V-ASISTBETA
Public beta · Video assist software · macOS · AJA · Blackmagic
V-Asist reads the REC flag your camera already sends over SDI. The operator rolls, the take starts; they cut, it stops. Frame-accurate, nobody at the record button. Two live inputs, ten monitor tools, two cameras played back in sync, IN/OUT pairs, audio, an edit room, a processed SDI feed for the village and a stream to every iPhone on set.
v1.1 beta · free 7-day trial · macOS 26.5+ · Apple silicon
Auto-REC
The camera sends its REC flag inside the SDI signal: ARRI's flag is decoded by the AJA driver, Blackmagic embeds a REC trigger. V-Asist starts and stops each take with it, frame-accurate. For cameras without a flag, Rec Run timecode works as a fallback.
Illustration. The hand lane uses a typical reaction delay of about one second at the start of each take.
Features
Made by a working video assist operator and tested through full shooting days. Every feature below is something the job needed on set.
Load A and B camera of the same take and press Play once: both start on the same frame.
Mix lays a still, a GIF or a video over the live or recorded picture: the board for the shot, the last setup for continuity, the client's logo.
Monitor tools set per camera, copied to the other view in one click, and sent out the SDI exactly as you see them.
As many IN/OUT pairs per take as you need, marked while rolling or on playback. They stay with the take even if you switch views mid-take.
Every take with its slate, rating, comment, start time and length; sort by any column.
Pick where the audio comes from: the camera's SDI, macOS's default input, the Mac's microphone or any audio interface. Recorded in sync with the picture, with meters in the app.
The Edit room builds sequences from your takes. Put up to three on the timeline and Play All runs them back to back, IN to OUT.
One folder per project. Rename, duplicate, export as one .zip and import on another Mac; deleting goes to the Trash. Nothing moves files while you're rolling.
Export the selected takes as a shot log (CSV and PDF), an EDL and a Final Cut XML with one event per IN/OUT pair, linked to the media, plus optional copies of the files.
Monitor tools
Tools apply on screen and on the Processed SDI output, never to recordings. VIDEO OUT switches between Processed and a hardware Live Passthrough with near-zero delay.
⌃1 CROPCropMatte each edge, with Aspect Lock.⌃2 TRANSFORMTransformScale, stretch, rotate and move the picture.⌃3 MASKMaskRectangle or circle shading, center cross, three frame-line guides with color and size.⌃4 MIXMixA still, GIF or video over the picture: storyboard, continuity, logo.⌃5 OVERLAYMix OverlayInput 1 over Input 2 (Normal, Add, Multiply) to match a frame.⌃6 SPLITSide by SideBoth inputs next to each other, horizontal or vertical.⌃7 INFOInfo OverlayProject, codec, timecode and durations on the picture.⌃8 KEYChroma KeyGreen or blue, tolerance, softness, spill suppression; over black or the other input.⌃9 COLORColorExposure, contrast, saturation, temperature: a monitoring look.⌃0 SPEEDSpeed5–400 % or a frame rate; Clip Sync and Play Sync for two cameras.OUTSDI outProcessed (what you see) or Live Passthrough; Match Input or a fixed 720p–1080p format.STREAMiPhone · iPadBoth views to V-Asist Monitor on the same Wi-Fi, with REC, take time and slate.Specs
Recording size only scales the file: 1080p becomes 960×540, 640×360 or 480×270, while the live view and SDI out stay full size.
Recording
Capture
Export
Keyboard
Run the cart without the mouse. Shortcuts never fire while you're typing a comment or a slate field.
Matched by key position, so they work on any keyboard layout. Every button and key is explained in the guide.
Public beta
V-Asist already runs full shooting days, but it is still young. It is made by a working video assist operator, and every report from another operator goes straight into the next build: the bug you hit on Tuesday is the fix you get next week.
feedback@vasist.app
License
After the 7-day trial, a V-Asist license keeps it running on your Mac for good. It includes a year of new versions, the key works offline — the cart never needs internet — and there is a 14-day money-back guarantee. License sales open shortly; until then, beta testers who want to keep going can write to feedback@vasist.app. Already have a key? Lost it?
FAQ
V-Asist is video assist software for macOS. It takes the camera's SDI feed through an AJA or Blackmagic capture device, records every take automatically when the camera rolls, and gives the video assist operator monitor tools, synced playback of two cameras, IN/OUT marks, an edit room and a processed SDI output for the video village.
ARRI and other cinema cameras send a REC flag inside the SDI signal. V-Asist reads that flag on every frame, so a take starts on the frame the operator rolls and stops when they cut — frame-accurate, with nobody at the record button.
AJA ioXT, Io 4K Plus, Kona, Io, T-Tap and Corvid through the AJA desktop software (NTV2 driver); Blackmagic DeckLink and UltraStudio through Desktop Video; and USB or Thunderbolt cameras and webcams through macOS. Auto-REC needs a camera that sends the REC flag over SDI.
A Mac with Apple silicon running macOS 26.5 or later. The record drive should be fast enough for the codec you pick: ProRes 422, ProRes 422 HQ or H.264, at full, half, third or quarter size.
Yes. A and B camera takes play side by side and stay locked together — scrub, jog, frame-step and speed changes move both views.
Yes. V-Asist outputs SDI through AJA or Blackmagic hardware, either clean or processed — with the frame lines, masks, color and overlays exactly as you see them — and streams both views to iPhone and iPad on the local network with V-Asist Monitor.
Every new Mac gets 7 days with every feature, from the first launch. No account and no card. After the trial, a license key unlocks it.
The license key is checked on the Mac itself, offline. Activation never needs a network connection, and nothing stops mid-take: the license is only checked when the app starts.
A shot log as CSV or PDF, an edit list as EDL or Final Cut Pro XML, and copies of the media — ready for Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve and Final Cut Pro.
Download
Free for 7 days from the first launch: every feature, no account, no card. Install the driver for your capture card, plug in the camera, roll. The guide walks through every button and key. Keep your usual record path as a backup while you test, and tell me how it went.
Signed with Developer ID and notarized by Apple: it opens like any other Mac app. Drag V-Asist to Applications, then open it.