Wirecast - True Software Video Production and Streaming

Every now and then you come across a piece of software that is really incredible.  I was originally blown away when I first used a Video Toaster on an Amiga 2000 (OK, I know, that was hardware and software....but c'mon, it literally was the start of the desktop video revolution we all take for granted now) .  I also played around with the then free add-on tool called Lightwave.

Since my roots have always been in video production, I always am fascinated in how far software has come.  Enter Wirecast a little gem that is truly an incredible piece of software for those on the spot video production needs without having a huge video rig.  They also produce an appliance now as well as still selling the software standalone.

Wirecast allows you to connect multiple cameras via Firewire, USB, IP, and NDI mix in pictures and movies, apply lower third graphic overlays, manipulate sound and use some PIP effects and move seamlessly from one to another.  You can apply video effects and green screen.

The product is available for Windows and OSX and not only allows you to record locally as you live switch between all your composed "shots" but also STREAM the event live in Windows Media format (Windows Only), Flash, h.264 and Quicktime.  You can do push or pull streaming and also stream to relay servers or outside services like Eastbay Media.

I have used Wirecast on many occasions as a front end to video conferences and quickly apply lower thirds etc etc.

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