Trilight Zone

[digital8]

By: John Gormly
Posted On: 5/3/2005

Most don't know the full functionality of Windows Media Encoder. Read this article to find out what you can do!

The first thing you'll need is the Windows Media Player Encoder. If you don't already have it, you can get the Encoder here:

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/9series/encoder/default.aspx

Once the download completes, go ahead and install Windows Media Encoder 9, accepting the defaults prompted by the installer. It's a pretty simple process. Once the install completes, launch Encoder by selecting Start | All Programs | Windows Media | Windows Media Encoder.

The New Session window appears offering several wizard choices, including Capturing audio or video, Converting a file, Capturing a screen, and Broadcast a live event. Most don't realize the full functionality in the Windows Media technology.

The wizards are fairly simplistic, and the Help is pretty extensive. The titles of the wizards are self explanatory. In the file converting wizard, you SHOULD be aware that you can convert most video and audio files to Windows Media format. This includes *.asf, *.avi, *.bmp, *.jpg, *.mpg, *.mp3, and *.wav. I'm waiting patiently for additional codecs for conversion.

There are also Quick Starts, that assist you in capturing live content for either playback or streaming, converting film, or broadcasting a live meeting using a Windows Media server.