Automated burn ware?

[ArtyFP]

Hello,

I bought some spiffy 8GB CF cards to accommodate my 5D2. I'm curious if anybody (especially Mac OSX users) is using third-party software to burn images to DVDs. In the past, because I was using primarily 2GB cards, I'd back up the cards to DVDs by simply dragging the CF card content to my blank DVD window--then burning the data using the Mac OSX software. But now I'm having to create new folders and copy 4GB or less portions of my images to multiple folders before I burn the DVD (this is a PITA). What I'd like is software that would allow me to, for example, drag my 8GB CF folder to a burn window, then automate the process of allocating the proper number of images, burning the DVD, ejecting the full DVD and continuing the burn with successive DVDs as needed.

Any suggestions would be appreciated... thanks,

--
FTP

 

[calfoto]

What I'd like is software that would allow
me to, for example, drag my 8GB CF folder to a burn window, then
automate the process of allocating the proper number of images,
burning the DVD, ejecting the full DVD and continuing the burn with
successive DVDs as needed.

Any suggestions would be appreciated... thanks,

--
FTP

--
I'm doing that exact task as I write this reply with PhotoMechanic.

Basically it's a viewing/editing software but it also lets you burn CD/DVD's. I'm backing up about 3000 images (JPEG & RAW) and it's divided the batch into 9 DVD's.

There's a 30 day free trial (camerabits.com) so it's not going to co$t to test it out and see if it'll work for your needs...

PS - it does a whole slew of other useful tasks as well.

Good luck!

 

[ArtyFP]

I'll d/l the Mac version and test it out.

-
FTP

 

[BC in NS]

I use Toast and it does the same thing as you describe you want very well...
Bill
--
Níl gach uile fhánaí caillte

 

[ArtyFP]

Thanks BC... that's what I was looking for. I think this is what I used back in the OS9X days.

--
FTP

 

[deuxcent]

Hi BC:

What do you need to do to make this work in Toast? Load a DVD disc, drag (let's say) 20GB of files into Toast's main window, and the program does the rest, occasionally asking for a new disc? Have never tried this before and hadn't occurred to me that this was possible...

dc

I use Toast and it does the same thing as you describe you want very
well...
Bill
--
Níl gach uile fhánaí caillte

 

[calfoto]

I use Toast and it does the same thing as you describe you want very
well...
Bill
--
Níl gach uile fhánaí caillte

--

While it's true Toast will do this, it does so in the Mac Only format. If you wanted to make a CD or DVD copy for a client who doesn't have a Mac it wouldn't be appropriate I should think. Perhaps the newest versions of Toast will burn multiples in a universal format. The version I have is a few years old and only does this for their Mac Only format

Any CD/DVD's I burn I generally want in as generic a format as possible so I can access them in 10+ years if need be.

Just a thought...

 

[jh2bh]

Why are you using DVDs?

Backing up files as they come straight from the camera should go to a less permanent method of storage. Get an external hard drive for this and you'll save lots of time and money. Use DVDs to store only the files you may want to keep for later use, and for "final product" edited images. What you get directly from the camera can be deleted from the external HD after culling and editing phases of your workflow are completed and saved.

 

[carl english]

available for Windows

Carl

 

[BC in NS]

While it's true Toast will do this, it does so in the Mac Only
format.

Hi,

I have Toast 10 Titanium (yes, it is available for Windows, but that would mean booting into Windows...) but T10T for Mac it will give you the choice of saving as a readable disc in Mac only or Mac and PC when you burn. Yes, it is just drag and drop and it records the sessions onto the disc.

I use this for offsite backup as well as handing DVD/CD to clients and it works very well. I have used Toast forever, so it's just one of those "routines" I got into. It's one of those "works for my flow" deals, but it is one of those things that just works...
Hope that helps,
Bill

--
Níl gach uile fhánaí caillte

 

[ArtyFP]

Hi jh,

I prefer to have a permanent archive of every original wedding image I shoot. I burn the images straight from the CF to a DVD, then label the DVDs and keep them in the file with the wedding paperwork. External drives will of course eventually fill up (much quicker now--my 5D2 RAW files are around 30MB each), so I prefer DVDs for this archival activity.

Thanks,

--FTP

Why are you using DVDs?

Backing up files as they come straight from the camera should go to a
less permanent method of storage. Get an external hard drive for
this and you'll save lots of time and money. Use DVDs to store only
the files you may want to keep for later use, and for "final product"
edited images. What you get directly from the camera can be deleted
from the external HD after culling and editing phases of your
workflow are completed and saved.

