Using a VTR to archive your material is an inexpensive and accessible way of storing archives. VTRs are easy to patch and tapes can store large amounts of media, and VTR archives are viewable outside of Autodesk Visual Effects and Finishing applications.

However, VTR archives do have limitations. As a long-term archiving medium, VTR tapes are subject to physical deterioration and format obsolescence. Also, the following clips cannot be archived to a VTR:

• Clips with a colour depth higher than 10-bit.
• Clips referencing media, either directly or through clip history, with a resolution that does not match that of the VTR.

You can use the following VTRs for archiving your material in Smoke:

• Uncompressed SD VTRs such as D-1 or lightly compressed SD VTRs such as Digital Betacam
• Uncompressed HD VTRs or lightly compressed HD VTRs such as Sony HDCAM SR or Panasonic HD D5
• Compressed HD VTRs such as Sony HDCAM (using "HDCAM" rather than "VTR" as the archive device type)