What is Expression Encoder Pro?
"It was very convenient to switch between multiple source streams and short pre-recorded videos. Thanks to its flexibility it has become our main tool for occasional events that we're doing live streaming at."
Krzysztof Bartkowski, INSYS
"We developed a custom capture
and encoding solution with
Expression Encoder 4 that
streams security video using
IIS Smooth Streaming in multibitrate
format to a variety of
viewing platforms."
Mio Babic, iStreamPlanet
Interested in finding out more about how Expression Encoder is used in practice? Please check out our resources page for more information.
Expression Encoder Pro is a streamlined video production tool that enables you to focus your time and energy on enhancing, encoding and delivering your on-demand or live video content at higher quality with less effort. Expression Encoder Pro was the first encoder to support Smooth Streaming, a technology that dynamically adjusts playback rates and quality, and today is the most affordable IIS Live Smooth Streaming solution on the market, delivering hardware performance for a software price.
Enhance
Make your video the best it can be with tools like crop, cuts, pre/post roll insertion, captions, overlays and metadata insertion. Create great playback experiences with graphically rich skins and unique interactivity by choosing a Silverlight template, or create your own with Expression Blend.
Encode
Encode video on-demand or stream live in H.264 or VC-1. We've prepared the groundwork for you; choose from a library of over 100 presets to deliver video to a wide variety of audience and playback scenarios, including "iDevices." If you need more control, you have full access to all encoding parameters, and you can use A/B compare and intelligent encoding to make sure you're on the right track.
Deliver
Expression Encoder Pro simplifies the delivery of your video with its publishing feature that effortlessly moves your final project to your server or hosting provider. Take advantage of Smooth Streaming and deliver content to Silverlight video clients that can dynamically adjust playback rates and quality to account for changes in bandwidth that are out of your control.
The Expression Encoder workflow explored
Whether you are working on a Transcoding, Silverlight, or a Live Broadcasting Project Expression Encoder provides you with the tools you need to get your projects completed quickly and efficiently. Let's explore in more detail a typical workflow scenario for an on-demand video project.
Enhance
The first step is to make your video look great. After importing your videos, use the editing functions to trim or cut unnecessary segments. You can also add clips such as leaders or trailers, markers, and script commands to include captioning or advertisements. You can perform other refining edits and processing adjustments, such as adding overlays or changing the volume level of the audio.
After you've finished refining your media, you can easily set and test different output formats and encoding options for each clip in the job. Depending on whether you are using Expression Encoder or Expression Encoder Pro, you will have different audio and video formats available to you. Please see the overview (hyperlink) for more information about these different options.
You are always in total control of your video and can choose to either manually set your output options or use one of the many included presets to quickly set the key parameters for your video. Presets are preconfigured profiles that include format and encoding settings that are suitable for a wide variety of audience and playback scenarios, including "iDevices." You also have the ability to save any settings you generate for future use.
One of the most powerful, timesaving features of Expression Encoder is the ability to encode using multiple streams. If you host your web site on Microsoft Windows Server 2008 with Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) 7, and the Smooth Streaming extension for IIS7, you have the added advantage of being able to utilize Microsoft's Smooth Streaming technology. This enables you to stream content that can dynamically adjust playback rates and quality to account for changes in bandwidth.
As you add settings, you can continually preview them by using the intelligent encoding and A/B Compare features to make sure that you are making the best decision for your project and for your audience.
Encode
When you are ready to encode you have the choice of two output methods: you can encode either with or without a Silverlight player template. If you encode using a template, you can choose a default template or create your own in HTML or XAML (Extensible Application Markup Language) with Expression Blend, delivering a graphically rich and unique Silverlight media playback experience. You can also choose not to use a template, creating a standalone, high-quality .wmv or .wma file that can be played back in a standard media application such as Windows Media Player.
Deliver
After you have created your encoded file you have several delivery options available to you: post the video to your blog, web page, or you can transfer it to your mobile device. We also offer several free publishing plug-ins, enabling you to publish directly to services such as Windows Azure or SharePoint. If you've taken advantage of multiple stream encoding you can use Smooth Streaming to deliver your video at the highest available quality to each viewer.
