Encoding Content from a DVD

The simplest was to encode a video to a streamable format, is to capture the video and audio from a DVD player into the encoding computer. The only trick to this, is to find a video/audio capture device that the encoding software is compatible with, and allows you to use the device for both video and audio. The only configuration we have found that allows for this is XP using the Dazzle video/audio capture device. XP has issues finding both the video and audio drivers, requiring you to use two different capture devices for the video and the audio, which could cause a video/audio sync up issue. So, with this in mind, we'll talk about capturing, with the use of two different devices. If you can find a capture device that the encoding software likes for both video and audio, you can skip all the discussing on using two different devices.

Video Capture to the PC

There are many video capture devices for PC's. The most popular one is the Dazzle, and the Dazzle is compatible with both Microsoft and Flash encoding systems. The Dazzle is a USB device. Connect the Video out cable from the DVD player to Dazzle video output.

Audio Source

You can use an audio capture device to USB or firewire, or on newer computers use the 1/8" input for a microphone. If you are encoding live music, you should use an audio capture device. Older computers have mono only 1/8" microphone inputs and we suggest that you never encode in mono. We use a Berringer UCA202 audio capture device USB, they are under $100 and usually work without any issues. Music people like to use firewire capture devices, but we feel that is not required. Connect both audio (right and left) outputs from the DVD player to the Audio Capture device inputs.

Video/Audio Sync-up

Sometimes the video and audio signals do not sync-up. In this case, the audio is about 1/10th of a second faster than the video. When audio is faster than video, it screws up the brain of your viewers because audio usually follows video - such as at a basketball game where you see the ball land on the court, then you hear the bounce. In this case, the audio is first and ouch on the brain.

To fix this, you will need to buffer the audio 1/10th of a second before sending the audio feed to the encoding PC. Use a FX device to do this. The FX device we use is the Virtualizer Pro DSP2024P which costs about $100.

Encoding Software

Both Microsoft and Adobe offer free encoding software, downloadable off their websites. The Microsoft product is the Expressions Live Encoder and the Adobe product is the Flash Live Encoder. The flash encoder seems to be easer to use and uses less CPU usage on the PC. CDN's offer both Microsoft and Flash publishing points to live webcasting.

PC Requirments

The newer and stronger the PC, the better. The encoding software uses up the CPU and if it's maxed out, you could experience buffering and poor stream quality. We suggest that you use the PC for nothing other than encoding when encoding to allow for maximum PC performance.

Using the Encoding Software

before loading the software for use, connect your video and audio capture devices to the PC, so that the encoder finds them when you load the software. Find your devices on the video and audio device list and start adjusting properties. Set your video bit rate, then your audio bit rate. Add both bit rates together to know the total bit rate needed to stream. For example, if you set the video bit rate at 500Kbps, and the audio bit rate at 96Kbps (stereo, 44,000) the total bit rate (for bandwidth) needed to stream would be 596Kbps.

The most popular encoder settings are as follows;

Video: V6 30FPS (down to 15 is ok) with a 600Kbps bit rate.
Audio: MP3 Stereo, 44,000 sample 96Kbps

If you are streaming live music, the audio bit rate should be at least 128Kbps.

There is no need to setup the Streaming to a server setup, just archive to a file.

Encoding from Movie Maker Software

Most movie software systems allow you to create a movie, setting the bit rates you need to stream via the Internet. If you are using Microsoft Silverlight for streaming, make the file a WMV. if you are using flash to stream you will need to create a FLV file, which you cannot do if you are using a Windows campatible movie maker software.

Again, the key to encoding from movie maker software, is to set the bit rate that you want to stream at during the create a movie process. If the bit rate is set properly, you should be able to FTP upload the file to the CDN server and that's it!

If you do not set the bit rate, the movie will be created at too high of a bit rate for streaming. For example, your target bit rate for streaming is between 700Kbps and 1200Kbps. The movie maker software normally creates movies for DVD viewing at much higher bit rates, such as 2000kbps - 4000Kbps.

A 1.5 hour movie created at 700Kbps should be about 200 Meg in size. If the movie is much larger in size, do not use it for streaming, for the bit rate is too high. The higher the bit rate, the bigger the file. Also, make sure to make it a WMV file - for Microsoft streaming.

If you understand that a video's bit rate needs to be under 1200Kbbs for streaming, you should be able to create a streamable file using most any movie maker or file converting software system to create your VOD content. NOTE: create one file, FTP to the CDN and test playing before moving on to your entire library.

Multi Bit Rate Encoding

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