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Chapter 3: Using RealProducer

This chapter describes how to use RealProducer to convert standard audio and video into streaming RealMedia. The entire conversion process is known as a "recording session." You will learn how to create a recording session from a variety of input sources and how to monitor your recording session.

The RealProducer Main Window

Before you begin to create RealMedia content, let's briefly tour the different components of the RealProducer main window. This window is where you create, start, view, and stop a recording session.

The RealProducer Main Window

The upper section of the window is where you monitor the recording process. "Viewers" show you the input video and the recorded output during a recording session. Meanwhile, an audio level indicator gives you a visual representation of the audio track.

The middle section lists all necessary information about the final RealMedia file. Details such as clip information, the target audience, audio format, video quality, and the type of stream being recorded are found here.

On the bottom are the recording controls. These controls allow you start, stop, and play the current recording session. Next to them are the publishing controls. They are explained in "Publishing to the Internet".

Recording Your Clips

RealProducer includes simple assistants to guide you step-by-step through the recording process. These assistants are specifically designed to convert either existing media files or live media sources into RealMedia files.

If you are more familiar with the recording process, you can bypass the assistants and set up the recording process manually. This option is discussed later in "Recording Without the Assistants".

Recording from Media Files

This section describes how to record a RealMedia file from different types of existing media files using the recording assistant.

Only the following audio and video formats can be converted into RealMedia clips using RealProducer:

To create a RealMedia file from an existing file using the recording assistant:

  1. Select Recording Assistants from the File menu.

    The Recording Assistants dialog opens.

  2. Select Convert an Existing File and click OK.

    The Record from File Assistant opens.

  3. Use the Browse button to locate the audio or video file that you will use as the source for your recording.

  4. Click Next.

    The RealMedia Clip Information page opens.

  5. Enter the following information in the provided spaces. This information will help your audience find your clip. You may leave them blank.

    Title-the title of the clip

    Author-the name of the clip's creator

    Copyright-year and owner of the clip's copyright

    Description-a brief summary of the clip's contents

    Keywords-words that you think your audience would use to search for your clip

    See "Creating Keywords" for tips on creating your keywords.

  6. Click Next.

    The File Type page opens.

  7. Select the type of RealMedia file you want to create: SureStream or Single Rate. For more information on SureStream files, see "About SureStream".

  8. Click Next.

    The Target Audience page opens.

  9. Select the connection speed for your audience. You may make more than one selection (up to two) if you are creating a SureStream file.

  10. Click Next.

    The Audio Format page opens if your source file contains audio. If not, skip the next step.

  11. Select the type of audio that your file consists of (if applicable), and click Next.

    Note
    You can only select the Stereo Music format if your audio source is in stereo.

    The Video Quality page opens if your source file contains video. If not, skip the next step.

  12. Select the video quality for your output file (if applicable), and click Next.

    Tip
    These options are based on the content of your video. You can choose to sacrifice clarity for smoother motion, or vice versa. Choosing Normal Motion is good for most clips.

    The Output File page opens.

  13. Enter the name and directory of your final output file.

    The output file should have a .rm extension (for example, myfile.rm).

  14. Click Next.

    The Prepare to Record Page opens.

  15. Review all information about the recording session. If it is correct, click Finish. You can use the Back button to reverse through the assistant and change any information.

    After clicking Finish, you are returned to the RealProducer main window. Every option you selected with the assistant appears in the main window. If you are recording video input, the Input Source viewer shows the first frame.

  16. You can change any recording options at this point, or simply click Start to begin recording.

  17. Click Stop to quit recording before the source file ends.

    A dialog box opens asking you to confirm ending the recording, but the session continues to record.

  18. Click Yes to close the dialog box and stop the recording.

    The Recording Complete dialog box opens. This dialog shows you final recording information about your RealMedia file.

    You have the following choices:

  19. Click the Play button to open your RealPlayer and play the RealMedia file.

Recording from Media Devices

This section describes how to record a RealMedia file from different types of media devices using the recording wizard.

With RealProducer, you can record from many types of media devices: live microphone input, live video camera input, audio tape, video tape, Digital Video Disks (DVD), or satellite feeds.

Before you begin the recording session, make sure that your media device is properly connected and is working correctly. Supported connections include:

To create a RealMedia file from a media device using the recording wizard:

  1. Select Recording Assistants from the File menu.

    The Recording Assistants dialog opens.

  2. Select Capture Audio or Video to a File and click OK.

    The Record from Media Device page opens.

  3. Select the Input Source(s) that you want to capture: audio and/or video.

  4. Click Next.

    The RealMedia Clip Information page opens.

  5. Enter the Title, Author, Copyright, Description, and Keywords in the provided spaces.

    This information will help your audience find your clip. You may leave these fields blank.

  6. Click Next.

    The File Type page opens.

  7. Select the type of RealMedia file you want to create: SureStream or Single Rate.

  8. Click Next.

    The Target Audience page opens.

  9. Select the connection speed for your audience. You may make more than one selection (up to two) if you are creating a SureStream file.

  10. Click Next.

    The Audio Format page opens if you selected an audio device. If not, skip the next step.

  11. Select the type of audio that your content consists of (if applicable).

    Note
    You can only select the Stereo Music format if your audio source is in stereo.

  12. Click Next.

    The Video Quality page opens if you selected a video device. If not, skip the next step.

  13. Select the video quality for your output file (if applicable), and click Next.

    Tip
    These options are based on the content of your video. You can choose to sacrifice clarity for smoother motion, or vice versa. Choosing Normal Motion is good for most clips.

