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AssigneeNone recorded
InventorMark D. Pesce
Estimating the term…
Methods, systems, and computer program products are disclosed for enabling the backup of very large volumes of data from a computer hard drive to a digital tape contained in a DV camcorder and for restoring the same data from the tape to the hard drive. The process uses the IEEE-1394 standard referred to commercially as FireWire. A backup/restore software component is installed on the host computer (i.e., the computer having the hard drive to be backed up) and enables the computer to communicate over a FireWire cable with a DV camcorder. Through this process, entire hard drives containing in the order of 30-40 gigabytes of data, can be backed up to a low number of inexpensive digital tapes. In many cases, where the total amount of data is less than 20 gigabytes, only one mini DV tape, for example, may be needed. The backup is performed quickly by virtue of the extremely high-speed data transmission capabilities of FireWire and the data on the tape can be randomly accessed.
A method of backing up data on a storage medium using a digital video camcorder containing a digital tape, the method comprising:
A method of transmitting data from a computer hard drive to a storage device, the method comprising:
A method of transmitting data from a digital video camcorder to a computer comprising:
A method of transmitting data from a DV camcorder to a computer comprising:
A method of creating a back up of a hard drive in a computer using a digital camcorder containing a digital tape, the method comprising:
A method of restoring a hard drive on a computer using data contained on a digital tape, the method comprising:
A method of transmitting data of any type between a digital camcorder and a computing device, the method comprising:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.
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Television signal recording: interface circuits between an apparatus for recording and another apparatus
Pictorial communication
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to computer software and non-computer-related peripheral devices. More specifically, it relates to computer hard drive or large storage media backup and restore processes using a digital video camcorder or similar device and mini digital video tapes or similar storage media.
2. Discussion of Related Art
The invention will be better understood by reference to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:
FIG. 1 is a diagram of host computer, a FireWire cable, and a miniDV camcorder, containing a mini DV tape in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing components of the back up and restore system in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
Reference will now be made in detail to a preferred embodiment of the invention. An example of the preferred embodiment is illustrated in the accompanying drawings. While the invention will be described in conjunction with a preferred embodiment, it will be understood that it is not intended to limit the invention to one preferred embodiment. To the contrary, it is intended to cover alternatives, modifications, and equivalents as may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.
It is estimated that by 2005 there will be approximately 68 million digital video camcorders, such as Digital8, miniDV and DVCAM, sold in the consumer market in the United States alone. Most digital video camcorders will be equipped with a IEEE-1394 standard interface, referred to as a FireWire connection, a high-speed data transfer protocol which facilitates rapid communication between a peripheral device and a computer. The standard is discussed in great detail at www.1394TA.org. As it happens, many PCs and Macintoshes sold today have FireWire ports, a trend set by Apple for its Macintosh computers in 1998. A thin, light-weight, and widely available cable (a “FireWire cable”) connects the computer with a peripheral device, such as a DV camcorder. Other devices having a FireWire interface include hard drives. Most home computers manufactured by Sony are now FireWire enabled.
The present invention is a software application that enables data from a hard drive or other source to be transferred between a computer and a digital video camcorder using a FireWire port or comparable high-speed data connection, such as a USB 2.0 connection. The application harnesses the significant digital storage capabilities of digital tapes, such as miniDV, Digital8, and DVCAM tapes, used in digital video (“DV”) camcorders and allows the tapes and camcorders to be used as a digital backup system by connecting a personal computer and a DV camcorder using a FireWire cable. For example, a miniDV tape can store up to 17.5 GB per tape, exceeding the storage capacity of DVD-RAMs and, by orders of magnitude, the storage capacity of CD-ROMs, the most popular storage solutions presently in the market. Many computers now have 30 GB or more hard drives which make it difficult for users to make complete back ups of their hard drives.