scamp | 2 years ago | 12 comments | 1 like | 647 views
GaspareNet likes this!
I'd like to able to record a video from the command line. This is because I have written a script that will take a CUE file and convert it to a bunch of .bt's and a btpl.
The cheap version of this feature would simply be to re-used the last used video recording settings which BT saves internally anyway. Then the only missing additional command line option would be "video filename".
The advanced version would be being able to pass the parameters that are typically set interactively (AVI Compressed / AVI Uncompressed / AVI Codec), but that's a nice-to-have.
Personally for me it would be more than enough to just support the AVI encoder. This is due to everything else apparently using an intermediate uncompressed file which then is sent through ffmpeg (and improvement would be to instead stream/pipe the data to ffmpeg instead using their API, which would remove the need of an intermediate file, but that's a different matter), so you really gain nothing using that. It also makes the parameters to pass predictable: After all most video codecs don't have relevant AVI Encoder options anyway.
(By the way, I am using the UtVideo lossless encoder, which is one of the very few that actually is accepted/shown with the AVI Encoder in Win64 AND supports actually working alpha transparency).
Any chance of getting this feature? This would allow for a lot of additional use cases for BT - you could create a fully automated pipe to generate captions and use them in your video chain based on external input (a database, DJ playlist etc).
Cheers,
Simon
The Wikipedia page about the CUE format only mentions audio and DVD, which both do not use an alpha channel. Could you tell a bit more about your project? I would love to see a render of your BluffTitler powered CUE converted DJ playlist!
michiel, 2 years ago
CUE files only contain Timestamps and Titles/Artists/Song. For DVD that's chapters (not relevant here), for .mp3 it's the way to timestamp individual tracks of a mixed DJ Set or continuous mix CD.
This is how a CUE file looks like:
PERFORMER "scamp"
TITLE "blablabla"
FILE "mymix.mp3" MP3
TRACK 01 AUDIO
TITLE "Cafe Del Mar (Stonebank Remix)"
PERFORMER "Energy 52"
INDEX 01 00:00:00
...
What I am doing is converting this file based on a template .bt file to generate a bunch of .bt's each containing the author/title as animated captions. And then I am generating a .btpl playlist. I can then load this playlist in BT, and record to video. I will end up with a single video file with transparency, that has all the animated captions at the right time in the video. So the only thing I have to do is to drag this video into my video editor in addition to my DJ Set live video recording, and then I am done - the whole video has captions for every music track I have played.
If anyone is interested, I'd be willing to share that generator.
scamp, 2 years ago
One final item: Where does the CUE file come from? Most DJ tools will produce one when recording your DJ set.
scamp, 2 years ago
Could we import texts from csv or xls files into BT?
GaspareNet, 2 years ago
Can we get this feature? PRETTY PLEASE?
scamp, 2 years ago
Here is a video explaining what I am doing and why I'd need a command line option to export a video:
scamp, 2 years ago
Compiling a playlist must take a long time, finetuning all the tracks and placing them in the right order. Choosing 1 extra menu item (FILE > EXPORT AS VIDEO...) takes 1 second. Why is this important? Or are you automatically rendering hundreds of videos every day?
What puzzles me the most is what you do with this video. Isn't DJ-ing about responding to the public? Playing the right track at the right time for the right audience? If the playlist is known beforehand what's the point of a live DJ? My suggestion would be to cooperate with a live VJ who manages the visual aspects, including your lower thirds.
Oh and make sure to unmark the INCLUDE LAST FRAME in the FILE > EXPORT AS VIDEO... dialog or else every next show starts 1 frame extra too late, which after 30 shows with 30 FPS means a full second.
michiel, 2 years ago
@GaspareNet Yes, I would be willing to add xls/csv import to my tool.
@michiel Cue-Files from DJ Sets are recorded automatically. Yes, preparing all the tracks for your set takes time, but this is done PRIOR to playing your set.
Having the option to automatically get the video saved would allow lots of additional ways to automate stuff - for example to instead of generating ONE huge video have lots of tiny ones with the timestamp included.
All that's needed for this is "remember last video encoding settings" and "automatically save the generated video file".
scamp, 2 years ago
Hello Scamp,
I find the playlist generator very interesting! Would you please be willing to share it?
Thank you!
davit, 2 years ago
For .cue files, or for some other source?
scamp, 2 years ago
Hello scamp,
I am sorry for the late reply. I was traveling and away from my PC in another city.
I never worked with .cue files before. Therefore, I would be very grateful if you could add xls/csv import that as you mentioned above. But if it is not possible to add the import, I would just start just with .cue files.
Thank you in advance and I hope to hear from you soon.
davit, a year ago