Is mini-DVD tape the best media for a digital video camera?

Question

I'm wondering if there are any dropouts or artifacts with a mini disc storage system. I've never used one and am wondering if it's worth making the investment. I have a Sony 3-chip digital video camera now, and it seems that if I really want to keep some video footage, I had better put it on a DVD before the tape gets too old and the video degrades.

Answer 1

I'm not sure this is going to be a tie breaker, but I'll try and clarify things (a bit).

First off there's no such thing as "mini-DVD tape" - you can have a mini-DVD (a small disk) or MiniDV (which uses tape).

I'm assuming that the first poster assumed you meant MiniDV, and has given a good answer.  I'm further assuming that the second poster assumed that the first poster was talking about mini-DVD, so that answer was also good ?!?!

Bottom line:-

MiniDV = Good

mini-DVD = Bad

Regarding archiving, tape is probably still the best option.  It's a robust and simple medium that can be kept for a long time with only minimal maintenance.  Even if you have problems they're likely to result in degradation rather than a catastrophic failure.  Hard drives are only cost effective in the larger capacities, they're much more complex and hence inherently less reliable, and you're putting all your eggs in one basket - a head crash or a jammed bearing could cost you a lot.

If you need clarification of the clarification, PM me ;-)

Answer 2

mini-dv tape is the best choice... it has the least amount of compression so it gives you the most video data to work with.

And don't assume that a DVD will last forever.  The DVD -R and +R don't last forever.  The inks are not perfectly stable and they can become coaster in a matter of years in the wrong conditions.  The best method of keeping your footage is to put it on two hard drives and then make back-ups every 4 to 5 years.  The sad thing is nothing digital lasts forever, but the hard drives are probably the most durable thing consumer wise.... also avoid the larger hard drives, the smaller ones 160GB and less pack data less densely and therefore will be less prone to magnetic leakage between data resulting in data loss.

To clarify.... I assume when you say Mini-DVD Tape that you are talking about the MiniDV tapes...   longevity of mediums would be as follows.

hard drive

tape

DVD

A hard drive will likely last longer than a tape as long as you don't have the hard drive running all the time... A hard drive has a life of maybe 10 years under normal non-continuous life... if you didn't turn it on unless you were going to access the data and only did so on rare occasions then the hard drive might last 20 years or longer.... most likely the electronics in the hard drive would die long before the magnetic data on the platters vanished so even after the drive crapped out you could probably have the data pulled.

A tape on the other hand will start degrading as soon as you record your image.  It wont be noticeable for several years but it is happening, just go find an old VHS movie from 10 years ago and watch it, you'll see the color are starting to wash out and that is because the strength of the magnetic data on the tape is deteriorating, in a miniDV you wont have the color wash out instead because the image is digital you will have more error creep into the footage and eventually the error correction of the equipment will be at a loss and you'll see blocks randomly appear, beyond that you'll just get a blue screen of nothing in random points.

The DVD -R +R and Mini DVDs rely on special inks, they might last 10 or 20 years if you keep them in a temperature and humidity controlled environment.... but I have seen them become coaster in a years time.  And the problem you have is the quality control of the factories making them is not that great and down right bad in some places... making it worse some brand name DVDs are made at the same bad factories so even if you stick with what you think is a good brand there is no guarantee it isn't actually from the cheapo factory.... And don't confuse the DVD's you burn with the ones that are bought with movies already on them, the two are not the same.  The one you burn isn't actually putting any pits on a metal plate like the Hollywood version its just using a special ink that isn't anywhere near as stable as a magnetic field on a tape or hard drive platter.

Answer 3

I'm not sure this is going to be a tie breaker, but I'll try and clarify things (a bit).

First off there's no such thing as "mini-DVD tape" - you can have a mini-DVD (a small disk) or MiniDV (which uses tape).

I'm assuming that the first poster assumed you meant MiniDV, and has given a good answer. I'm further assuming that the second poster assumed that the first poster was talking about mini-DVD, so that answer was also good ?!?!

And the third poster was wrong too.

8 track is the answer you're looking for.

Answer 4

Not at all! Don't listen to the above poster. Mini-DVD is c**p. You want to use either MiniDV or, preferably, something with a hard drive that is solid-state. Mini-DVD has tons of problems that I am not going into, but just trust me on this one.