Concert Webcam Video for TV - uncompressed avi > asf > mov - best solution?

**nakedgun** · 11-17-2011, 10:40 AM

Hi everybody,
i am recording Webcam Videos and converting them for TV broadcasting.
Concerning File size and quality i am after many tests still not sure if my solution is the best one.

The client records with a Logitech Cam (25fps).
Client software writes the recorded video to disk as uncompressed .avi (always 10-20 seconds files - easier to upload afterwards).
With 10-40 minutes video files i generate gigabytes of data.
After the recording the uncompressed .avi files are converted to .asf (audio + video seperate).
This way the file size is reduced for a faster upload to my server and to preserve the quality....
On the server .asf Files (audio + video) are converted to Apple DV-PAL into a single .mov file which can be cut on the AVID.
That sounds a little complicated but i have not found a better way to reduce the file size for ease of upload and preserve the quality at the same time.
In the future i am planning to do the same with HD quality like videos....
Anyone with another idea??

**Midnight Blue** · 11-17-2011, 05:25 PM

If your client isn't to far away ie different country, it might be better to send him a high capacity USB stick to put the file on and post it back to you. If the date is too big for that you could use an external hard drive. This way you preserve all the image quality a Logitech webcam can give you.

**nakedgun** · 11-17-2011, 10:20 PM

well, the clients are located around the world

**TimAndrews** · 11-18-2011, 11:48 AM

Sorry. I don't understand.
Where is the AVID? (with you, or with the client?); and what is the point in uploading to a server to perform the file conversion?
Would it be simpler to omit the 'ASF', but creating a (Apple DV-PAL) MOV directly from the original Uncompressed AVI files?

**nakedgun** · 11-19-2011, 04:13 PM

hi,
the AVID is in the studio, where also the server is located.
Converting the AVI to ASF files creates a file size that i can upload and is 3-4 times smaller than mov files.
So if i have 1GB of ASFs to upload this is much faster than doing it with 3-4GB mov files.
On the server i also have a licensed Procoder from Grass valley running which i could not afford to put on all clients.
The clients use FFMPEG freeware.
But still, the file size is the isuse.
thanks, all suggestions and questions welcome

**TimAndrews** · 11-20-2011, 08:10 AM

What codec is used within the ASF files? If WMA/WMV; then I doubt the original quality is preserved.
Can't AVID handle the ASF files? It it can, there seems little point converting to MOV.

**nakedgun** · 11-20-2011, 02:51 PM

Originally Posted by TimAndrews

What codec is used within the ASF files? If WMA/WMV; then I doubt the original quality is preserved.
Can't AVID handle the ASF files? It it can, there seems little point converting to MOV.

Hi,
i use wm9 which in comparison to all other codecs is the best. Divx can deliver the same results but wm9 is free and supported nearly everywhere.
Quality in the current setup is enough for PAL/NTSC and also for HD.
The mov file is created because i need to put together various files of the video recording into one single video and one single audio files. In the end i have mov files from 7 cameras which are put together by the cutter and need to be alligned with the time code. thats why als single asf files are merged into one mov file in the end.