Is there software available for WIndows to perform non-movie data backup to DV cassettes through a Firewire camcorder? I found a neat piece of software for the Mac that does this (pretty flawlessly), but I haven't found one for Windows! I would think that such a thing must exist, if it's available on the Mac. You can backup 10 GB of data in SP mode, or 15 GB in LP - pretty good!

The Mac software is called DV Backup by Coolatoola - http://www.coolatoola.com

Thanks!
-Jeff

A quick Google found DVStreamerPRO at http://www.dvstreamer.com/

There is a review at Tom's Hardware (a highly respected site) - see
http://www20.tomshardware.com/stora...0912/index.html

The review is not particularly positive, due to the potential reliability issues involved with the read/write operations. However, the review is dated September 03, and the program may have improved since then.

The DVStreamer site offers a free 30-day trial version, so if your camera is one of the listed compatibles, you have nothing to lose by trying it.

i'd like to see a dedicated external drive for DV tapes, but I guess hard drives are so cheap, and DVDs are cheap backup as well, it's not a real profitable venture.

There's been some discussion as of late about the archival time of most CD-Rs and that some have been found to last only two years or so even in perfect conditions. The problem is with the media ink fading over time. People suspect that DVDs suffer from the same problem and may even be worse because the data is more dense.

Magnetic media is suspected to last much longer. So that said, Mini-DV may actually be a cost effective backup option for people who have a DV recorder anyway.