Add Windows Media encoding settings

Windows Media encoding settings determine how presentations using WMV files are encoded and streamed to your audience. There are several pre-defined encoding settings, but you can create your own and customize them to your usage and network limitations.

Video parameters

Video parameters refer to three properties of a video (.wmv) file: buffer size, key frame, and quality. Seek time, one of the video parameters specified in the encoding profile, is a combination of the buffer size and key frame values.

Buffer Size: This setting adjusts the amount of time the media player buffers the file before playing. The buffer is a temporary storage location on the client computer where content is stored before the media player renders it. The buffer is used so that the client does not have to wait for content to travel from the server. A larger buffer can accommodate better image quality. However, since the media player waits until its buffer is filled to play, the user must wait longer for the video to start. Typically, the buffer delay matches the time (in seconds) of the buffer size set in the encoder.

Key frame: A video frame containing all the data needed to construct an image without reference to previous frames. Key frames are stored in the Windows media files periodically (every 3 to 10 seconds).  When seeking into a .wmv file you will not see video until the first key frame is reached. 

Quality or Image quality (smoothness): You can adjust the image quality to be smoother or clearer. Increasing the clarity can affect the frame rate, depending on the video. For example, if your video contains a lot of motion, increasing the clarity may decrease the frame rate. In addition, increasing the clarity results in a higher bit rate requirement and may also require increasing the buffer size.

When choosing video parameters, select a combination of seek time, image quality, and motion setting that is best suited for the material being captured. In some cases, the video content may require a different combination of parameters, for example, you may want to use a high motion setting if a presenter moves around frequently during a lecture.

To add a Windows Media encoding setting:

1.  Click Recording > Encoding Settings > Add New and specify the settings:

Settings	Details
Name	Enter a name for the encoding setting that will distinguish it from existing ones.
Description	Enter a short description.
Content Type	Windows Media
Audio Only/Audio and Video	Select the streams you want to make available to users—audio stream only or both audio and video streams.
Audio Codec Name	Windows Media Audio 9.*
Audio Parameters	Select the profile’s audio parameters (bitrate, sample rate and channels).

Add new Windows Media encoding setting, audio codec settings

Settings	Details
Video Codec Name	Select a video codec. The video settings will not appear if you are creating an audio-only encoding profile.
Buffer Size/Key Frame/Quality	Enter the combination of seek time, image quality, and motion settings that are best suited for the material being captured, for example, use a high motion setting if a presenter frequently moves around during a lecture. The buffer size, key frame, and the quality value are shown below the selected parameter.
Frame Rate	Select a frame rate for the video encoding bitrate.
Video Dimensions	Select the video dimensions for the video encoding bitrate.
Bitrate	Select the bitrate that most reflects the bandwidth available to the viewing audience.

2.  Click Save.

Add new Windows Media encoding setting, video codec and options settings

 

Add slide encoding settings      

Slide encoding settings determine how the Recorder captures images when a presentation is recorded. When you record your presentation, you want to capture the most important events or screen changes. However, some sources, such as digital white boards, document cameras, and presentations with animation, generate a lot of events. For these types of sources, you should reduce the Recorder's image change sensitivity to avoid capturing unimportant events.

To add a slide encoding setting:

1.  Click Recording > Encoding Settings > Add New and specify the settings:

Settings	Details
Name	Enter a name that will help you to identify the slide encoding setting easily.
Description	Enter a description.
Content Type	Slides
Use Adaptive Slide Detection	Enabling this feature will help remove extra slides that may be generated by noise. This feature is especially useful when using white boards and other handwriting devices.
Image Quality	Move the slider to adjust the quality of the captured images. The higher the image quality, the larger the image files will be. Not available when using adaptive slide detection.
Maximum Image Scan Rate	Move the slider to adjust the rate (maximum frames per second) the Recorder will scan for new images. Not available when using adaptive slide detection.
Image Change Sensitivity	Move the slider to adjust the Recorder's sensitivity to image changes. Increasing the sensitivity increases the number of slides generated. Not available when using adaptive slide detection.
Capture in Widescreen	Select to have the Recorder favor widescreen image resolutions when capturing slides. In some Recorder configurations, certain widescreen image resolutions may not automatically resolve to their native aspect ratio. Instead, they may default to a 4:3 aspect ratio. In these instances, you want to enable this feature.
Remove Slide Transitions	Select to have the Recorder wait until an image is stable before it advances to the next image.

2.  Click Save.

Slide encoding settings

 

Add MP3 encoding settings

Mediasite Podcast converts on-demand Mediasite presentations to podcasts. In terms of Mediasite, a podcast is a collection of audio-only presentations in MP3 format that are distributed using RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feeds, for playback on mobile devices and personal computers. Mediasite podcasts can be downloaded with software such as iTunes®, Odeo, or iPodder. MP3 encoding settings determine the quality of the MP3 files used for podcasts.

To add an MP3 encoding setting:

1.  Click Recording > Encoding Settings > Add New and specify the settings:

Settings	Details
Name	Enter a name for the encoding setting that will help you to identify it easily.
Description	Enter a description.
Quality	Select the encoding rate from the drop-down list. The higher the rate at which the MP3 files are encoded the higher the quality during playback. However, this also increases the size of the audio file.

2.  Click Save.

MP3 encoding settings