Configure Producer

For Capture and Compression

1. Open Helix Producer.
   
   
2. In the Input section (left side of window), select Devices. In the drop-down menu, select your sound card and video capture card. If you're using the AV Encoding station, these wil be Crystal sound card, and Osprey video capture card.
   
   
3. You can check the settings for your hardware devices by clicking the Settings button. In general, select a window size of 320x240 or smaller in the Source section, NTSC for video format, and S-video for video source.
   
   
4. If you want to encode a specific amount of material, check Duration and type in the time to be encoded.
   
   
5. In the Output section (right side of window), click Audiences. In the Encoding Settings section, select an Audio Mode that appropriate to your content (for example, if you're encoding a lecture select Voice). Select an appropriate video mode. If you're not sure, choose Normal Motion video. Select RealVideo 9 as the codec.
   
   
6. In the Audience Selection section, select your target bandwidths. You can select up to three. Good choices include 56K, 256K, and 1700k.
   
   
7. Close the Audiences dialog box by clicking on the small "x" at the top right corner.
   
   
8. Click the Clip Information section and fill in appropriate information for the Title, Author, Copyright, Description, and Keywords fields.
   
   
9. Cue the playback device to where you want to about 10-15 seconds before the point where you want to begin capturing content. Start the playback device.
   
   
10. Click the Encode button at the lower right to begin encoding your file.

For Compression Only

1. Open Helix Producer.
   
   
2. In the Input section (left side of window), select Input File and click Browse to locate the file on your system.
   
   
3. If you want to encode a specific amount of material, check Duration and type in the time to be encoded.
   
   
4. In the Output section (right side of window), click Audiences. In the Encoding Settings section, select an Audio Mode that appropriate to your content (for example, if you're encoding a lecture select Voice). Select an appropriate video mode. If you're not sure, choose Normal Motion video. Select RealVideo 9 as the codec.
   
   
5. In the Audience Selection section, select your target bandwidths. You can select up to three. Good choices include 56K, 256K, and 1700k.
   
   
6. Close the Audiences dialog box by clicking on the small "x" at the top right corner.
   
   
7. Click the Clip Information section and fill in appropriate information for the Title, Author, Copyright, Description, and Keywords fields.
   
   
8. Click the Encode button at the lower right to begin encoding your file.