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Archival codec, wrapper, format….
I hope the time for this question is not inappropriate.
We are supporting research in our institution with video documentation. I think days of video tape archive are over for us, so we went on LTO-4 rout for long term storage. All other details i think we managed to put together, only which codec to choose is for me still unanswered question.
We edit on HD ProRess (ingesting AVCHD, HDV) so this is our obvious 1. candidate, but its proprietary character disturbs us. Our distribution is on the Internet and blu-ray.
There are some alternatives, but all have negative +1 transcoding generation:
2. MXF wrapper or Sony xdcam hd422 format (mpeg2 intraframe 50Mbit compression), or
3. MP4 wrapper with h.264 codec (better quality then blu-ray),
4. ???Does anybody have better candidate for digital master or long term storage?
Miha Pece
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7 Replies
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For digital masterings: Prores.
For footage, why don’t to keep the original files?
Rafael -
Probably not clear enough: we are archiving footage without transcoding. Problem is with digital masters. With ProRess you are basically bound with apple – and sometimes this could be dangerous.
Miha Pece
editor -
[Miha Pece] “With ProRess you are basically bound with apple – and sometimes this could be dangerous.”
You are going to be bound to some codec, so you will need to pick one. I’d recommend an MXF wrapper as it’s not proprietary, but the codec you use will be to some extent.
Ideally, I’d use Avc-Intra 100 in an MXF wrapper for quality.
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If you want a nonproprietary codec, there’s mpeg2 and motion-jpeg.
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Proprietary codecs with few users are a real risk.
Codecs that have become industrial standard, like DV or Prores, with millions of users, will be readable for generations.
rafael
PS: Don’t forget to tell your grand sons to update QT now and them 🙂 -
As far as I know, there’s no real standardized HDTV archive codec yet. IMX50 is used predominantly in the SD world, and broadcasters can’t make up their minds for HD. Some use XDCam, some use AVC-I, they all use MXF. ProRes is unavailable as MXF.
Generic MPEG2 is ok.
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Proprietary codecs with few users are a real risk.
Yes, this is reality – painful.
Wouldn’t be nice if Apple would “open” prores for everyone, like Google did with WebM?
Miha Pece
editor
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