Re: 3000 hours of Beta SP, best way to capture?

[Nigel Askew] "We have to capture 3000 hours of Beta-SP, we want to keep the quality of 8-bit, but we also want to get the maximum storage space without losing quality, any ideas? which format should we use?
thanks alot "

Do you have to edit with all of this at once or do you need to capture, then archive it somewhere for retrieval on an as need basis?

If you need it all at once, the suggestions of DV50 are not bad, but the graphics quality will suffer if you edit in a DV50 timeline. You might be able to capture DV50 then edit in a ProRes timeline if you have a fast enough system to do this in realtime.

ProRes is a good option as you get slightly smaller captures with good graphics quality maintained. I would do this or straight 8bit SD Uncompressed if you're looking to archive this material and then retrieve it at a later date.

If you go to Digital Heaven's website, you can download a free data rate calculator that will tell you how much storage you will require for the various data rates. based on those numbers, you can decide which is the best route for you. Be prepared for a LOT of hard drive storage.





Walter Biscardi, Jr.
Editor, Colorist, Director, Writer, Consultant, Author.
Credits include multiple Emmy, Telly, Aurora and Peabody Awards.
Owner, Biscardi Creative Media featuring HD Post
Biscardi Creative Media

Creative Cow Forum Host:
Apple Final Cut Pro, Apple Motion, Apple Color, AJA Kona, Business & Marketing, Maxx Digital.

Read my Blog!

Twitter!