I have always transferred my home videos to DVD's. I do this by using a stand alone Panasonic DVD recorder. I plug my Sony Mini DV camera into the recorder and transfer to the DVD using the highest resolution setting. I now have a large collection of DVDs which I would like to archive on a computer harddrive with two purposes in mind. The first is to provide a single source for saving all these DVD which can be copied to another drive if needed. The second is to allow me to watch any of the files on a computer or possibly to stream them to a tv using something like an Apple TV.
My computer system is PC based running Windows XT.
When I open the DVDs I find that they contain Video TS files which have BUP files within, and Files labelled VTS_01 which have Nero show time files within.
Now my question- what is the best way to save these DVDs so that they can be viewed on the computer but also can serve as an archive from which I can reburn new DVD's or recopy the entire drive to share with another family member.
I have found that if I double click on the DVD in the drive it will open an play on Windows Media Player and I can open it with almost any DVD playing software. I have not found a way to copy the DVD to the harddrive in a way that allows it to be played from the harddrive and serve as a source for a new copy.
In addition - is there any way to import these type of files into Itunes?
Thanks for any help
Chuck
If you want to keep the DVDs in their original form (not compress them into something like WMV, MP4, or DiVX), the easiest ways will be to use image creation software to convert discs into ISO files. If you've already converted the discs to DVD, software like Nero 7 can create ISO (or similar) files that can be played back through a virtual CD drive (which I think Nero also has the option to enable, but you'd have to check the feature set). A program that I personally use for this purpose is called Alcohol 120%, which does include a virtual CD-ROM option.
To get a feel for how it works, the software installs a virtual CD/DVD drive in the computer. Windows looks at it like any other optical drive on the system, but instead of you having to load a physical media, you just point the image file to the optical drive, and it's just like you inserted the disc itself.
The bad part about image files is that they take up a lot of space. It may be easier on your hard drive to compress these home video DVDs to another format. There's lots of options, but if you want easy iTunes integration, MP4 would be the codec to use. You'll find several options to convert video to different formats with a simple Google search.
Thanks for the response. You make a good point about compressing the files. My purpose in placing the files on a hard drive is two-fold. First, these are films from one of a kind vdeo of family events, kids etc. and I want a back-up archive in case the originals are damaged or become unusable with age. So I want something that will be accessible far into the future and also easy to copy all at once. (I have about 100 hours of video). Second, I thought having it all on a harddrive might actually make it easier to access especially as devices like Apple TV become more available.
The DVD's have already been made from the tapes. Some were made using a computer while most were made using a standalone DVD recorder.
I would consider the compression option if there is not much quality loss and if you thought the compressed files would allow easy re-creation of DVD's in the future.
If I did try one of the options for compression which one would you recommend. I already own Nero 7.
Thanks for the help.
I won't lie to you, there is some loss of video quality with encoding, but if you opt for higher file sizes, it probably won't be that noticable, particularly considering the original source.
If you have Nero 7, you can use their encoder to compress things. Nero also allows you to create DVDs from compressed files in their format, so no problems there (though it is more work to go from a compressed file back to DVD). Your desire to sync it with devices like Apple TV makes Nero 7 a poor choice, since nothing will sync with that format. If compatibility with media extenders is key, then opt for MP4 (for Apple TV), WMV (for Windows based media extenders) or DiVX. What format will work best really depends on the device you want to stream it to, though these three are the most common.
Disc images will let you keep quality the same, make it super simple to burn new DVDs from them. It won't however sync up with media extenders, so there's the drawback. Given that disc space is so cheap these days, 100 hours of video in disc image files should fit on a large hard drive, just make sure to keep copies on two physical drives. Another option for protected data storage are new devices like "Drobo", that keep data safe by storing data over two or more hard drives. If any one drive fails, everthing will still be intact. You could always keep disc images on a large backup device like drobo, and make encoded files for use around your network. The best of both worlds.