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A Couple of Sample Videos
To Show “How To...”

Video Webcasting With Windows Media

You encode your media file with the Windows Media Encoder. You can encode an audio-only file, or an audio/video file. You can present it embedded on a web page and have it start playing automatically, or you can allow it to pop up the users Windows Media Player and operate in the standard fashion.

Bit Rate and Image Quality

The most important consideration in encoding a video file is the resulting bit-rate that will be required to view your material. There is a trade-off between image quality and bit rate. Image quality is a composite of picture size and frame rate -- bigger picture sizes and faster frame rates require higher bit rates. Picture size is measured in pixels. The most common screen resolution on recent model computers is 800 wide by 600 high, the next most common is 1024 x 768. It is not feasible to transmit images that large over the Internet, and so the industry has adopted smaller standard sizes. The original PC’s had a screen resolution of 640 x 480, and so the convention is to use one-quarter screen (320 x 240), and 1/16th screen (half of the previous -- 160 x 120). Frame rates above 20 frames per second are required so the image isn’t jerky and so that mouth movements are in sync with the audio. At these frame rates, 320 x 240 requires about 350,000 bits per second (kbps), and 160 x 120 requires about 100 kbps.

For comparison, dialup users are limited to a maximum of 56,000 bits per second, and most DSL users are limited to 256 kbps. Cable modem users and business T1 users typically have much higher bandwidths available.

SAMPLE VIDEOS AT VARIOUS DATA RATES

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AUDIO

VIDEO
(click the camera to see a page with some samples)

Info:
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How To.... Encode At Multiple-Bit-Rates

When you encode your video, you can encode it at multiple bit rates (MBR) simultaneously. The Windows Media Player and our Windows Media Server negotiate the session to give the viewer the highest data rate that their connection will support. All of the above samples were actually incorporated into a single media file -- we split them out so you could see them individually. But, when you encode your file, encode it at multiple bit rates such as the above. If you also want an audio-only version, encode your original file a second time to produce an audio-only file.

How To.... Put Links On Your Web Site

A link to the main file (the MBR file) looks like this:

http://nick8.surfernetwork.com/Media/340kbpsSample.asx

You would put that link behind some “Click Here” text or graphics. If you click on the Click Here, you will see how this actually works -- it will pop up your Windows Media Player and start the high resolution video. And, you can put the same links right in your emails!!!

How To.... Get What You Need

Getting a video from a video camera onto your computer’s hard drive is beyond the scope of this article, but there are many people that can help, maybe even at the store where you purchased your camera. Ask around, you’ll find someone who knows how. Once you have the raw file on your computer, get the Microsoft Windows Media Encoder here, and encode your file. We will provide you with instructions on how to FTP (electronic file transfer) your encoded file to our servers. Transfer the file, put a link on your web site or in an email, and your video is immediately available for viewing on the Internet.

To Print: In your browser under File | Page Setup, set page width margins to .5 inches.