Whenever I edit a video on my computer, I always make sure to save a copy back on DV tape at full resolution, even if my final product is going to be a VHS tape, streaming video, CD-ROM video or DVD. Why? Because video files take up too much space to keep on the hard drive for very long, and DV tapes make a great archival format.

For a while, I was dumping the original footage onto DVD-RW discs, but this process became cumbersome, as each DVD-RW disc only stores half as much raw DV video as an hour-long DV tape. Also, DVD-RW discs don’t allow you to perform batch captures, and they take up more physical space than a DV tape. If you have a DV VCR that accepts the full-size 120-minute DV tapes, so much the better.

I also make sure to keep a printed copy of the nonlinear editor’s batch capture list along with the source tape, so that I can easily re-capture and re-edit the original footage in the future.

Submitted by
Alice Moore
Los Angeles, California

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