend making two versions of each.

 

[killmoms]

Honestly, you'd just be best off buying an external Firewire drive or something and storing all your clips on there. That'd get them off your computer but you wouldn't need to sacrifice source quality.

 

[Keebler]

if it were me, i would buy an external HD and store the movies there.
you'll always want the full quality transfer to convert into whatever formats you want. Format requirements will always change depending on new technology and you wouldn't want to compress the files, then uncompress and convert into something else.

i tell my clients it's like taking the best triple decker sandwich, squishing it down and then trying to get it to rise back to full quality - ain't gonna happen.

keep the full quality, then you'll be able to convert to your hearts content.

cheers,
keebler

 

[SouthernMac]

Thanks for all the advice. I guess I was hoping that there was some magical way to save space, but I think that I will stick to finding a large external drive to store my movies on.

 

[Flynnstone]

I bought a 750 Gig drive (FW & USB) for $190 at Frys.
I use FootTrack to catalog and store the DV files.
You can compress within Foottrack. So files that have low priority, like I don't want to waste the HD space, I compress and remove the source files. But its also easy to import the source tape again.

 

[sk8ordie]

Thanks for all the advice. I guess I was hoping that there was some magical way to save space, but I think that I will stick to finding a large external drive to store my movies on.

Good plan.