How do I use the Daktronics Video Converter Utility?

Download the file converter program and copy the file to the drive on the DMP computer that will be used to convert the files. Follow the steps below:

1. Back up the original uncompressed AVI or uncompressed MOV files to another location before starting the conversion process.
2. Download and install the converter program located here.

Configure

1. Open the video converter utility.

4. Click Configure. The Configuration window opens.

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5. Select the appropriate Command Line Format from the drop-down list. Refer to photo above.
         • Medium displays (350K - 2.5M Pixels): use H.264 MP4 format. Select the first option in the drop-down list:
          -i "{0}" -c:v libx264 -preset {2} -crf {3} -pix_fmt {4} {5} -me_method {6} -bf {7} -y -f mp4 "{1}" 
         • Large displays (>2.5M Pixels) without alpha channel: use HAP-encoded MOV format with no alpha channel. Select the following setting:
          -i "{0}" -c:v hap -format hap -compressor none {5} -y -f mov "{1}"
         • Large displays and zones (>2.5M Pixels) with alpha channel: use HAP-encoded MOV format with an alpha channel. Select the following setting:
          -i "{0}" -c:v hap -format hap_alpha -compressor none {5} -y -f mov "{1}"
         • Note: to calculate number of pixels in a display or zone, multiply the display/zone width by the display/zone height.
   

6. Clear the Strip Audio check box and keep the default option listed in the Audio Options field if audio is required.

7. Select the Scale check box and enter an even number for the Width and Height of the source file resolution. 
         • Medium displays (350K - 2.5M Pixels) using MP4 format: If the display width or height is an odd number, increase the odd number by adding 1. 
          - For example, if the uncompressed AVI file has a width of 3840 and a height of 925, enter the height number 
         as 926.
         • Large displays (>2.5M Pixels) using HAP-encoded MOV format: if the display/zone is a number not divisible by 4, round the dimensions up to the nearest number divisible by 4.
          - Tip: look at the last 2 numbers. For example, 1274. Check to see if the number in the tens digit is an odd or even number. If the number is odd, the ones must be a 2 or 6. If the number is even, the ones digit must be a 0, 4, or 8. In the case of 1274, the 7 is an odd number, so 1274 is not divisible by 4. Therefore we, should use the Scale function to change it to 1276.

8. Click OK. The control panel opens again.

Add files / Run

1. From the Control Panel, click Add/Browse and select the content file(s) to be converted. More than one file can be selected at one time.

2. Click Run. A prompt to delete the original files opens.

3. Click Yes to delete the original uncompressed AVI or MOV files from the computer after the conversion only if a backup exists. If a backup file was not created before the conversion, click No in the dialog box. The files will convert to the new format.

4. Verify that the new MP4 or MOV files are saved in the same folder as the original source files.

Auto stripe- This feature can be used with content is greater than 8k long, but it may not be needed because most codecs should work.    This should be used for content greater than 16k long.

 for version 4.0.0, there is a known issue around color space conversion.  This may not work in some circumstances.