I have some 8.5 gb to 13.0 gb home video files that I need to archive. How can I do this?

I want to make hard copies of the files but the sizes make them too big for DVD-DL discs –I want them to be in their native file format for future editing, burning, etc… What can I do?? I’m going to store them in a safety deposit box. Any thoughts of Blu-ray burning?–should I? I also just got an HD sony video camera, so I will need back up large video files from now on.

What was the original format of the video – is this MiniDV tape? If so, the tape is the archive, but if you want, you can try a solution like Blu-Ray. Or, you can possibly split some of the recordings across two or more DVDs. The quality of DV does come with that drawback – archiving the media. Though the tape itself is its own archive, some people want a second form of archive, and that’s not always so easy.

I’m in the same predicament, I have MiniDV tapes, and I don’t want to settle for downconverting them to DVD as a permanent archive. For now, the tapes themselves serve as a capable archive, but at some point, I might want a second form.

External hard drives become an option as well – you can get portable terabyte drives at pretty good prices these days – they don’t take up much space (especially when you consider the amount of actual storage contained in that physical volume).

The goal is to find something that will last you as long as possible, at least until the next better archive format comes along so you can pass the baton. Tape is compact, easy to access, and cheap, but there are those moving parts, and it can get brittle over time. Optical discs like DVD and Blu-Ray take up little space, but a well-placed scratch could ruin things quickly. Hard drives can fail. They all have their drawbacks.

There really is no perfect answer at this time. Expense and reliability are serious concerns no matter what medium is chosen.

In any case, if that’s MiniDV tape, step one is keeping the original media.

As for HD, especially consumer HD formats, file sizes are comparable to DV, as the consumer formats generally use heavy forms of compression. Even HDV is approximately the same bitrate as DV, and the file sizes are similar or even smaller. At the very least, the problem you have now doesn’t seem to be exacerbated by newer technology.

Sonic’s Home Video (Episode 2)

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