    The Output File page opens.

  14. Enter the name and directory of your final output file.

    The output file must have a .rm extension (for example, myfile.rm).

  15. Click Next.

    The Prepare to Record Page opens.

  16. Review all information about the recording session. If it is correct, click Finish.

    After clicking Finish, you are returned to the RealProducer main window. Every option you selected during the wizard appears in the window. If you are recording video input, the Input Source viewer shows the video source.

  17. You can change any recording options at this point, or simply click Start to begin recording.

    Note
    Once you begin capturing your live input, you cannot use any other programs or click on the desktop.

  18. Monitor your audio and/or video input, and click Stop to quit recording.

    A dialog box opens asking you to confirm ending the recording, but the session continues to record.

  19. Click Stop to quit recording before the source file ends.

    A dialog box opens asking you to confirm ending the recording, but the session continues to record.

  20. Click Yes to close the dialog box and stop the recording.

    The Recording Complete dialog box opens. This dialog shows you final recording information about your RealMedia file.

    You have the following choices:

  21. In the RealProducer main window, click the Play button to open your RealPlayer and play the RealMedia file.

Recording Without the Assistants

Although using RealProducer's recording assistants allows you to easily create RealMedia content, after time you'll likely be able to do without them.

Coverting Media Files

To convert media files without using the assistant:

  1. Select Open File from the File menu.

    The Open File dialog opens.

  2. Navigate to the file you want to record, and select it.

  3. Click the Choose button.

    The Open File dialog closes, returning to the RealProducer main window.

    Tip
    You can also drag your media file directly into the main window to create a new session.

  4. Enter the Title, Author, Copyright, Description, and Keywords for your output. These fields are optional.

  5. Select the File Type, either Single Rate or SureStream. For more information on SureStream files, see "About SureStream"

  6. In the Target Audience section, select the connection speed for your audience. You may select more than one target audience (up to two) if you are recording with SureStream.

  7. In the Audio Format section, select the type of audio contained in your source (if any).

    Note
    You can only select the Stereo Music format if your input audio is in stereo.

  8. In the Video Quality section, select the type of video contained in your source (if any).

  9. Click Start to begin the recording process.

  10. Click Stop to end the recording.

Capturing Live Media

To capture media without using the assistant:

  1. Select Capture to File from the File menu.

    The Capture to File dialog opens.

  2. Select the Input Source(s): Audio or Video.

  3. Enter the width and height for your video (if necessary) in pixels.

  4. If you want to start the recording at a later time, select Start Time and choose a date and time.

  5. If you want to end the recording at a certain time, select Stop Time and choose a date and time.

  6. Click OK.

    The Capture to File dialog closes, returning to the RealProducer main window.

  7. Follow steps 4 through 10 in the previous procedure.

Monitoring Recording Statistics

The Statistics window is a useful tool that allows you to monitor the performance of your recording session.

You can watch general statistics, audio-only statistics, or video-only statistics. If you are using SureStream, statistics are shown for each stream that RealProducer creates.

To monitor recording statistics:

  1. After you have created a recording session, choose Statistics from the View menu.

    The Statistics window opens. You can return to the RealProducer window without closing the Statistics window.

  2. Start recording, noting the top section of the Statistics window. Here is where you will find basic information about your recording session such as:

    You also find information that constantly changes, such as:

  3. Also monitor the general, audio, and video information located at the bottom of the Statistics window. These statistics are described later in this section.

Monitoring Real Time Performance

A main feature of the statistics dialog is its ability to show the performance of your recording session.

This statistic compares the time it took to record your clip to the time it takes to play the input. For example, if your input is a 10 second video clip and it takes RealProducer 5 seconds to process the clip, the Real Time Performance would be 50%.

When capturing video or audio to a file, any value near or above 100% means that your computer may not be able to process data as fast as it is received. The session may fail due to lack of computing resources.

General Statistics

These statistics give you information about each target audience selected during the creation of the recording session. If you are recording a Single Rate clip, only one stream appears. If you are using SureStream, all streams are listed for each target audience.

See the table below for more details about these statistics.

Using General Statistics
Statistic Description
Target Audience target bit rate of your audience
Total Bit Rate total bit rate of the clip
Video Bit Rate bit rate of the video stream
Audio Bit Rate bit rate of the audio stream
Frame Rate frames per second of video
Buffer Time number of seconds needed before the clip can be played

Audio Statistics

These statistics give you information about the audio codecs (compression/decompression algorithms) used to create the audio streams. More than one codec appears if you are using SureStream.

See the table below for more details about these statistics.

Using Audio Statistics
Statistic Description
Audio Codec codec being used to convert audio stream
Frequency Response highest frequency found in the recorded audio
Real Time Performance approximate percentage of your computer's audio recording speed compared to real time audio playing speed

Video Statistics

These statistics give you information about the video codecs (compression/decompression algorithms) used to create the video streams. More than one codec appears if you are using SureStream.

See the table below for more details about these statistics.

Using Video Statistics
Statistic Description
Video Codec codec used to convert video
Video Bit Rate bit rate of the video
Frame Rate frames per second of video
Quality Index video quality affected by your computer processor's recording speed; 100 is best, and values less than 80 reflect reduced quality
Real Time Performance approximate percentage of your computer's video recording speed compared to real time video playing speed


Copyright © 1998-1999 RealNetworks
For information on RealNetworks' technical support, click here.
Comments on this document? Click here.
This file last updated on 09/02/99 at 10:05:03.
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