Developing an Implementation Plan | Microsoft Windows Media Resource Kit (Pro-Resource Kit)

With a solid vision in place, Contoso can begin planning how to deploy the systems that will implement the vision. From there they can study workflows and decide on staffing, facilities, and resource requirements. Contoso Movies Online will have business, creative, and process components.

The business component will consist of staff for managing the company and its finances, managing deals with production companies, acquiring products to rent, and acquiring publicity material. Acquisition managers will include Windows Media in their negotiations with production companies to demonstrate their commitment to quality. The managers will also demonstrate Windows Media Rights Manager and the e-commerce system to show how security and the payment process will work.

The creative component will consist of a small group of writers, artists, and producers who develop the content for the site. In addition to creating static text and graphics for the Web pages, the creative team will be responsible for creating the server-side playlists used for the movie info channels, and for producing events on the live channel.

The process component of the site will be engaged in creating content and getting it to the end user. Staff will include technical operators or editors for capturing and encoding the movies from videotape, and personnel for maintaining a database of movie titles and licensing information.

We will focus primarily on the areas of the process and creative components that relate to Windows Media.

Content Creation

The editors will capture and encode from videotape to Windows Media files. One
person can handle the simultaneous capture of several movies and other material. For example, if Contoso has three workstations, an editor can start a movie capture on one workstation, and then set up captures on the other workstations while the first one is running. The editor will use the production workstations and other computers in the most efficient ways to create content quickly and with the highest quality.

The workflow for one capture is as follows:

Receive videotape. A work order will be generated by the acquisition team when a movie acquisition is made. The work order will be sent to the creative team, license coordinator, and editor containing information about the material that is to arrive from the production company, and what to do with the material. When an editor receives a videotape that matches the description on the work order, she will follow the instructions for encoding and encrypting the tape. Typically, a new movie will be encoded at multiple bit rates using a standard encoding template.
Configure tape for playback. Play the tape and set up the VCRs for pro-per playback of audio and video.
Configure capture. With the VCR configured, configure the capture program on the encoding computer. For highest quality, material will be captured to an uncompressed AVI file first.
Capture to AVI. Capture videotape in real time to AVI. Monitor progress and watch for capture errors.
Check file quality. Spot-check the captured AVI file.
Configure encoder. Set up Windows Media Encoder to encode a Windows Media file from the AVI file. Because this process does not take place in real time, the speed of the processor does not have to be as high as that of the capturing computer. Therefore, multiple less-expensive computers can be used for this encoding process, freeing the main workstations for videotape capturing.
Encode and encrypt to a Windows Media file. The time needed for this process can vary depending on computer CPU speed and memory.
Check file quality. Spot-check the finished Windows Media file. In order to play the file, the editor must go through the process of obtaining a license, so this part of the process can be checked, too. The e-commerce service can create an internal account for testing licensing and playback.
Sign off work order. The work order, which can be an e-mail document, is signed by the editor as being finished. Then it is sent to the acquisition manager, producer, Web designer, and license coordinator.

Licensing Configuration

The license coordinator works with the license service provider and manages the internal database of encrypted movies. The database maintained by the license provider for issuing licenses does not need to contain as much detail as the one that the license coordinator keeps. The internal database can be as complex as necessary, and can even include contract information from the production company. For license provider, the database needs to contain, at a minimum, the information included in the DRM profiles used by Windows Media Encoder for encrypting content.

Web Site Production

The producer’s team develops the Web site, and maintains the information available to the end user. On a daily basis, the producer and team will be responsible for the following activities:

Maintain movie info channels. Design new line-ups, create the server-side playlists, send the playlist files to the hosting service, and configure the publishing points, if necessary. Then the producer will test playback, and create new material as needed, such as new interstitial segments and interview segments.
Coordinate receiving publicity material from studios.
Create new movie details pages. Initially, the Web designer will create Web page templates (ASP pages), so new pages can be quickly and easily added by creating and modifying records in the content database that the pages access. When the producer receives a work order from acquisition, she creates a new details page in the database.
Create static information. The static information includes text and still images, which will be displayed on the home and movie details Web pages. The creative team writes copy, chooses images, and then keeps the pages fresh by adding viewer comments and other updates.
Produce monthly live events. The producer will work with the acquisition team and the studios to organize and produce events on the Live Event Channel. The producer may contract with freelancers and attempt to leverage support from studios to create the events. She will also need to work with technical staff to coordinate the resources and production equipment to record, encode the video, and send it to the hosting service.
Design the site. Initially, the Web designers will create the Web site. The site consists of those elements that the viewer uses to locate and play movies. In addition, the site includes all the code needed to interact with the e-commerce and licensing sites. The Web designer will also develop the custom Player enhancements for special presentations.

After the framework of the site has been built, the rest of the creative team will populate the site with content, including the encrypted movies, trailers, channels, and static information. On a daily basis, the Web designer will maintain and upgrade the site to make sure it runs correctly, and work with the creative team to make sure it is appealing and fresh.