Ffv1 or lossless x264 for archival storage

Help/How To
1

Hello,

I’ve ~TB of old video footage which is captured from VHS/Hi8 (PAL) sources and kept as *.DV.

ffmpeg -i gives e.g.:

`Input #0, dv, from 'test.dv':
`Preformatted text`Metadata:`
`timecode        : 00:00:00:00`
`Duration: 02:42:54.12, start: 0.000000, bitrate: 28800 kb/s`
`Stream #0:0: Video: dvvideo, yuv420p, 720x576 [SAR 16:15 DAR 4:3], 25000 kb/s, 25 fps, 25 tbr, 25 tbn, 25 tbc`
`Stream #0:1: Audio: pcm_s16le, 32000 Hz, stereo, s16, 1024 kb/s`
`Stream #0:2: Audio: pcm_s16le, 32000 Hz, stereo, s16, 1024 kb/s`

In #ffmpeg I was told that in order to preserve material for archival purposes it’s best to convert it to ffv1 or lossless x64 codec. I’m considering to use Shotcut to do it and wonder if you can give me some tips?

Currently, *.DV takes ~12GB/hr of material and wonder what can one expect when using ffv1 or lossless x264?

My main concern is to preserve video material and then restore some bits from the archive to use it for some video project after editing it (trimming etc.), so based on the above ffmpeg’s output is it realistic to use such material for e.g. producing HD SD (1080x720) output?

2

It will be bigger.
I disagree that you should convert from DV format for archival purposes. DV is actually a good, well-supported, durable format. My personal archives have more DV than anything else, and I am going to keep it there. There are standards and code for it. Projects like FFmpeg and libdv helps ensure the files will be readable for decades to come. If you need to digitize and archive analog sources, then you should consider using FFV1 as that is the new darling format of the digital archival and preservation community.

3

That I already experienced after converting one test file which did grow
for almost 45% (2.9G → 4.2G).

Thank you, Dan, for sharing!

[quote]Projects like FFmpeg and libdv helps ensure the files will be readable for decades to come. If you need to digitize and archive analog sources, then you should consider using FFV1 as that is the new darling format of the digital archival and preservation community.
[/quote]

Not at the moment since I already digitized everything into DV and I’m not sure whether our old camcorder would be able to still read the Hi8 sources.

In any case, keeping DV means less space used and no more work, so I can
focus on learning/using Shotcut. :wink:

Sincerely,
Gour