Technical

Tips, Tricks and Technical Information

Multiple MP4 Output

mediareactor logo smallMany modern productions require sending out multiple versions of shows to multiple groups.  A single in-process show will require versions to be sent for captioning, audio composition/mixing, ratings, producer proof, edit check, and QA.  To facilitate this, without using creative workstations, Net-X-Code allows you to set up to 10 targets and produce 10 watermarked/time coded/named versions of a show at one time.

Multiple MP4 Output

Setup

There is a one time setup of the multiple MP4 output workflow that customizes them for your company and production, and sets up the targets you need to generate for each show.  If you do not have the settings, running a conversion once will put in a set of defaults you can modify.

The Main Settings:

DDRSetupMultiOutput 

The main setting to start with is the TotalMultiOutputFiles, which determines how many of the 'file#' to use, and therefore how many files to create.

  • TotalMultiOutputFiles - Total number of files to create
  • UseDirs - Place each file in a separate directory, using the same name
  • HLSfMP4 - Use fMP4 rather than TS for the media files

The Per File Settings

DDRSetupMultiOutput File0

For each file you want to output, there are a number of settings.  The number of these file# keys that will be used is determined by the 'TotalMultiOutputFiles' above.  For each file# you want to output, you should set:

  • AudioBitRate - AAC bit rate, normally 128
  • BitRageAvg - Size in kilobits per second (megabits per second * 1000)
  • BitRatePeak - Peak in kilobits per second (megabits per second * 1000)
  • FileName - Flags for printing the filename as an overlay (see the flags below)
  • FileNameXPercent - 0..100, percentage to put the filename in the width of the video
  • FileNameYPercent - 0..100, percentage to put the filename in the height of the video
  • Height - A specific height, or 0 to use the source height
  • Width - A specific width, or 0 to use the source width
  • Level - The h.264 level to use, or 0 for default 
  • Profile - The h.264 profile to use, or 0 for default
  • OutputPostscript - A string to add to the end of this output name
  • Timecode - Flags for printing the time code as an overlay (see the flags below)
  • TimecodeXPercent - 0..100, percentage to put the filename in the width of the video
  • TimecodeYPercent - 0..100, percentage to put the filename in the height of the video
  • Watermark - Flags for printing the watermark as an overlay (see the flags below)
  • WatermarkFileName - Name of the file to use as a watermark source
  • WatermarkFlags - The opacity as 0..100, and an optional invert flag (0x10000/65536)
  • WatermarkXPercent - 0..100, percentage to put the filename in the width of the video
  • WatermarkYPercent - 0..100, percentage to put the filename in the height of the video

 Standard flags for time code, filename and watermark (all values in hex)

  • MULTIMP4_SHOW 0x00000001 Show or hide the element
  • MULTIMP4_CENTER_X 0x00010000 Center the text in the width
  • MULTIMP4_CENTER_Y 0x00020000 Center the text in the height
  • MULTIMP4_DOUBLE_SIZE 0x00001000 Text size, otherwise auto
  • MULTIMP4_TRIPLE_SIZE 0x00002000 Text size, otherwise auto

 


Producing the MP4s

To produce the group of MP4s, select the MP4-MultiOutput plugin, the source file and add any limitations (start/end time code), and then initiate the normal conversion process.  The source will be read once, and as it is read, as many outputs as you have configured will be generated simultaneously.

Below is an example of three targets being generated at 1920x1080 with watermark, time code and file name for the audio, closed caption and rating departments:

 


 

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Trademarks, Registered Trademarks, and Copyrights

Drastic Technologies, Ltd. – trademarks specified here.
MPEG LA - MPEG LA licenses patent pools covering essential patents required for use of the MPEG-2, MPEG-4, IEEE 1394, VC-1, ATSC, MVC, MPEG-2 Systems, AVC/H.264 and HEVC standards.
All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

 

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