Multimedia Services

Editing your session configuration

Sourcing from devices | Configuring Sources | Sourcing from a File | Using Multiple Sources | Switching between Sources | Setting Order of Multiple Sources

When you complete the New Session Wizard, the settings you selected are collected in the Session Properties dialog box. You can use Session Properties to edit existing settings, access other settings, or set up a new session. If you prefer to create an encoding session using Session Properties, you are required to provide the source type, input device, profile, and output information at a minimum.

Sourcing from Devices

When you source content from devices, you must first choose the audio or video devices you want to use. After choosing the devices, you can set their properties directly from the encoder. The properties for some devices, such as audio and video cards, are global and apply not only to all sources in your encoding session but to all programs on your computer. (For example, brightness, contrast, capture dimensions, and audio mixer settings.)

You can use devices and capture cards only once in a session. For example, if you create two sources—one source is a live event in which a speaker is introducing a new video, and the second source is the video—you need a separate card and device for each source.

Some devices can be controlled directly from the encoder. If you have enabled device control, you can set up an edit decision list (EDL) in which you identify the portions of tape that you want to encode.

You can configure audio and video device properties by using the New Session Wizard, the Properties panel, or the Configure Devices command on the Tools menu. Devices must already be installed on your computer to configure them in the encoder. You cannot use the encoder to add or remove hardware; use Control Panel instead.

If you have installed a supported TV tuner card, you can change the TV channels by using the encoder.

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Configuring Sources

Using Windows Media Encoder, you can encode live content in real time, stored content, or capture screens. Real-time sources of content include anything that you can plug into your audio or video card, including a CD player, microphone, VCR, video camera, video player, or television. Stored sources are audio or video files. You can also capture screens directly from your desktop, and insert script commands while encoding.

Keep in mind that the higher the quality of the source content, the higher the quality of the output content. This means that you should start with the highest quality source file or, if sourcing from devices, set your device to capture the highest quality possible.

When configuring a source, you first identify the source types (audio, video, or script) that make up the source. A source must consist of at least one audio or video source type. You can add an unlimited number of sources to an encoding session, either before or after encoding begins, but each subsequent source is based on the combination of source types you created in the session. For example, if your first source contained only audio, then all subsequent sources in the session are based on audio only. For multisource sessions, it is recommended that you configure your first source to use all three source types. If additional sources do not use a source type, you can encode a blank stream for that source type.

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Sourcing from a File

Using Windows Media Encoder, you can source from files with .wma, .wmv, .asf, .avi, .wav, .mpg, .mp3, .bmp, and .jpg file name extensions. (Sourcing from a file with a .mpg file name extension requires a compatible MPEG-2 decoder on the encoding computer.)

If you are encoding a Windows Media file, any header attributes associated with the file (for example, markers, script commands, and so on) are lost in the process. You can use Windows Media File Editor to add the following attributes back to the file: title, author, copyright, and description.

When sourcing from a file, you can trim the start and end times of the file to ensure that you encode only the part of the file you want.

For more information about obtaining an MPEG-2 decoder, see the Microsoft Web site.

Note: Files that contain images with odd-sized dimensions are not supported. For example, an image that is 300 x 321 pixels is not supported, but an image that is 300 x 320 pixels is supported.

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Using multiple sources in a session

You can use multiple sources in a session. Although only one source streams at a time, as you encode, you can switch between sources to stream different content. For example, before broadcasting a company meeting, you can set up sources for the main content as well as for welcome, intermission, and goodbye content. When you broadcast the event, you can start with the welcome source, switch to the main speaker when appropriate, switch to the intermission source during a break, and then switch to the goodbye source when the event finishes.

If you are using the Windows Media Audio 9 Voice codec in a multi-source session, the mode (voice-only or mixed voice and music) of the first source determines the mode of the subsequent sources. For example, if you choose the voice-only or mixed mode for the first source, subsequent sources will be encoded in the same mode. However, if you specify the mixed mode for the first source and set up an optimization definition file for that source, subsequent sources in the session will be encoded in the voice-only mode.

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To switch between multiple sources while encoding

On the View menu, click Sources Panel.
On the Sources panel, click the source you want to start with, and then click Start Encoding.
To switch to a different source, on the Sources panel, click the button for that source.

To set the order of multiple sources

On the toolbar, click Properties, and then click the Sources tab.
In the list of sources, click the source you want to move, and then click the Up arrow button or Down arrow button .
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