Using PE 7 want to archive/backup...

I know I've seen a similar topic covered before, but can't seem to find it now. I have a ton of original DV AVI files that I have created DVD's with. I hate the thought of trashing the files, but they are taking up an enormous amount of space. I know they aren't HD quality files, but I'd like to preserve as much of the original quality as I can so that I can someday go back and redo them for playback on Blu-Ray or whatever future technology is. Any suggestions? I know hard drive space is cheap, but it really does become a lot of work after a while to keep add/upgrading disk space. And now that I just got a new HD camcorder, space is going to get eaten up a lot faster. I'm not quite ready to sink money into BR writers and players either.
Using PE 7 want to archive/backup...
What did you do with the original tapes? If you didn't reuse the tapes just index and keep them. If you did write over them import the clips back to tape. Tape is fairly cheap, and if stored correctly will last a long time.
Using PE 7 want to archive/backup...
That is one thought I considered. I only have one problem. My previous camera was a digital 8mm, my new one is MiniDV. The old camera has lost its ability to reliable record. I'm afraid it's only a matter of time before it loses its ability to playback as well. So I've been trying to get all my tapes copied to HD before the camcorder fails completely. I've looked at network storage devices, but they start at around $130 and don't even include any drive space. I considered recopying them from the HD to MiniDV, but if I'm going to have the expense of buying all new MD tapes, then I may as well buy new HD's. I guess the lesser of two evil's is going to have to be buying disk space.

I have several external USB hard drives for backups, and I also use drive swap housings to be able to quickly swap different internal drives in/out for different file sets



Either one will work for offline storage... a ready made USB hard drive is certainly easier if just for storage, since you don't need to mount a drive into a housing