Greetings. I have a iMac 20 inch G5 running OS 10.3.8. I am trying to find a way to encode multiple audio inputs in real time. The audio interface I am using is a MOTU Traveler. The Traveler is a Firewire-abased interface with many inputs and outputs. Ideally, I want to get 4 stereo inputs to encode using AAC or similar. I have doing this for years on Windows machines by opening 4 different Windows Media Encoder sessions targeting 4 different pairs of inputs. I have been able to handle 4 stereo pairs with a P3 or P4 about 800mhz to 1.2ghz. So this superfast iMac should have the horsepower.
There are two problems I am having. The first is I can't find a simple way to even encode in real time. I have been able to save the incoming a data to an AIFF file, then open it in QuickTime Pro and Export it as an AAC file. The second problem is that I can't seem to find a way to target specific inputs on the MOTU. I have to go into system preferences and set the default input to one of the pairs. The iMac sees all the inputs on the MOTU since I can select any pair and it works.
I don't care whether I have to use a tool other then QuickTime pro. I don't mind using a command line utility in Terminal. My ideal solution is similar to the Windows technique:
- Encode the input over 4 different pairs of analog audio in real time direct to AAC
Put another way. I would prefer not to have to first store the audio as an AIFF and then convert it to AAC. In fact, what I need to do won't work long-term if I have to store the data to AIFF, then convert, since the length of the audio is between 4 and 12 hours. So if I have to record to AIFF then export to AAC I have space and time problems. The AIFF will be big (about 5 times bigger then AAC at the bitrate I plan to use) and the time will be the length of the audio PLUS the time to convert. Not to mention I would now need the disk space to store the raw AIFF AND the AAC (although I could delete the AIFF as soon as I had a successful conversion to AAC).
It bugs me that this is so easy on Windows and non-obvious on the Mac. I've downloaded numerous tools but haven't found anything better then storing the file as raw and then encoding it. I haven't found a real-time method to encode from live input direct to AAC (even without regard to how many sessions or targeting specific input pairs).
At this moment, I am facing two undesireable resolutions: doing this on Windows and using Window Media format instead of AAC. Since I have been using the MOTU's with Windows Media for 4 years now I know this works reliably in real-time and generates excellent quality audio without storing in the intermediate raw format.
Options two is I take CoreAudio SDK or other programming library and write my own command line tools to do this. I don't care about fancy status screens. I just need to know if it is alive and well and working or if it has hit a fatal error. This application runs inside my data center and is not seen by anyone but me and my engineers.
I am posting under the hope that I have missed something obvious in QuickTime or other readily available tool. I don't mind using an open source or even low priced commercial package, I just don't want to need to buy some super expensive product like Pro Tools. Ideas?
There are two problems I am having. The first is I can't find a simple way to even encode in real time. I have been able to save the incoming a data to an AIFF file, then open it in QuickTime Pro and Export it as an AAC file. The second problem is that I can't seem to find a way to target specific inputs on the MOTU. I have to go into system preferences and set the default input to one of the pairs. The iMac sees all the inputs on the MOTU since I can select any pair and it works.
I don't care whether I have to use a tool other then QuickTime pro. I don't mind using a command line utility in Terminal. My ideal solution is similar to the Windows technique:
- Encode the input over 4 different pairs of analog audio in real time direct to AAC
Put another way. I would prefer not to have to first store the audio as an AIFF and then convert it to AAC. In fact, what I need to do won't work long-term if I have to store the data to AIFF, then convert, since the length of the audio is between 4 and 12 hours. So if I have to record to AIFF then export to AAC I have space and time problems. The AIFF will be big (about 5 times bigger then AAC at the bitrate I plan to use) and the time will be the length of the audio PLUS the time to convert. Not to mention I would now need the disk space to store the raw AIFF AND the AAC (although I could delete the AIFF as soon as I had a successful conversion to AAC).
It bugs me that this is so easy on Windows and non-obvious on the Mac. I've downloaded numerous tools but haven't found anything better then storing the file as raw and then encoding it. I haven't found a real-time method to encode from live input direct to AAC (even without regard to how many sessions or targeting specific input pairs).
At this moment, I am facing two undesireable resolutions: doing this on Windows and using Window Media format instead of AAC. Since I have been using the MOTU's with Windows Media for 4 years now I know this works reliably in real-time and generates excellent quality audio without storing in the intermediate raw format.
Options two is I take CoreAudio SDK or other programming library and write my own command line tools to do this. I don't care about fancy status screens. I just need to know if it is alive and well and working or if it has hit a fatal error. This application runs inside my data center and is not seen by anyone but me and my engineers.
I am posting under the hope that I have missed something obvious in QuickTime or other readily available tool. I don't mind using an open source or even low priced commercial package, I just don't want to need to buy some super expensive product like Pro Tools. Ideas?
