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Video Formats That Will Be Usable in 25 years?

Posted by Cliff on from the sometimes-analog-is-better-than-digital dept.

El_Nofx asks: "I have several home videos and hundreds of video clips stored in dozens of CODECs that I want to consolidate into one format so 10-15 years from now I can show them to my children. One in particular I don't want to loose is a video of 9-11 put out in Shockwave Flash. Has anyone thought of a better way to do this, as opposed to convert them all to full-frame AVI. Is there a CODEC out there that in 10 years will still be backward compatible enough to play those old clips. There seems to be a lot of buzz around about doing everything digitally with regards to pictures, movies, etc. But what use is it if 15 years from now you can't find anyway to watch them. What really bothers me is the CPRM movement. If not done correctly, that could negate the work all of us have done to digitize video. Any thoughts?" Open Formats and CODECs will beat any proprietary format for this exact problem, and with that usual twist of computing irony, these are the formats that are least used when dealing with multimedia. Many people cite better compression with closed formats as their main reason for using them, but when the CODECs are obsoleted, they'll be then feeling the crunch. For now, consider dumping your digital videos to VCD or DVD, as these should be viewable on the consumer level players which exist. For those looking for a more economical route: VHS/Beta is also an option. Proprietary digital formats, especially the bleeding edge formats involving high compression CODECs, should be avoided at all costs.

2 of 48 comments (clear)

  1. MPEG-2 by tachyonflow · · Score: 4, Informative

    There are patent issues and it doesn't get the best compression, but MPEG-2 is likely to be around for quite some time, given that it is the codec used by DVD players and HDTV broadcasts.

  2. CD-R Longevity by Wanker · · Score: 3, Informative

    If you keep your disks cool and out of the sun, those CD-Rs should be good for a very long time.

    Two copies is always a good idea. Things like rolling chairs, pets/children, spills, careless movers, etc. can all take their toll.

    For more info about CD-R longevity try:

    http://www.cd-info.com/CDIC/Technology/CD-R/Media/ TDK.html
    http://www.cd-info.com/CDIC/Technology/CD-R/Media/ Kodak.html

    Or the main page:

    http://www.cd-info.com/CDIC/Technology/CD-R/Media/ Longevity.html

    Most manufacturers rate their media at 50+ years under normal office conditions, and some of these tests linked above show they are erring on the side of caution.