Video backup

[ThePuzzleMaster]

Hey,
So I'm currently digitizing a video library for a glass school. They have hundreds of hi8 tapes. The final videos willl be stored on a server, which will allow students to access them via a wireless network. My question is what would be the best way to backup/archive the videos?

The hi8 films are up to 15 years old now, so they are starting to deteriorate a little. Originally I was planning on burning DVD's for backup, but that is probably even shorter lasting than the hi8's! not to mention those will just fail as opposed to deteriorating.

Any thoughts for backing up the videos? The best quality is preferable.

Thanks a bunch,
iLan

 

[CalvinHobbes]

How much data is it?

RAID5 or RAID1 for near line storage/access and then to DLT or LTO tape.

 

[ThePuzzleMaster]

Well there's a couple hundred hi8 tapes of video, each one is about 1½-2 hours long, and new tapes are recorded every summer! So it's a lot of video. As far as once it's digitized, the amount of data depends on the compression I use... Currently I have 2X400Gb drives strictly for the data, with the potential for 5 more (Based on the mobo).

As far as the backup, I was thinking of something external of the computer... So something other than a RAID. I think that would be safer. I don't know all that much about DLT or LTO tapes. Any chance you either have info about them, or know of a good place to go to get info about them? Any recommendations?

Thanks so much.

 

[gsellis]

I recommend that you ask some folks that do this all the time. Join the DVInfo forum and ask this question in the "Thin Black Line" section. There are broadcast folks that also hang out there as well as commercial video folks that have built or use storage libraries.

 

[CalvinHobbes]

The RAID would only be one part of the solution. The tape would be the archiving portion. HP, Quantum and IBM make DLT and LTO drives. Their websites will have more info.
There's DLT and super DLT. LTO comes as LTO1, LTO2 and LTO3 (very new).

 

[ThePuzzleMaster]

Thanks for the advice. That DVInfo forum is HUGE! Huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuge! I'll check it out. And the tape websites as well. This is exactly the type of info I was looking for.

Thanks again.