All VTR archives contain a Header Info Slate, which is a single frame providing information about the archive. Located in the archive before the table of contents, the Header Info Slate provides information such as:

• Name of the archive
• Name of the OTOC
• Name of the workstation where the archive was created and name and version of the Autodesk application used for archive creation
• Start timecode
• Creation date and time
• Modification date and time
• Minimum size of the clip library buffer (in MB) required to restore the archive

To create a VTR archive:

1. Open the Archive menu.
2. In the Archive menu, select VTR from the Archive Device box.

   The options for archiving to a VTR device appear.

   
   

   (a) Archive Device box  (b) Device Name box  (c) Auto/Manual Start button  

3. Select a VTR device from the Device Name box.
4. Insert a striped tape with continuous non-drop-frame timecode in the VTR.
5. Click Engineering and set Engineering options, then return to the Archive menu. See Tips for Better VTR Archiving.
   NoteWhen you open an archive in read/write mode, play delay and pre- and postroll values are verified and set in the auto test run before archiving begins. Therefore, you do not need to set these options.
6. If you want to set the start timecode for the archive, toggle the Auto/Manual Start button to Manual Start and enter a timecode.

   The start timecode that appears by default is set in the software initialization configuration file.

7. If the tape already contains material, determine the start timecode for the archive by playing the tape in the Input Clip module. See Using the VTR Transport Controls.
8. Click Format.

   The Format menu appears.

   
   

   (a) Name field  (b) Length field  (c) Comment field  

9. Enter the name for the archive entry and any additional comments in the Name and Comments fields.
10. Enter the available space after the Start Timecode in the Length field. Enter the length in minutes.
    NoteIf you create the archive on a tape that already contains material, make sure you define the length of the archive as the space you want the archive to use, not the length of the tape.
11. Click Format and then Confirm to continue.

    The new archive is created on the VTR tape and opens automatically. Save the contents of the current project, clip libraries, Desktop, or reels. See Saving to an Archive.

    TipWrite down the archive name and creation date on the tape label. This will help you to locate the appropriate table of contents file if you need to restore your archive.