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DV vs. 10-bit for archiving footage
Hi all,
I’ve been a lurker for awhile, but finally have a question that I can’t seem to resolve by using the forum history 🙂I’m getting set to archive selects from a huge library of Betacam tapes. The higher-ups want to get rid of these tapes, and my task is to find the good stuff and capture it to a RAID1 array.
I’m using a Sony J-10 deck to view these tapes–it has both FW400 (DV) and Component outputs. My question is:
Given that this footage is being used as an archive, does it make more sense to capture it using the DV codec that the deck outputs, or will there be a noticeable quality difference from running it through our AJA Kona card using the Betacam 10-bit setting?
Obviously, the DV has a smaller file footprint, but I’ve been told by a friend that the quality difference will be low-to-none. I’m hoping to save the hard drive space, as we don’t have much of a budget for this project, but if we have to use 10-bit, then that’s what we’ll do. Thoughts? Thanks in advance!
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3 Replies
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[Blaise Douros] “the DV has a smaller file footprint, but I’ve been told by a friend that the quality difference will be low-to-none.”
not true.
difference will be huge where there is pure red or titles.
Just capture it as ProRes HQ.
It will have a much smaller footprint than uncompressed and look just as good.
Don’t do DV, that would be a shameful act if this is for an archive and
you have a Betacam Source. -
You may want to consider PhotoJPEG compression at 75%.
It has some trade offs, but it is DV file sized with
much better quality (but not better than 10bit).If I were you I would do some tests and figure out what is best for
your footage. -
Hah, I was afraid the answer would be “it depends.” Thanks for the input, guys–it’ll help me narrow down my options; DV is officially off of the table.
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