But do you really want to re-encode your footage for backup purposes?

Split the original TS files into 4gig chunks and burn to DVDs has been my choice.

Gabor's Procedure with Premier Pro to JVC deck
 

Andrew,

Gabor gave this procedure for writing to a DVHS deck a few messages back in this thread. I believe the procedure is for Premier Pro:
Douglas,
I hope I didnt confused you, but what i meant is that I recorded with the Mitsubishi deck from the computer. I used the following method.
I capture the hdv footage from the Z1 to the computer.Than
> I used Mainconcept Mpeg PRO. I export the timeline with the following
> steps:
> - File - Export - Mainconcept Mpeg PRO
> - Mpeg Stream - Advanced - Edit
> - Format Type : DVHS
> - Format Sub Type : NTSC HDTV 1080i.
> - Export.
>
> After this I wrote the files to tape with DVHS Tool.
> Any questions let me know
> Gabor

Please note that he is using DVHS Tool to write the re-compressed (transcoded) file to the deck. You can find this free software with a google search.

If you have Vegas 6, you can use tools/print from timeline HDV to write directly to the deck. But Premier Pro apparently doesn't offer that feature.

Note that Gabor's procedure preserves the 1080i format but recompresses at a lower bit rate to match the capabiility of the DVHS deck. That will result in a theoretical loss of image quality, although it looked good to me.

==Doug

"While typical HDTV broadcasts use data rates of about 25 Mbps, D-VHS can record up to 28.2 Mbps. That’s more than sufficient to ensure every bit of detail is recorded. All Digital Television (DTV) formats can be recorded with its original Dolby Digital audio track, for up to 5.1-channel of surround sound. D-VHS encodes Dolby Digital at a data rate of 576 Kbps versus DVD’s 384 Kbps and 448 Kbps data rates. This can mean higher fidelity sound, since less compression is used for the D-VHS Dolby Digital soundtrack."

http://timefordvd.com/tutorial/D-VHSOverview.shtml

And you could store a Dolby Digital 5.1 final audio encode along with a higher bitrate final video project!

If you output back to HDV, you have to put 2-channel MPEG2 audio back onto MiniDV. With DVHS you get superior sound.

They're also 4 hours long in HS(28.2Mbps) mode.

I'm getting one or two!