Archiving Ex XdCam files

[Giannis Pass]

Hello,
i am trying to find the safer way to archive my ex1r files.
i am a wedding videographer and a problem with the files is my worst nightmare.
What i can do?
I may write a bluray disk, or i may can have a raid set of hd?
Thanks

[Craig Seeman]

You could do both. I do NOT trust hard drives for long term storage. I always back up to optical disc and I just moved from DVD-DL to BD.

OT: While the EX is easy the real challenge for me is AVCHD (Canon Vixia). I see no software on the market which properly splits the folder structure like ClipBrowser does.

[David Herman]

Archiving is still a nightmare for me. No problem copying the files to two hard drives via eg shotput pro. Then I have a third backup of the files I turn into .mov to use with final cut. Now I have an array of safety nets but no easy system of finding anything I want later down the line. The mass of files and folders with names which mean nothing would be great if I had production assistants and time myself to log and rename everything for easy archive retrieval. Right now in a busy life I have what seems to becoming a giant tangled ball of string. Help for a disorganised busy shooter urgently required!

[Giannis Pass]

shotput pro???
I have just looked at their web site and i think that it is a very helpful program.
Anyone that using this?

[Alister Chapman]

David, as a suggestion why not use clip browser to batch edit the Metadata on your clips You can add project names or anything you like in the clip notes. It only takes moments to do and if you do it to the card before backing up, all copies of your footage will have the data. Then you can use the search function to find whatever it is that your looking for.

I use Shotput Pro and it's very fast.

[David Herman]

Damn, Alister, now I've only got myself to blame. Time to haul out the Clip Browser instruction manual I downloaded so long ago. Thanks very much.

[Steve Gibbons]

For those with the money...

Cache-A Archive Appliances

[Giannis Pass]

Any idea about the cost of Cache-A Archive?

Thanks

[Harry Christensen]

I use two levels of archiving. I always back up my files to an external drive in addition to my media drive on my main computer. Once the project is finalized I burn all my files to BD. Those are stored off site. It works for me as I have back ups while am working on the project that are easy and available and once the project is done I can recover my drive space and still have back ups in a safe form. The only question is the long term reliability of BD. Mine are stored in a dark, cool place and time will tell.

[Joachim Hoge]

I´m on a Mac and I just used Automator to make a little "app" on my desktop. I just drag the files over it and it automatically put them in a folder with the name of the project and date and time. This way they get ascending numbering. Then they are copied to 2 different locations.

[David Herman]

Joachim, could you explain that with a little more detail?

[Dennis Dillon]

Having had a few years with the EX, and suffered data losses from bad HDs, I now move all my EX and Nano CF files to XD Optical, Sony U1 Drive. 3K for the U1 is better than 2 or more data recovery bills. A bigger issue is loosing a client.

[Warren Kawamoto]

On some media site's review, I recently read that a few people backed up their data on a particular brand of blu ray in early '09. They re-checked their files, and everything was fine. Then in late '09, those same blu ray disc couldn't be read! They apparently lost everything. Anyone ever heard of this, or what brand that was? Very scary.

[Warren Kawamoto]

I found the negative reviews on Memorex blu rays

http://www.amazon.com/Memorex-32020013358-Write-Once-Blu-ray-Spindle/product-reviews/B001B96HLU/ref=cm_cr_pr_hist_1?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=0&filterBy=addOneStar

[Joachim Hoge]

Originally Posted by David Herman

Joachim, could you explain that with a little more detail?

I can try, but I'm on my iPhone so I can't post a screen shot to show you the exact way.
You launch the app Automator, it will give you lots of different way to build work flows for repetetive tasks. You only need commands you find under Finder in the left window of Automator. From memory I think I used;
New folder - set one destination here
Rename folder - use time and date
Rename folder - use time and date
Copy folder to - set second destinatin here

it's a graphical interface so you just drag an drop these commands, it's easy, but a bit difficult to figure out the workflow that works best sometimes.

Then you save as, and give it a name and save it as an application on your desktop. You get an icon on your desktop that you now can just drag and drop your BPAV folders onto.
I'll try to post a screenshot later