[Jim Sustacek]

Probably want to post the FFMPEG info for a working file and then a non-working file. Just run “ffmpeg -i ” and the file path, without any output options, and it should list what it sees as the input file (streams, format, profiles, etc.). Also post the full FFMPEG commands you have tried so we can see what options you are using or not using.

I suspect that the various rips you download probably have the same source, and if that source has some profile or feature that doesn’t work right on the Xbox, it could persist using the default settings of various transcoding programs.

[Jim Sustacek]

Haven’t done it myself, but they offer Mac drivers for the device (same Desktop Video drivers as other devices). A quick Google search suggests that driver support was in “beta” a year ago but I didn’t see any issues listed since then, which is encouraging.

Probably just have to try it out in your workflow, and make sure it works with your devices and produces the output that you want.

[Jim Sustacek]

Sounds like you can’t do the “-filter_complex” (for the concatenate) and the “-vf” (for the drawtext) in the same command.

Fortunately you can combine them in the same “-filter_complex” statement:

ffmpeg -i test_freeze.mp4 -i test.mp4 -filter_complex "[0:0] [0:1] [1:0] [1:1] concat=n=2:v=1:a=1 [v] [a]; [v] drawtext=fontfile=/usr/share/fonts/truetype/dejavu/DejaVuSansMono.ttf:text='TitleofVideo' :x=(w-tw)/2:y=(h-th)/2 [v-titled]" -map "[v-titled]" -map "[a]" -c:v libx264 -q 1 -c:a aac -strict experimental test_effect_titled.mp4

[Jim Sustacek]

I notice your first command outputs a PNG file, and your second command inputs a JPG. Presumably that’s just a typo.

The “overlay” filter will lay one video on top of the other, and the duration will be the longest video (15 seconds). What you want is to concatenate two videos together (play one after the other), for a total duration of 20 seconds, so you want the “concat” filter.

You will probably want to make the frame image into its own 5 second video with a blank audio track, then concatenate it with the full video:

ffmpeg -f lavfi -i aevalsrc=0 -loop 1 -i test.png -t 5 -c:v libx264 -q 1 -c:a aac -strict experimental test_freeze.mp4

ffmpeg -i test_freeze.mp4 -i test.mp4 -filter_complex "[0:0] [0:1] [1:0] [1:1] concat=n=2:v=1:a=1 [v] [a]" -map "[v]" -map "[a]" -c:v libx264 -q 1 -c:a aac -strict experimental test_effect.mp4

See here for audio:
https://stackoverflow.com/questions/12368151/adding-silent-audio-to-mov-in-ffmpeg

And here for concatenate:
https://trac.ffmpeg.org/wiki/Concatenate

[Jim Sustacek]

If the quality is good at the lowest bitrate, why not use the lowest bitrate for all files? 🙂

I don’t know how to do any if/else switching within FFMPEG, but if you are indeed on a Mac, you could do it with BASH scripting in the Terminal, or even easier, using an Applescript. Save the following Applescript code as an application and then drag your video files onto it. (Edit the FFMPEG command to your liking, of course!)

-- Drop files on app icon
on open the_files

-- Loop through files
repeat with i from 1 to length of the_files

-- Get file path
set the_file to (item i of the_files) as text

-- Get file size in MB
set file_size to (size of (info for file the_file)) / 1000000

-- Set your FFMPEG command base
set the_command to ("/path/to/ffmpeg -i " & quoted form of (POSIX path of the_file) & " -b:a 128k -b:v ")

-- Append different video bitrates to your FFMPEG command based on file size
if file_size is greater than 200 then
set the_command to (the_command & "1500")
else if file_size is greater than 100 then
set the_command to (the_command & "1100")
else
set the_command to (the_command & "555")
end if

-- Finish your FFMPEG command
set the_command to (the_command & "k " & quoted form of (POSIX path of (the_file & ".compressed.mp4")))

-- Run your FFMPEG command
do shell script (the_command)

end repeat

end open

[Jim Sustacek]

Don’t know about slots (any open PCIe slot should work, right?), but Desktop Video 9.5.3 was the last driver to support 10.6 Snow Leopard. Here is the direct download link, I think:
https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/support/download/7a9bad4bb7ff44739d57fe38abfedc60/Mac%20OS%20X

Or you can just search for it here:
https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/support/family/capture-and-playback

[Jim Sustacek]

Unfortunately, if it really doesn’t conform to the accepted Blackmagic inputs, you can’t do it without another device in between.

We have a similar issue in capturing classroom HDMI feeds — the source computers change frequently, and might not conform to standards. So we need a scaler in between to scale it to a constant 720p60 or whatever. We use the Kramer VP-422 scaler.

[Jim Sustacek]

I’ve never really had any issues with the installation. Should just be able to pop in the card, boot up the machine, then install the drivers. The trickiest part might be getting the input format setting correct (i.e. 1080p50, 720p60, etc.), but we had a lot of different input sources — if you are just using one camera, that should be straightforward too.

I think the 2007 Mac Pro can get upgraded to Lion if you want, and then you could use the Desktop Video 9.8 drivers.

[Jim Sustacek]

It should work. You just need to use old drivers — Desktop Video 9.5.3 was the last version that was Snow Leopard (10.6.8) compatible.

https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/support

[Jim Sustacek]

For the clip names, I had to click the icon to the right that says “Prompt for name of each clip” when you hover over it.