E-mail this pageUsing Windows Media Encoder 7
This document has been posted for compatibility purposes, as some may still be using version 7 of the Windows Media Encoder.
This document outlines the rather simple steps involved in converting an existing WAV or AVI file to the Windows Media format required by the streaming server.
By default, the Windows Media Encoder v. 7 will provide a Welcome dialog when it first runs; this allows you to select which encoding option you'd like to pursue. You'll invariably want to select the first option, Broadcast, capture, or convert a file using the New Session Wizard. This option will walk you through the steps of encoding your file.
The New Session Wizard will begin once you hit the OK button in the Welcome dialog window.
The first screen of the New Session Wizard allows you to select what you'd like to do. You'll not want the broadcast option, and, since you're unlikely to get good results capturing directly from an attached device, the only selection you'll want to make here is to pick the third option--the one marked Convert an audio or video file into a Windows Media file . Then click the Next button to introduce the next screen:
In this File Selection screen, you'll have to specify the name of the file you'd like to convert (the Browse button will let you pick the file off your drive), and you'll also have to propose a name for the file you'd like to create. The File to create should have an extension of .wma for audio (Windows Media Audio) or .wmv for video (Windows Media Video).
Once you've specified the filenames, click on the Next button to introduce the next screen: here, you'll be able to specify which "encoding profile" you'd like to use.
Clicking on the downward pointing arrow beneath the caption marked What profile do you want to use? will show you a list of preset options that you can pick from. If your source file is an audio file, you'll be presented with a series of audio encoding options. If your source file is a video file, you'll see a range of video encoding options.
You should use the following basic guidelines in selecting an encoding profile:
- modem users are unlikely to be able to connect to media that's encoded at a higher rate than 28.8Kbps, and connections at that rate may be unstable.
- the server will not deliver content encoded at higher than 100Kbps
- use a 28.8Kbps (or lower) setting for audio content
- use the "Video for dial-up modems or LAN (28.8 to 100Kbps) setting for video
Once you've made your selection click on the Next button to introduce a screen on which you can add some information about your file.
Minimally, you should include a title (something moderately descriptive), your name as author, a copyright notice (you must be the copyright holder of all parts of any material you post), and a brief description. Once you've entered the requisite information, click the Finish button to close the New Session Wizard and introduce the main encoder screen, over which you may see the following notification.
This notice means no more than it says: the encoder is showing you only those windows for which you have a use--to wit, you won't see any Video Preview window if you've chosen to encode an audio file.... Click OK .
The main Windows Media Encoder window (illustrated above) really has only one button that's required to perform the encoding function, and that's the button marked Start . Clicking on this button sets the computer about the task of creating your streaming Windows Media File. If you'd like to review your settings before you begin, you can click on the menu item marked Session , and then click on the Properties option. Otherwise, clicking the Start button is all that remains. Once you've done so, you'll see an indication of progress reflected in the progress bars at the bottom of the screen, along with the audio levels in the window to the right of the screen. (See illustration below)
When the encoding process has finished, a window marked Encoding Results will appear, allowing you to begin a new session (New Session... ), view the output file (View Output File ), or return to the main encoder window (Close ).
Once you've encoded your file, you can close the encoder, and run the Advanced Script Indexer (for Version 7 files) to add index markers, closed captioning, and/or slide show commands, or you can forego that step and run the MediaFileThingy program to move your file to the media server and create the HTML files for your website.