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Backstories
Encoding Tips from the Windows Media Test Team
Produced by Bill Birney
Microsoft Corporation
July 2004
This month, the very team that tests the Windows Media codecs at Microsoft shares some tips for encoding high-quality video.
The team's job is to test codecs in development. Their first goal is to find any problems with the software and help developers make fixes before the codecs go out the door. Another
goal of theirs is to find ideal compression settings. To do that, the test team spends months trying almost every possible combination of settings on a wide variety of content types,
in order to home in on the ones that work best. Needless to say, after encoding and analyzing all that content, they become experts on the codecs.
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Setting Up a Videotape Recorder
Watch the video!
(300 Kbps, 1:16)
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Knowing Your Source
Watch the video!
(300 Kbps, 3:43)
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Setting Up and Encoding Content
Watch the video!
(300 Kbps, 6:40)
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What are Nonsquare Pixels?
Watch the video!
(300 Kbps, 5:42)
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Microsoft Test Engineer Amy Beauford quickly runs through the process for setting up a videotape recorder using the color bars test signal.
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After capturing (digitizing) a videotape to a hard disk, Amy analyzes the content and applies filters if necessary to deinterlace, crop, and generally clean up the video.
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Microsoft Test Manager Dan Penn shows us how to find the optimum encoder settings. Download the encoder optimizer sample script that Dan mentions in the video.
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Microsoft Test Lead David Workman shows us what nonsquare pixels are, and why they're useful.
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For More Information
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Bill Birney
Bill has worked as a writer, director, and producer on numerous film and video projects, as well as a music composer, sound designer, and disc jockey. He currently works in the Digital
Media Division at Microsoft, where he has co-written several books, including the Windows Media Resource Kit. |
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