Here is outlined a method to convert a series of Video Toaster RTV files into independent AVI files compressed with the codec of your choice. Because this procedure relies on the Video Toaster® AVI Wrapper to do it's magic it may only work on VT[1] systems. This process also requires the excellent freeware VirtualDub.
Create a folder and move all the RTV files you
want to convert into it. This is called the Input
directory. Now create a second folder. This is your Output
directory. You will also need an Conversion directory
to receive your conversions, now is a good time to create one.
Note: the Conversion and Output
directories must not be the same.
Start the VT[1] AVI Builder. In the box labeled
"Video File To Encode" enter the path
to the Input directory, or use the browse button
to find the folder, double-click on it and then click "Open".
By not selecting any specific files, AVI Builder
will process all the RTV files in the directory.
The file name in the box should end with "*.rtv".
The *
character is called a wildcard and is used to
specify all files in a directory.
If you need to add an audio stream to your AVI's
check the box marked "Embed Audio in AVI file".
Then enter the path to the directory containing your audio WAV
files. Check "Re-Sync Audio" as necessary.
In the bottom section, marked "Output Path",
enter the path to the Output directory you created
earlier. Be certain you know what you are doing if you decide
to check the "Overwrite" box to avoid
being nagged about overwriting any existing AVI
files in the Output directory.
Check your settings. When you are satisfied they are correct click
on the "Build" button. In moments your
RTV files will be "wrapped".
In the Output directory you will find an AVI
file for every RTV file you processed, each with
a matching name. Don't be fooled, we are only halfway
done. These are not "true" AVI files in the sense that
they are not self-contained. AVI files like this will
not work without the original RTV files - don't delete your
RTV's yet! What's important is that virtually any
video application will be able to load them as if they were regular
AVI files. The video apps don't know it, but
they are accessing the original RTV file via
NewTek's RTV codec which is actually a simple
frame server.
Well Done! This may be enough for your needs if all you want to do is use your RTV files in AVI applications. However, you may now wish to re-encode your video clips to make them self-contained and even more compatible. You can also save precious hard drive space if you are willing to use a "lossy" compression scheme such as PicVideo's very nice MJPEG codec. At its second highest quality setting file size plummets to less than 15% of the original RTV's file size and standard video looks flawless. If that sounds good to you, read on! |
Start VirtualDub. Select the "Video > Compression..."
menu command. Select the video compression codec of you choice
in the video codec window. Click "Configure"
to check or alter the codec's compression settings. If you are
happy with your settings, click "OK"
on the "Video Compression" panel. VirtualDub
has many other settings that you may wish to explore. Of particular
interest are the Filters where you can alter
scaling, color, fielding, and many other things.
IMPORTANT: There is a bug in many (all?) versions VirtualDub and some other AVI applications that corrupts the right edge of an AVI created with the NewTek AVI Builder. It basically creates a 16 pixel wide black stripe down the very right side of the frame. Hopefully nobody will ever notice because it happens in the overscan area of a CRT. However it is ugly, and not right, and should be corrected. Fortunately there is a work-around. If you select the "Video > Fast Recompress" menu setting you will apparently bypass the bug with the added benefit of encoding about twice as quickly. This mode may not work with all codecs. If you have trouble try the "Video > Normal Recompress" menu setting. The only drawback is that you can not use any Filters in these two modes. |
Select the "File > Job control..."
menu command. Clear out any old jobs that might be hanging around
in there with "Edit > Clear list"
menu item. Then select "Edit > Process directory..."
from the menu. First it will ask you to select the Source
directory. Navigate the browser to your Output
directory and click "OK". Next it will
ask you to select the Target directory. Locate
your Conversion directory and click "OK".
A list of jobs will now be automatically created. You may want
to save your job list with the "File > Save job
list..." menu, but it is not necessary.
Make sure the job list looks right, check the file names and the
number of jobs. If it looks correct, click on the "Start"
button. VirtualDub will now begin the process
of encoding your pseudo-AVI's into the real thing. Depending
on your computer, and the size and number of your clips, conversion
could take some time. It's best not to use your computer while
the conversions are taking place. If you try to, you will probably
cause some errors. Just be patient and wait until they are all
done. If you must, you can interrupt VirtualDub
with the "Stop" button on the Job
Control panel, and later resume your conversions with
the "Start" button.
When your conversions are complete, take a look at your Conversion
directory. Inside you should find a fresh batch of AVI
files. Check a few of them out, make sure they look correct, and
when you are satisfied, give yourself a pat on the back. Your
video clips are now independent entities, free of their NewTek
bonds. If you wish, it is now safe to delete your original RTV
files and reclaim some serious hard drive space. You should also
delete the leftover AVI "wrappers"
in the Output directory.
WHEW! That was a lot of steps, but with more than a few RTV conversions it's well worth the small effort to automate the process.