Elgato H.264 with Quicktime Broadcaster
by Thatcher Kelley
on
May 6, 2009 at 5:10:04 pm
I need to know if the Elgato will solve my problems.
I record live events with quicktime broadcaster to upload for podcasting.
This is my setup:
PowerBook G4 1.3GHZ 1GB memory
OS X Leopard (latest updates)
DV camera plugged in firewire400
Quicktime Pro 7.6
Quicktime Broadcaster 1.5.3
I need my resolution to be 640x360 (16x9)
Bitrate around 600kbps
30fps
h.264 format (I've been using x.264 encoding for it's extra options)
So far with this computer, I can only get around 10fps and the CPU appears to be working hard.
If I used the Elgato hardware encoder, will I be able to get 30fps out of it? I don't know where my bottleneck is and if the Elgato will open it up.
Also, the events that I shoot are about an hour long. Are there problems with the Elgato in terms of duration?
I know it's not a professional device. These videos are for a poor church that can't afford much. So I'm looking for a cheap solution.
Re: Elgato H.264 with Quicktime Broadcaster by Eric Susch on May 6, 2009 at 5:56:42 pm
You're definitely putting strain on your computer with an hour live recording. The hardware encoder might help but it may not solve your problem. You probably need a more powerful computer with a faster processor and more RAM to do what you want to do. I'm guessing that that's too expensive a solution for you.
Is there any way you can do it in two steps, shoot with the camera and then digitize later? That would take some stress off your computer because it wouldn't be a live recording and if the computer choked you wouldn't lose everything. You could also allow the computer to take more time with what you are asking it to do and do an overnight render or something. Just some thoughts...
Re: Elgato H.264 with Quicktime Broadcaster by Franklin McMahon on May 7, 2009 at 12:37:32 am
I know you have a limited budget but I would seriously look into the Mac Mini
I had not paid too much attention to them, but recently replaced an older admin machine (G5 tower) with the newest Mac Mini, and was quite impressed. We got the cheaper model and maxed out the RAM to 4G and I have to say its quite a little powerhouse! Fast dual processor, NVidia graphics, very quiet, purrs and runs stuff fast. I think replacing your G4 will see definite improvements in video playback and render speed, and the Mini is inexpensive enough to perhaps fit in your budget.
