3.1 Introduction

3.1 Introduction

Incite Media Assistant offers three excellent conversion tools which let you convert selected media files into practically any video format available on the market today, rendering them useful for other applications, other platforms or other hardware systems. For example, as the Incite Editing system can work on all three of the Matrox DigiSuite boardsets, using Incite Media Assistant you could select MJPEG media files (DigiSuite, DigiSuite LE) and turn them into DV or MPEG2 formats (DigiSuite DTV). In another example, you may wish to convert a video file and all of its related audio files into a single file format suitable for multimedia applications.

These three conversion utilities are:

·	The AVI Converter
·	The QuickTime (QT) Converter
·	The RealMedia (RM) Converter

Conversion is a very simple process, providing a wide selection of tools and options for controlling the operation. In general, you will establish the format and parameters for the conversion using the AVI, QT or RM Converter window. Then you will select the files you wish to convert and run the appropriate Convert Selected command directly from the Catalog List. Conversion can be performed for a single clip, a group of clips or entire folders. In addition, as they are separate conversion utilities, you can have more than one conversion process in operation simultaneously.

Your main tools for setting conversion parameters and editing/checking task lists are the tab options found in the Converter windows. Primarily these tab options let you establish video and audio format parameters. In the case of the AVI and RM Converters, conversion parameters can be saved as templates, which is extremely useful if you find yourself converting into the same formats frequently.

In addition to these three utilities, Incite Media Assistant provides two more useful tools regarding conversion:

·	The Color Correction window
·	The Conversion Server (for automated file folder monitoring)

Using the Color Correction window, you can make changes in hue, saturation, lightness, brightness and contrast for a single media file or groups of media files. The Conversion Server is a tool designed to help automate the conversion process. Essentially, it scans designated file folders searching for newly added or captured files and converts them. As these two tools work in conjunction with, but are also independent of, the Converter windows you will find them discussed separately. For more details, see 3.11 Color Correction & Conversion and 3.12 The Conversion Server (Automated Monitoring & Conversion).

Tips & Notes

·	Working with RealMedia formats involves special considerations (as well as key differences with AVI/QT) that are discussed in 3.10 The RealMedia (RM) Converter.

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