Windows Server 2008 R2 Unleashed (296 page)

3. Enter a name for your playlist, and then click Next.

4. A choice to select content playback gives you the option to loop videos, shuffle

videos, both, or none. For more information on these options, see the “Loop,

Shuffle, Both, or None” sidebar earlier in this chapter. Click Next to continue.

5. Select the Enable Logging option if you want to log media events, and then click Next.

6. The next screen shows a summary of the created publishing point. You can choose

to start the publishing point when the wizard is finished, and if you want to capture

and archive the live event, select the Start Archiving When Publishing Point Starts

option. Click Next to continue.

For either the broadcast or on-demand publishing options, before finishing the Add

Publishing Point Wizard, you are prompted to choose between three file creation options:

.
Create an Announcement File (.asx) or Web Page (.htm)—
An announcement

file is similar to an invitation file that can be used to notify users of a pending live

broadcast or the availability of an on-demand video playback session.

.
Create a Wrapper Playlist (.wsx)—
A wrapper playlist is content that can be added

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to either the start or end of a broadcast. An example of wrapper content might be a

welcome or closing message, advertisements, or broadcast identification.

36

.
Create a Wrapper Playlist (.wsx) and Announcement File (.asx) or Web Page

(.htm)—
Choosing this option launches both the Announcement File and Wrapper

Playlist Wizards to create the invitation announcement, as well as the capability to

add content at the start or end of a broadcast.

Choose one of these three options or deselect the After the Wizard Finishes check box if

you don’t want to choose any of the options. Click Finish when complete.

Starting a Playlist from Within the Playlist Publishing Point

A playlist can be launched to initiate the playback of media contained within the playlist

file. Depending on the option selected, a user simply enters the URL of the directory

publishing point (such as mms://media.companyabc.com/Corp Playlist). The playlist of

files will begin to publish the first of the media clips and will continue through the entire

playlist until the list is complete. If the loop option was selected in the publishing point

configuration settings, the playlist will continuously loop the media content of the

playlist. If shuffle was selected, the files within the playlist will be played randomly.

Any of the options selected from within the configuration setting can be modified at any

time to change or reconfigure settings initially created in the wizard installation process.

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CHAPTER 36

Windows Media Services

Understanding Windows Media Encoder

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, you can download Windows Media Encoder and install it on

Windows Server 2008, Windows Vista, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, or Windows

2000 Server. Either the 32-bit or 64-bit edition can be downloaded and installed.

NOTE

Windows Media Encoder can be downloaded from http://www.microsoft.com/windows/

windowsmedia/forpros/encoder/default.mspx.

In addition, 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 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.

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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.

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 for every video and audio editing

need seem to be readily available.

Understanding the Requirements for Windows Media Encoder

Windows Media Encoder runs on Windows Vista, Windows 2000, and Windows XP desk-

tops, as well as on Windows 2000 Server and Windows Server 2003 systems. 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 36.2.

Because Windows Media Encoder does not work on Windows Server 2008 R2 servers or

Windows 7 client systems, for media encoding using this tool, install it on an earlier

release of Windows that is supported and transfer the encoded file to a Windows Server

2008 R2 Media Server system.

Understanding Windows Media Encoder

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Installing Windows Media Encoder

After downloading Windows Media Encoder from the Microsoft website, the software can

be installed on any system meeting the requirements noted in Table 36.2. 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. To accept 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.

After being installed, Windows Media Encoder can be launched by selecting Start, All

Programs, Windows Media, Windows Media Encoder. Upon launching Windows Media

Encoder, you will see a New Session screen.

