Backing Up Large Video Files When Overseas

[Wonky]

We're going to Europe for close to 6 weeks mid year for my nephew's wedding in Amsterdam. It's a long way to go for just a wedding so we're going to make the most of it as possibly our final big trip (we're both into our 60s ) by visiting some of my wife's remaining relatives and friends in England and seeing some of the many parts of Europe we didn't see in our only other trip there years ago.

One thing I'll be taking is a dashcam same as the one I have in the Senator, a Mini 0805 and using it in the three hire cars we've booked, mainly for protection against any clowns who happen to run into us (same reason I have it in the Senator) but also to be able to make a copy when we get home of any spectacular scenery. I use 64gig micro SD cards in it in the Senator, which gives me about 8 hours video. We will rarely if ever be driving 8 hours over there on any given day but if possible each night I'd like to copy the contents of the micro SD to something reliable for permanent storage, at least till we get home and can view/edit it all.

I'm sure that in most, possibly all, places that cloud storage is out of the question as in places hotel etc wi-fi is not designed to transfer mega amounts of data, so what would people suggest for backup please? We will probably only have our mobile phones and possibly my Samsung Tab 3 tablet (wi-fi only). My wife doesn't want to take her laptop if at all possible as it is mainly used for her part time work and she'd hate to lose it.

I must admit as a former tech junkie I've not kept up with the latest gadgets and when I try Googling my head ends up spinning, so I'm hoping people here who are much more up to date with current technology can point me in the right direction please. I'm happy to spend a few hundred dollars if that's what it takes to make the job relatively painless, especially if it can then be used for backup etc when we're back home.

Thanks,
Gary

[C4B]

With the amount of data you're potentially going to generate you're going to struggle with anything other than a Laptop and External HDD. (if you averaged even a couple of hours a day you're looking at over 1TB for the trip so this rules out cloud storage, saving to a tablet etc.)

You can get external HDD's that allow you to directly download from an SD (ie: no need for the laptop), but most don't allow you to confirm the copy has succeeded so they're not a brilliant option, especially if you arrive home and find your files don't exist.

Whenever we travel we always create a copy on the laptop and on the external (so you've got 2 copies). We also keep the external HDD in another bag to the laptop whenever not in use.

[Wonky]

Thanks C4B. That was what my research had led me to believe was probably my best option. Fortunately due to the way things are planned we're only actually hiring a car for less than half the time we're away, so we'll get away with a 1TB drive. If we do go that way I might actually buy 2 WD Passport drives to be safe, not the wireless version which is too $$$$.......

[IJ.]

I just bought another 2Tb drive recently Gary, it's a Seagate Expansion, it was $120.

[C4B]

Thanks C4B. That was what my research had led me to believe was probably my best option. Fortunately due to the way things are planned we're only actually hiring a car for less than half the time we're away, so we'll get away with a 1TB drive. If we do go that way I might actually buy 2 WD Passport drives to be safe, not the wireless version which is too $$$$.......

The other thing we do is if you have an important event that you really don't want to lose, go through the process of copying everything off the card but then retire that card for the rest of the trip so you have a get out of jail free card. We do that when we take my good EOS 1D. We have enough SD's/CF's (it takes both) to last most of the trip, so for example when we did a cruise around NZ, we put the Milford Sounds SD cards away for the rest of the trip so even if we lost the data on the drives it was still available on the SD (which are pretty bulletproof).

Also read the FAKE SD CARD thread I'm about to post.

[Wonky]

My head is spinning from reading so much info and so many reviews that I'm now probably worse off now than when I first started ...........

I guess what it comes down to now is what backup devices (if any) have an SD card slot which I can plug the micro SD from the dashcam into for backup because we will only have tablets with us, not a laptop?

It seems I could go wireless eg Seagate 1TB Wireless Plus Portable Hard Drive but they tend to be significantly more expensive and to my way of reading tend to be designed more for going away with heaps of movies stored which you can then stream from it to one or more phones. I don't know whether wi-fi works in reverse and allows transfers from the phone to the device or whether they expect you initially to transfer any required files to it from pc or laptop

[aussiebbq]

If you only have a tablet it's not all bad. If it's a newish Android device you can do as this article says. Seems pretty complex but do it a few times and it will get simpler.

Basically the easiest option will be assuming you have an Android tablet. OTG cable (inexpensive) to card reader with USB port. Put card reader and hard drive in. Copy from one to the other. Might take a while but there's nothing stopping you having it going over night and if you do it daily will lessen the transfer times.

If your tablet supports OTG without root even better.

http://petapixel.com/2013/03/26/how-...l-hard-drives/

[Wonky]

Just been looking again at the WD MyPassport Wireless which I'd previously discounted because it's USB powered, thinking it required a laptop or pc to draw power from. However, just thought - do I assume that means I could just plug the USB lead into a wall charger instead of pc/laptop and copy my files directly from its built in SD slot? Similarly for any other portable external drive with built in SD slot (if any)? I don't really need wireless, though it's obviously handy!

[white lie]

If it's like the one I've got, it's battery powered so you can just charge it with any usb charger. Mine doesn't have the SD slot (it's a few years old now) but I assume it would be all good.
At least with it being wireless you should be able to access the storage from your tablet and confirm everything is there

[aussiebbq]

Just been looking again at the WD MyPassport Wireless which I'd previously discounted because it's USB powered, thinking it required a laptop or pc to draw power from. However, just thought - do I assume that means I could just plug the USB lead into a wall charger instead of pc/laptop and copy my files directly from its built in SD slot? Similarly for any other portable external drive with built in SD slot (if any)? I don't really need wireless, though it's obviously handy!

As long as the charger meets the voltage and amperage output it will be fine. Looks like just your run of the mill USB device though.

[Wonky]

Ended up getting a WD MyPassport 2TB Wireless with built-in SD slot from Officeworks. Had to ring quite a few stores till I found one as they were selling them ridiculously cheap (under $200 whereas other places want much more for just the 1TB).

[QIKMIK]

Hey Wonks. Just had a thought about checking what's on the wireless HDD. As it's wireless, I assume that it has an IP address. I use an app on my Android phone called "File Manager HD" that lets you browse and access the contents of not only the device you are on, but also network locations. I use it to watch stuff from my NAS.

Will that give the "peace of mind" that whatever footage you've copied has made it across to your storage solution? Worth a try anyway.

Cheers,

Mick

[Micks]

Gaz from what Ive read sounds like it would be the perfect storage media for an avid photographer