--
FTP

 

[John Ridley]

Indeed, I have recently given up on DVDs, and I'm using bare 1TB hard drives as removable media. They cost the same as decent DVD blanks per gigabyte, but are way faster and easier to deal with; you don't have to muck around dividing things up to fit in 4.5GB of space, and it's way faster to retrieve stuff too.

I buy foam-lined pistol cases and cut hard-drive-sized slots, 6 drives go into a single case, and they're waterproof and I could probably throw them out of a car at 50 MPH without damaging them.

Also, over the years I have had less data loss on hard drives than with DVDs. Luckily I make two copies of everything so I've never had a total loss of anything I cared about, but I have DVD trouble on a monthly basis (mainly with DVDs that were written 2+ years ago - even if unscratched and on good media I sometimes can't read a file or two). By contrast I only have a hard drive fail perhaps once every 5 years.

I keep two copies, same as I did with DVDs. One lives offsite, one at home.

1TB drives are about $75 these days, sometimes a bit cheaper. I drop them into one of these to use it:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153066

Personally I encrypt the drives so I don't have to worry about them getting stolen and having someone get hold of all my photos/videos/whatever (I back up my financial documents there also) but that depends on your level of paranoia. I use TrueCrypt for encryption.

 

[pbolton]

I agree that the disk option is faster and cheaper:

get one of these (a disk drive toaster)
http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/NewerTech/Voyager/Hard_Drive_Dock
(Amazon also has them)
and some 1TB drives (bare drives are now about $80)

 

[arlynd]

Unless Toast has updated things you won't be able to read any of disks you "Span" on computers that don't have Toast. I use Dragon Burn. It works well and there are no issues with needing the program to open the files later. It works great on two of my computers - really fast and seldom produces errors. For some reason the same program on a third computer takes a long time to set up the burn process.

--
Arlyn DeBruyckere

 

[BC in NS]

Unless Toast has updated things you won't be able to read any of
disks you "Span" on computers that don't have Toast.

Hi Arlynd -
They must have updated it.

I use Toast to create even Blu-Ray discs spanning from multiple DVDs onto the Blu-Ray and it works flawlessly in my BD player - which obviously doesn't have Toast. I think that the issue you refer to may be one of how you save the data. I create spanned CDs and DVDs for my clients all the time, and I assume they probably don't have Toast, and I have never gotten any complaints...

Bill
--
Níl gach uile fhánaí caillte

 

[Adqam]

I'd back up the cards to DVDs

DO NOT use DVD's for archival purposes! As John Ridley says above, optical disks even less than a year old can suffer from degradation and data loss. If you want to back something up, use a magnetic drive such as hard disk or tape.

 

[John Ridley]

From what I gather, you REALLY want to use the +R variety, not -R. Apparently +R is more lenient in the way the laser tracks and is likely to stay readable longer.

Personally I've given up on DVD media.

And regardless of what media you use, TWO backups, ideally one kept in a different location (I keep my really important stuff on a drive at my desk at work, the 2nd backup of less important stuff is in a foam-lined waterproof steel ammo box in my garage. All encrypted with Truecrypt in case of theft.

 

[ArtyFP]

Thanks to all for the helpful and insightful replies.

I'm going to finish off this batch of blank DVDs using Toast, then adopt the external drive method a few of you suggested.

Thanks again,

--
FTP

 

[ArtyFP]

I tried using Toast at a friend's office this weekend (wanted to try it before I bought it). I copied about 7GB of images from a CF card onto an Intel Mac Pro (just like mine). When Toast launched, CD was the media selected. I switched it to DVD and drug the folder to the Toast interface window. But instead of automatically divvying up the files to fit on a DVD, I got a "too much data" error message. I did notice that when I switched from CD to DVD for the media type, the Span option went away. Does this mean Toast will only automatically split the files as needed when CD is the media type?

Thanks in advance for any help,

--
FTP

 

[cyrano]

... I buy foam-lined pistol cases and cut hard-drive-sized slots, 6 drives go into a single case, and they're waterproof and I could probably throw them out of a car at 50 MPH without damaging them ...

WiebeTech sells cases designed specifically for holding bare internal hard drives -- probably not as much protection as your solution, but convenient:

http://www.amazon.com/WIEBETECH-DriveBox-10-pack-3003000300011/dp/B000YNVSMW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1246310418&sr=8-1