Wirecast 4.0.1 Export to Import FCP 7.0.3 Issues

Hello:

I am posting for another person that is doing Live Broadcasts using Wirecast 4.0.1 and importing into FCP 7.0.3 issues. Details below...

The Wirecast settings are:

Video H.264 59.94 Keyframe every 60 1500 kbps 480 x 272
Audio MPEG-4 128kbps 44.1

FCP does not like super compressed formats, especially audio. (I learned this in the class I just finished.) I am locked into the above settings because of the live stream and these settings are not supported by FCP. FCP needs to have both audio and video rendered on these files before anything can happen, but because FCP doesn't support these formats, it can't keep the audio in sync and I have to use quicktime to do the rendering to keep the audio in sync. Quicktime and FCP add a generational loss to any file as it renders and these super compressed files are low quality to begin with, so our quality goes down even more. If I was on the forums and someone asked these questions, I would tell them that they need to increase the quality of their files by capturing at a higher resolution to begin with. Wirecast's record and stream settings are one and the same. If I change the audio settings on the record, those changes are also made to the stream settings. There is no way to get Wirecast to record in HiDef and stream in LoDef simultaneously.

Quote
uurazzle
Wirecast's record and stream settings are one and the same. If I change the audio settings on the record, those changes are also made to the stream settings. There is no way to get Wirecast to record in HiDef and stream in LoDef simultaneously.

These statements are incorrect.

You can create multiple, and different, broadcast settings, whether for live streaming or for using the "record to disk" functionality. For example, you could "record to disk" using Apple ProRes and stream a different resolution, frame rate, etc. of H.264 simultaneously. The user manual doesn't go into much depth regarding the "record to disk" feature.


-Dave

Sorry, if this is off topic, but some other questions from the user...

And any recommendations on codec and a/v settings to output that will import correctly into FCP...

<From the user...>
Wirecast appears to have only one encoder.

I chose the presets, because our server is set up to 480 wide. To maintain the 16:9 aspect ratio, the resolution is therefore 480 x 272. Here's the backstory. I am doing multiple input switching; a feed from the computer, two cameras and audio. Wirecast really hits the computer hard when it has to switch, stream and record. The audio must be routed thru one of the cameras to keep it in sync. I am running legacy equipment, so I have to come in using firewire and usb. Can you say crash? To take the load off Wirecast and the computer, I bought a Panasonic AW-HS50 switcher, a Yamaha audio mixer and a Blackmagic capture card to put into the Mac Pro. Crashes are no longer the worry. Now I am trying to figure out how to get Wirecast to stream in 480 x (fall) and record in any other codec. Now you say I can use the record to disk functionality. That is controlled by the encoder. Here again is the issue. Wirecast appears to only have one encoder and so my question is; How can one encoder stream and record at different settings? If Wirecast has two encoders, how do I access the second one?

Quote
uurazzle
Sorry, if this is off topic, but some other questions from the user...

And any recommendations on codec and a/v settings to output that will import correctly into FCP...

<From the user...>
Wirecast appears to have only one encoder.

I chose the presets, because our server is set up to 480 wide. To maintain the 16:9 aspect ratio, the resolution is therefore 480 x 272. Here's the backstory. I am doing multiple input switching; a feed from the computer, two cameras and audio. Wirecast really hits the computer hard when it has to switch, stream and record. The audio must be routed thru one of the cameras to keep it in sync. I am running legacy equipment, so I have to come in using firewire and usb. Can you say crash? To take the load off Wirecast and the computer, I bought a Panasonic AW-HS50 switcher, a Yamaha audio mixer and a Blackmagic capture card to put into the Mac Pro. Crashes are no longer the worry. Now I am trying to figure out how to get Wirecast to stream in 480 x (fall) and record in any other codec. Now you say I can use the record to disk functionality. That is controlled by the encoder. Here again is the issue. Wirecast appears to only have one encoder and so my question is; How can one encoder stream and record at different settings? If Wirecast has two encoders, how do I access the second one?

Yes, this is a bit off-topic but I'm sure someone else will find it informative. Thanks for at least presenting a fairly complete picture of the situation. That certainly helps.

The short answer to this "follow-up" question is to see my previous answer (really). Or, tell the user to RTFM ( "read the fabulous manual" ) , even though the manual is a bit sparse in this area. This is clearly a Wirecast support question (as far as setting up Wirecast's broadcast settings for encoding multiple outputs).

I am not sure what the user means about a single encoder, as Wirecast leverages the various codecs available via QuickTime for encoding, including third-party plugins. Again, you can have Wirecast output multiples streams using different codecs, frame rates, bit rates, etc. all at the same time, including recording to disk (depending on the capabilities of the system used).

As far as FCP compatibility goes, why not have the user look into what formats/codecs FCP supports natively? I already mentioned that any "flavor" of ProRes should work fine (at the correct settings).

This is a simple matter. With a bit of reading of the relevant documentation/manuals, and a brief exchange with Telestream support (not really necessary if my advice is followed), this situation could easily be resolved.

If you ( or the "user" ) need more info, feel free to send me a PM and I may be able to offer further assistance.

Good luck!


-Dave

P.S. - One Mac user group I have helped uses a first generation MacBook Pro, an old SD DV camcorder, and Desktop Presenter (for broadcasting computer screens --- it is a free app from Telestream). No externals drives or switchers are used. Live streams are broadcast in MP4 or H.264 at SD or lower resolutions, along with recording to disk. With Wirecast 4.x the MBP does reach near capacity on the CPU but it works (Wirecast 4.x is much more efficient and robust than Wirecast 3.x in my experience). The Turbo H.264 USB HW encoder may help with off-loading some of the transcoding load (I haven't used it myself).