Database recommendations, mixed data types

[soren k jensen]

We are a University with a growing library of footage shot by several different departments. The footage is acquired in many formats and over several years, edited on mac and pc in various formats and so forth. Backup is on discs and tape stations, both mac and pc. What do you recommend as the best way to build a good database that can handle both R3D's, DVCPRO HD, DV etc.? Are there any solutions that offer not only search via metadata but also adding thumbnails?
Thanks, Soren

[Marc Wielage]

Filemaker Pro will do it, and it does allow storing thumbnails as image files -- even motion video like QuickTime (for Mac and Windows). Very, very versatile database program that can do almost anything, provided you're willing to learn the basic ideas of scripting and database design.

[soren k jensen]

Thanks Marc!!,
Haven't used Filemaker since just after it was invented ;-)
I will check it out.

[Henry Harrison]

Any recommendations for a more "out of the box" solution? We also have a mix of file types and are in the process of switching over to Premiere Pro. It's nice to be able to work with .mts files and R3D files but we're afraid of losing track of all the footage we have and we'd like to be able to do a more seemless integration and input of metadata. We're currently looking at CatDV but its pretty pricy.
Thanks for any recommendations.