[MacDV] Storage

[Derek Roff]

> I figure that once the files are edited down
> to about 45 mins. each, I can export uncompressed QuickTime from
> iMovie and it will all fit on a terabyte drive.
>
> Is uncompressed QT a format that should have a decent shelf-life?

The short answer is yes, but I think there is value in describing the 
process with a little more precision.  QuickTime isn't a format.  In 
fact, QuickTime is hard to pin down, because Apple has applied the name 
to a group of related things.  If we are talking about a QuickTime 
video file, it could still contain more than a dozen different types 
and encodings of video, most with several possible variations.

When we export video from iMovie 6 to QuickTime Full Quality, we will 
get DV video in a QuickTime wrapper (more properly, DV25, unless you're 
working with HDV video, or another of the few video formats that iMovie 
6 can edit).  DV is a great file format and video format for archiving. 
It preserves the original quality, is widely supported, and is a good 
editing format.  There is so much DV video around, related to products 
from many vendors, that some level of support is likely to be common in 
new video programs for a long time to come.

If you are exporting to QuickTime from iMovie 8 or 9, it's harder to 
predict what you will be getting.  iMovie 8 and 9 can handle more video 
formats than iMovie 6.  What you export will depend on what you 
originally imported, and whether it was converted within iMovie 8/9. 
Final Cut Express and Final Cut Pro can work with even more types of 
video.  All will export to QuickTime at Full Quality, all the resulting 
files will be QuickTime video files, and it may be hard to recognize 
what the internal video format of the resulting file is.  Some of these 
formats will not be supported nearly as long as DV video will.

Derek

Derek Roff
Language Learning Center
Ortega Hall 129, MSC03-2100
University of New Mexico
Albuquerque, NM 87131-0001
505/277-7368, fax 505/277-3885
Internet: derek at unm.edu