| For any media content producer that is working with audio and video content, the Microsoft free Windows Media Encoder is a must-have tool for capturing and converting media content. Although the Windows Media Server can be used to capture and publish video files, it's unlikely that a content producer will want to travel around with a Media Server everywhere. Instead, by downloading the Windows Media Encoder and installing it on any Windows 2000 or XP laptop or workstation, the producer can travel with the mobile system instead of a server. Note The Windows Media Encoder can be downloaded at http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=5691ba02-e496-465a-bba9-b2f1182cdf24&DisplayLang=en.
Additionally, the Windows Media Encoder provides tools to convert files from one video format to another, such as from AVI format to MPG format. One of the biggest limitations of the Windows Media Encoder is its inability to perform simple edits to the media files. For this, you need to download and use third-party tools. Editing Tools Because Microsoft does not provide freely downloadable video-editing tools, content producers need to look for other tools to perform basic cropping at the start or end of a video file, or when merging video files. There are dozens of professional video editing and content production programs available, such as Adobe's Premiere Pro or Ulead's VideoStudio. There are also hundreds of third-party shareware and freeware tools that can be downloaded from the Internet for little or no money. When looking at video-cropping tools that can cut content from the start or end of a file or split video files into multiple files, it's important to look at whether the utility rewrites the original file into a new video format, or whether it merely crops portions of the file and retains the original video format for the remainder of the file. One such tool that provides very simple and low-cost video cropping and splitting functionality is BoilSoft's AVI/MPEG/ASF/WMV Splitter. For less than about U.S. $35, the tool crops files while retaining the existing file format and structure of the original file. See http://www.boilsoft.com for more information. BoilSoft also offers an AVI/MPEG/RM/WMV Joiner utility for labout U.S. $25 that will combine multiple files into a larger file. This is helpful when multiple small files need to be combined to create a single streaming video session. The biggest challenge video producers face is selecting a utility that meets all their needs. Most downloadable tools offer trial versions with trial periods that allow you to try the software before buying it. If you don't find the tool you're looking for at first, jump back on the Internet and keep searching. Tools f]or every video and audio editing need seem to be readily available. |
Understanding the Requirements for the Windows Media Encoder The Windows Media Encoder runs on Windows 2000 and Windows XP desktops, as well as on Windows 2000 and Windows 2003 servers. The basic configuration of the system depends on the task being performed by the Windows Media Encoder software. Microsoft recommends the system configurations shown in Table 37.1. Table 37.1. Requirements for Windows Media EncoderEncoding Task | Requirement | Recommendation |
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Conversion of files | 266MHz processor, such as an Intel Pentium with MMX | 500MHz processor, such as an Intel Pentium III or AMD Athlon | | | 64MB of available memory | 128MB of available memory | Capture and broadcast of audio files | 266MHz processor, such as an Intel Pentium with MMX | 866MHz processor, such as an Intel Pentium III or AMD Athlon | | | 64MB of available memory | 128MB of available memory | | | Supported video/audio capture device | Supported video/audio capture device | Capture and broadcast of audio and video files for dial-up modem and mid-width audiences using Windows Media Audio 9 and Windows Media Video 7 codecs | 300MHz processor, such as an Intel Pentium III or AMD Athlon 64MB of available memory
Supported video/audio capture device
28.8KB or 56KB modem | 866MHz processor such as an Intel Pentium III or AMD Athlon
256MB of available memoryband Supported video/audio capture device
100KB500KB data connection | Capture and broadcast of audio and video files for dial-up modem and mid-bandwidth audiences using Windows Media Audio and Video 9 codecs | 1.5GHz processor, such as an Intel Pentium 4 or AMD Athlon XP 1800
64MB of available memory
Supported video/audio capture device
28.8KB or 56KB modem | Dual 1GHz processor, such as an Intel Pentium III or Xeon or AMD Athlon MP
256MB of available memory Supported video/audio capture device
100KB500KB data connection | Capture and broadcast of audio and video files for high-bandwidth audiences using Windows Media Audio and Video 9 codecs | 1.5GHz processor, such as an Intel Pentium 4 or AMD Athlon XP 1800
64MB of available memory
Supported video/audio capture device
500KB and faster data connection | Dual 2GHz processor, such as an Intel Xeon or AMD Athlon MP
256MB of available memory
Supported video/audio capture device
500KB and faster data connection |
As with most video processing applications, there is high demand for memory, processing speed, and disk space. The faster the system, the faster the capture and processing of information. If the system is not fast enough, in many cases frames are dropped, thus causing jitter or skips in the video being processed. It is recommended that you test the performance of a system to ensure that it meets the quality requirements of the organization. Installing the Windows Media Encoder After downloading the Windows Media Encoder from the Microsoft Web site, the software can be installed on any system meeting the requirements noted in Table 37.1. The installation process is as follows: 1. | Run the WMENCODER.EXE file to begin the installation process.
| 2. | Click Next to move past the Welcome screen.
| 3. | After accepting the licensing agreement, click the I Accept the Terms of the License Agreement option and click Next.
| | | 4. | Select a custom installation folder or just click Next to choose the default folder. Then click Install to begin the installation.
| 5. | Click Finish when prompted.
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Once installed, the Windows Media Encoder can be launched by selecting Start, Programs, Windows Media, Windows Media Encoder. Upon launching the Windows Media Encoder, you will see a New Session screen similar to the one shown in Figure 37.7. Figure 37.7. Windows Media Encoder new session options. 
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