Screen-Based Video in the Enterprise
The Windows Media Video 9 Screen compression technology enables you to create screen-based video for use in applications such as software training, demos and helpdesk/support materials. This technology allows you to capture content directly from a computer screen, compress that content, send it over a communications network (such as the Internet or corporate network), and decompress it for viewing. The algorithms used to compress and decompress content are often called "codecs" (short for compress/decompress). The WMV9 Screen codec, together with the Windows Media Encoder 9 Series, produces high-quality, full-motion screen capture videowith or without voice annotationfor delivery over low-speed dialup connections and Broadband/LAN networks. And, delivering it using the Windows Media 9 Series server and player ensures a superior end-to-end solution.
Business
Windows Media Video 9 Screen has a wide range of applications throughout the enterprise, but in most cases that use is instructional in nature. For example, IT departments could incorporate screen-based video clip in custom applications help file (.chm), Helpdesk FAQs and automated support response systems
Education
Windows Media Video 9 Screen is particularly well suited for creating on-demand educational content where the object is to teach a student a computer related task or concept. Screen video can quickly supplement written or digital media instruction with examples providing "how-to" concepts and steps of procedure.
Government
Agencies could include help on how to navigate to key features on their web sites, while military commanders could deliver annotated screen-based intelligence with secure streams or download-and-play content.
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Windows Media Video 9 Screen Capture This example shows how to perform a task in a Microsoft Word document, which could, for example, be part of an IT Helpdesk or automated FAQ response, or an integral part of a custom application help file (.CHM).
Watch now: 110 Kbps
Download now: 110 Kbps (460 KB)
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- New continuous-tone encoding support improves the ability for WMV9 Screen to encode content containing photos or other high-color regions
- Support for variable bit rate (VBR) encoding, produces consistent quality when the bandwidth availability is flexible. Also, offline encoding in VBR mode significantly reduces dropped frames and provides better motion capture
- Improved motion coding for graphics content such as cursors and window movements
- New run length encoding mode for capture-then-compress scenarios
Continuous Tone Capture
The primary design consideration with the Screen codec is text intelligibility. Motion, color and image clarity are all secondary to intelligibility. At low bitrates, continuous tone image clarity is sacrificed in favor of lossless text and reasonable motion. If the same input file is encoded at higher and higher bitrates, the continuous tone regions of the screen will get more clear.
VBR Encoding
In variable bitrate (VBR) encoding, the bitrate can spike as high as is needed to encode to the selected quality. VBR files are well-suited to local file playback, such as training files on a CD. Depending on the content, the average bitrate can still be surprisingly low.
VBR mode is designed to encode all of the non-duplicate frames in input .avi files. Screen 9 Series VBR is a tremendous improvement in reducing dropped frames.
Also, encoding in VBR mode and noting the average bitrate is useful to determine the optimal CBR bitrate to use.
Improved Graphics Motion
Both VBR and CBR modes encode many more frames, resulting in better cursor movement and capturing scene changes in the content. If a small window containing graphics is dragged around in the capture area, its motion will be reproduced, along with scene changes where an entirely new window or web page appears in the capture area.
Run Length Encoding Mode
Run Length Encoding (RLE) is a new high-performance capture mode designed expressly for capture-then-compress scenarios. RLE is an optional "fast, light" encoding functionality in which the encoder CPU load is lower but the resulting file is a larger. The resulting content is less lossy and does not differentiate between Win32 primitives and continuous tone regions. WMV9 Screen provides 8-bit and 24bit modes for RLE mode.
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Windows Media Video 9 Screen content plays well in Windows Media Player 7.1 and Windows Media Player for Windows XP, to reach to the broadest audience. However, whenever this the codec is used in conjunction with the Windows Media Player 9 Series and other Windows Media 9 Series platform components, the new technologies draw on advanced capabilities in each of the components to provide dramatic additional benefits.
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