I'm wondering if I can "get away" with not backing up iMovie '08 clip-xxx.dv files.
I've got a 500GB Time Capsule backing up my 320GB iMac and a 1TB external drive. Of course my 500GB TC can't back up 1320GB, but so far there's not much on the 1TB external drive.
I'd like to reserve the 1TB drive for iMovie/iDVD use (because I sought a firewire drive specifically for the performance to use with iMovie) but obviously at some point, I will need to expand my backup storage. What I'm trying to do is _delay_ when that point arrives by NOT backing up things that could be "easily" recreated.
Assuming I have my original MiniDV tapes available for "disaster recovery," what iMovie or iDVD files can I afford to NOT back up?
Here are the big files that I see:
--the clip-xxxx.dv files currently in "1TB-External-Drive/iMovie Events/" (160GB in size and growing)
--the *.rcproject files in "iMac Drive/Users/brian/Movies/iMovie Projects/" (12GB in size)
--the *.dvdproj files in "iMac Drive/Users/brian/Movies/iDVD Projects/" (18GB in size)
My initial thought was that the clip-xxxx.dv files could be recreated by re-importing my MiniDV tapes, so I don't "need" to back them up if I'm willing to take on the extra hassle and risk.
But, will the .rcproject files still work OK once I re-import the tapes? My (limited) understanding is that the iMovie project doesn't copy the video clips, just keeps pointers to raw clips. So if the import happens in any way differently the second time, those "pointers" will not or may not be valid? So, I'd like to know if I can "safely" remove the clipxxxx.dv files or not? (Assuming the tapes remain error-free.)
I'm currently not backing up the clip-xxxx.dv files, so I need to know if this will (potentially) ruin all my work on the iMovie projects.
Also, since my DVDs would be relatively easy to recreate, I'm considering not backing up the .dvdproj files. Are there any other large groups of files I should consider?
Brian33
I've got a 500GB Time Capsule backing up my 320GB iMac and a 1TB external drive. Of course my 500GB TC can't back up 1320GB, but so far there's not much on the 1TB external drive.
I'd like to reserve the 1TB drive for iMovie/iDVD use (because I sought a firewire drive specifically for the performance to use with iMovie) but obviously at some point, I will need to expand my backup storage. What I'm trying to do is _delay_ when that point arrives by NOT backing up things that could be "easily" recreated.
Assuming I have my original MiniDV tapes available for "disaster recovery," what iMovie or iDVD files can I afford to NOT back up?
Here are the big files that I see:
--the clip-xxxx.dv files currently in "1TB-External-Drive/iMovie Events/" (160GB in size and growing)
--the *.rcproject files in "iMac Drive/Users/brian/Movies/iMovie Projects/" (12GB in size)
--the *.dvdproj files in "iMac Drive/Users/brian/Movies/iDVD Projects/" (18GB in size)
My initial thought was that the clip-xxxx.dv files could be recreated by re-importing my MiniDV tapes, so I don't "need" to back them up if I'm willing to take on the extra hassle and risk.
But, will the .rcproject files still work OK once I re-import the tapes? My (limited) understanding is that the iMovie project doesn't copy the video clips, just keeps pointers to raw clips. So if the import happens in any way differently the second time, those "pointers" will not or may not be valid? So, I'd like to know if I can "safely" remove the clipxxxx.dv files or not? (Assuming the tapes remain error-free.)
I'm currently not backing up the clip-xxxx.dv files, so I need to know if this will (potentially) ruin all my work on the iMovie projects.
Also, since my DVDs would be relatively easy to recreate, I'm considering not backing up the .dvdproj files. Are there any other large groups of files I should consider?
Brian33