Posted by HerHusband on 02/11/07 19:22

> I have not looked into MPEG4, yet

I experimented with Mpeg4 compression. It does provide smaller file sizes
at the same video quality (or better quality with identical file sizes).
But, it's still a relatively new format, so there aren't as many options
available for converting your video to and from Mpeg4.

For now, I felt Mpeg2 offered the best balance between compatibility and
small file sizes. I can always convert to something else in the future if
needed, but DVD's will probably be around for quite some time, so Mpeg2
utilities will probably be around a while too...

> Please understand that it's ONLY for the old tapes,
> not the current stuff I'm shooting today.

I've actually found Mpeg2 to work well for storing my current video too
(720x480 widescreen, shot on a Canon ZR500). The source is usually cleaner
than the old stuff, so it compresses better than the noisy VHS tapes did.

Just use a really high bitrate (I use 9000kbps video, 192kbps audio) to
minimize degradation. I personally couldn't tell a difference between the
original DV footage and the much smaller Mpeg2 version.

> If you can burn a DVD that "a reasonable group of viewers" can not
> distinguish in any way from the original tape on a 1080i TV, then
> that's all I want.
> "If" I ever do any editing, it will be simply cutting & pasting a
> bunch of GOPs, or whatever it takes, to get a complete set of frames.

Try extracting your video a few times before you decide to use a video DVD
as your backup. It's possible, but it's a lot of work.

I find it much easier and more convenient to keep the raw Mpeg2 files on
hand. I have one copy on my hard drive, and also burn the files to a
"data" DVD-R. I still create a video DVD for "watching", but I don't
consider it a backup disk (though it could be used for that if everything
else failed).

> Wonder how large the MPEG4 (or whatever it ends up) file would be

It varies depending on the source, of course, but you can try DivX for free
to see how your videos look as Mpeg4 files.

Anthony

[Back to original message]