TABLE 36.2

Requirements for Windows Media Encoder

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Encoding Task

32-Bit Recommendation

64-Bit Recommendation

36

Conversion of files

500MHz processor or higher

1800MHz processor or higher

and at least 128MB of RAM

and at least 512MB of RAM or

or higher

higher

Capture and broadcast of

866MHz processor or higher

2000MHz processor or higher

audio files

and at least 128MB of RAM

and at least 512MB of RAM or

or higher

higher

Capture and broadcast of

866MHz processor or higher,

Dual 2000Mhz processor or

audio and video files for dial-

128MB of RAM, and a single

higher, 512MB of RAM, and a

up modem and mid-bandwidth

stream bit rate of 100Kbs

single stream bit rate of

audiences using Windows

through 500Kbs

100Kbs through 500Kbs

Media Audio 9 and Windows

Media Video 7 codecs

Capture and broadcast of

Dual 1Ghz processor or

Dual 2000Mhz processor or

audio and video files for dial-

higher, 256MB of RAM, and a

higher, 768MB of RAM, and a

up modem and mid-bandwidth

single stream bit rate of

single stream bit rate of

audiences using Windows

100Kbs through 500Kbs

100Kbs through 500Kbs

Media Audio and Video 9

codecs

Capture and broadcast of

Dual 2Ghz processor or

Dual 2400Mhz processor or

audio and video files for high-

higher, 256MB of RAM, and a

higher, 1024MB of RAM, and a

bandwidth audiences using

single stream bit rate of

single stream bit rate of

Windows Media Audio and

500Kbs through 2Mbps

500Kbs through 2Mbps

Video 9 codecs

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CHAPTER 36

Windows Media Services

Broadcasting a Live Event

Windows Media Encoder can be used in conjunction with a Windows Media server to

broadcast a live event. This gives an organization the capability to use the Windows Media

server as the back-end server to publish the live content to multiple users. Also, a laptop

or some other mobile or portable device can then act as the system capturing the

video/audio content that will be published by the Windows Media server.

Preparing for a Live Broadcast

To prepare for a live broadcast, a Windows Server 2008 server or Windows Vista worksta-

tion with a compatible camera and microphone, or a system with a video/audio capture

card, must be configured and tested for basic functionality. The camera and audio

devices should be able to capture and record video and audio content at the desired level

of quality.

After the remote system is working properly, the live broadcast can be initiated.

Initiating a Live Broadcast

To start a live broadcast, Windows Media Encoder should be launched on the broadcasting

system. After being launched, follow these steps:

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1. Select Broadcast a New Event, and then click OK.

2. Select the video and audio device source that will be capturing the event. Click Next

when you are ready.

NOTE

For systems with only a single video and audio source, the options should default to

the only devices in the system. However, for systems with an audio and video capture

card installed, the onboard audio might also be an option, so be certain that the

correct video and audio devices are selected.

When choosing the audio device, you might want to click Configure and confirm

that the microphone has been enabled. Many systems automatically have the micro-

phone disabled, so although the correct device has been selected, no sound will be

captured.

3. The next setting allows the Windows Media Encoder system to either push the

video/audio stream to a Windows Media server on the network, or allows the

Windows Media server to initiate a pull from the encoder system. Make the choice

and then click Next to continue.

Broadcasting a Live Event

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NOTE

The choice of whether to push or pull media content depends on what you are closer

to. If you are closest to the Windows Media Encoder system (you are in the room

where the event is taking place), you probably want to push the video/audio stream to

the Windows Media server. A push from the encoder system causes the Windows

Media server to automatically start publishing the session.

If the Windows Media Encoder system is set up in a room and you are with the server,

but not necessarily where the encoder system is located, you can initiate the capture

remotely by choosing to have the Windows Media server initiate the session.

If you choose to push to the Windows Media server, you will be prompted with the

following steps:

1. You will be prompted to enter the name of the Windows Media server and the

publishing point, and you have the option of copying the publishing point settings

from another configuration. Click Next when ready.

2. The next screen will prompt for the encoding options. The various bit rates for

encoding will be shown, displaying Total Bit Rate, Frame Rate, and Output Size.

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Choose the desired bit rate or bit rates, and then click Next to continue.

36

Choosing the Bit Rate(s)

When given the option of choosing the bit rate or bit rates supported, keep in mind the

quality desired as well as the bandwidth available to publish the media files.

If users are dialing in to receive the published content, you do not want a total bit rate

that exceeds the available bandwidth of the dial-up modem session. Just because a

user has a 56KB modem does not mean that user is getting a 56KB bit-rate speed.

You should choose a bit rate lower than the available bandwidth.

Multiple bit rates can be selected for the encoding options so that a modem rate (possi-

bly 24Kbps or 37Kbps), a DSL/cable modem rate (possibly 135Kbps or 240Kbps), or

high-quality rate (possibly 500Kbps or greater) can be selected. With multiple bit rates,

the bit rate that meets the transmission speed of the remote client system will be used.

Therefore, a user coming in over DSL might get a 135Kbps transmission, and a user

coming in over a dial-up modem might get the same transmission at 24Kbps.

When selecting multiple bit rates, one thing to consider is the size of the captured file.

The more bit rates that are selected, the larger the file will be. Each bit-rate encoding

option selected will capture a video and audio stream for that mode. So if 12 bit-rate

encoding options are selected, 12 streams of the content will be stored in the file.

Another point to consider is the desired available bandwidth. Even if all the users have