Any Windows Media experts out there?

Forum 2005-2010 (read only) General Bar Sport
1

Here's my problem: I've been asked to set up a live internet video broadcast for a civic organization. My original plan to do it with a Linux box fell through because I couldn't get the bandwidth requirements down with the encoders available for ffmpeg and ffserver. So now I'm stuck with using Windows Media Encoder on an XP machine.

The group wants to do the video with a sepia-tone filter to give it an "old-timey" look in keeping with the "Wild West" theme they're promoting.

I've literally spent an entire day searching the web for a WME plug-in that would do that transformation, and found nothing but PR blurbs and blog postings from MS fans about how wonderful it is that WME has plug-in support (Well, that, plus about 97% noise involving plug-ins for Photoshop, filter kits for digital cameras, blah-blah-blah...). But the only actual plug-ins I found were for adding titles, and the examples in the SDK are all about things like automating operation and adding remote control, so I don't even have a starting point for writing my own filter.

So, am I not finding anything because my limited experience with MS-ware has me using the wrong search terms? Or are there really no filters of the sort I need?

Thanks,

Ran

2

What graphics card is it? I'm going out on a limb here but some ATI graphics cards had an 'effects' type mode where it would put the effect directly on the incoming video feed. I'd look at your options on the feed end rather than the output end, you may get better mileage.

3

I really haven't done much with WM plugins. But...

Have you looked into VLC at all? The latest version added a lot of video filters, and while I can't say if sepia is one of them, it wouldn't surprise me. It would be able to handle the streaming too.

4

Can't you just go to your nearest camera store and buy a coloured filter? Then tell everyone you've got a no wires hardware hack :smiley:

5

If your still having issues, then I may have a solution for you, I've got a trust WB-5400 webcam, it's got live effects on it, one them is aged photo, works a treat :slight_smile: so, look either for a trust wb-5400 or a webcam that has those effects on it. I am currently running it through amcap (the basic capture software that usually comes with webcams) and it is running perfectly in real time.