Converting DV video for Tricaster on OSX

You can use use Mpeg Streamclip to convert DV video files for use on NewTek Tricaster.  Newtek is very annoying in that they do NOT recognize Quicktime format files so you have to convert to AVI format.  Quicktime movies and AVI movies are just containers.  The important part is the format of the audio and video inside those containers.

Using Mpeg Streamclip you can install the included "Save as AVI" Quicktime component and make sure the video is in DV format and the Audio is in MP3 format.  You can then put the resulting AVI file on a thumb drive or external hard drive, quit the Tricaster interface and copy the file to the media clips folder.  Once you re-launch the Tricaster interface you can then load up the video in the "VCR" (or I will assume a DDR in the Video Toaster product) for playback.

Converting from Tricaster naitive format is pretty much impossible.  You need to obtain the video CODEC from the NewTek website and install it on your Windows workstation.  You can then open the file in Windows Media Player to view it...but you will have to find utilities to then convert it to a format you can play elsewhere.  NewTek does NOT make a Quicktime component to support their format, which in my opinion is a mistake on their part.  The prevents you from sourcing a video file on a Tricaster or Video Toaster and using it in Final Cut Pro on OSX.  Very short sighted on NewTeks behalf if you ask me.  I believe you now can use MPEG2 as a format, but in my opinion...too little...too late.

Audio/Video conversion tools for OSX

Some wonderful OSX tools to manipulate and convert audio/video.

Audacity - Open Source audio editor
Gimp - Open Source graphic editor
ffmpeg - Open Source audio/video conversion software
iFFMPEG - GUI front end to OSX version of ffmpeg (Video Conversion)
iMediaHUD - Free utility to see the specs of AV files
Mpeg Streamclip - Converter (supports many formats)
VLC - Media player that can also transcode and convert in many formats
Handbrake - Rip DVD's to MP4, directly into iPod/iPhone formats as well as others.

All the above utilities are free.  You can download them and use them to perform many tasks.  Mpeg Streamclip also includes a "Save as AVI" quicktime component.  I use all these utilities on a regular basis when I need to convert video into different formats for our video needs.

Hey there!

Welcome to my blog.  I will attempt to blog on snippets of code and other utilities that I use day in and day out to do my job.  I don't claim to be an expert but I do believe that you should share information that has helped you so that others may find it if they need help.  Everything contained in here are snippets of code that I have seen or found on the internet, as well as from the fantastic individuals on the MacEnterprise forum.  If you are supporting OSX in any larger scale network, you should check out this fine resource at www.macenterprise.org