Chapter 5: Customizing Recording Options

RealProducer comes with a variety of options that allow you to create RealMedia suited to your needs. This chapter discusses how to change different recording preferences, and how to change audio and video capture settings.

Changing RealProducer Preferences

RealProducer gives you the option to modify settings that affect all recording sessions. This section shows you how to change general recording preferences and live broadcast settings. You use the Preferences dialog box to make these adjustments.

General Preferences

The General page of the Preferences dialog box allows you to change properties about files you create, start-up options, and the temporary storage directory used by RealProducer.

The Preferences Dialog Box - General Page

File Properties

By changing file properties, you are allowing RealPlayer Plus users to be able to record your RealMedia clip during playback, download your RealMedia clip to their hard drive, disallow search engines to find your clip, and add rating information to your clip. These settings are used for each clip you create.

Selecting the Allow Recording preference allows RealPlayer Plus users the option of recording the playback of your RealMedia clip onto their computers. When your clip is played, the user clicks the Record button and your clip is saved on the user's machine. Deselecting this preference disables the Record button.

Selecting the Allow Download preference gives any user-even those without a RealPlayer-the ability to download your RealMedia clip directly onto their hard drive.

Selecting the Files Should Not Be Indexed By Search Engines preference disables the ability for search engines to point users to your clip. When deselected, search engines will use keywords that you add to the clip. See "Creating Keywords" for more information.

You can also choose to give your clip a rating for its content. The following list describes the different Audience Ratings:

General - All Ages-suitable for viewing by all audiences; the default setting
Parental Guidance Recommended-might not be suitable for children 13 or under
Adult Supervision Required-not suitable for children under 18
Adults Only-should not be watched by anyone under 18

New Session Start-Up Options

These options allow you to choose options for creating a new session. You can choose to reset clip information for each new session, and you can choose to always use the recording wizards when you create a new session.

Resetting clip information erases any previous text listed in the Title, Author, Copyright, Description, or Keywords areas.

To reset clip information when you create a new session:

From the RealProducer main window, choose Preferences from the Options menu.
The Preferences dialog opens.
Click the General tab.
Select Reset Clip Information When Starting a New Session if you want to clear all clip information for every new session.
This is the default setting.
Deselect this option to keep all clip information for every new session.

Once you become familiar with the recording process, you can disable the recording wizards and use the New Session dialog to create a new recording session. The following procedure allows you to easily toggle the wizards on or off. You can always choose Recording Wizards from the File menu to use these wizards at any time.

To enable or disable the recording wizards:

From the RealProducer main window, choose Preferences from the Options menu.
The Preferences dialog opens.
Click the General tab.
Select Use Recording Wizards When Starting a New Session if you want to use the wizards when setting up a recording session.
This is the default setting.
Deselect this option to turn off the wizards.
When you choose File>New Session from the RealProducer main window, the New Session dialog box opens.
Click OK to close this dialog.

Temporary Storage Directory

During a recording session, RealProducer uses a directory to store media files prior to creating the final RealMedia clip. Using the Preferences dialog box, you can change the directory used for this purpose.

To change the temporary storage directory used by RealProducer:

From the RealProducer main window, choose Preferences from the Options menu.
The Preferences dialog opens.
Click the General tab.
Click the Browse button, select the new temporary storage directory, and click OK.
Click OK to close this dialog.

Live Broadcast Settings

These settings are used for any live broadcast you create with RealProducer. They control the protocol that you will use to connect to your server during the broadcast.

You have two choices for connecting to a server:

Connect to Server Using UDP-uses the UDP protocol for all broadcasts; this setting is the default and is recommended
Connect to Server Using TCP-uses the TCP protocol for all broadcasts; this setting is best for broadcasting through a firewall and requires a RealServer G2 6.1 or above

The new RealVideo G2 with SVT video codec creates RealVideo clips that can automatically adjust the following according to the audience's connection and computer processing speed:

Frame Rate-you can create video clips and not worry about the audience's computer speed. If the clip is unable to keep the frame rate on a user's machine, it will gradually reduce the frame rate needed to maintain clear video.
Frame Size-create clips for vastly different bit rates without worrying about the size of the image. RealVideo with SVT creates the optimal frame size for each stream, based on bit rate and other video settings.
Data Loss-if packets are lost during video delivery, special packet that correct errors are sent to reconstruct the lost data.

Changing Audio and Video Capture Settings

When recording from a media device, either to a file or to a live broadcast, your computer must be set up to use the necessary capture card. All audio and video capture cards have different settings; refer to your card's specific documentation for information.

Audio Capture Settings

With RealProducer, you can set the recording volume of the audio capture device.

Adjusting Volume Control

While recording, you can adjust or monitor the volume using the Windows Volume Control window.

To adjust the recording volume:

Select Audio Capture Settings>Volume Control from the Options menu.
The Volume Control window opens.
In the Volume Control window, select Properties from the Options menu.
The Properties window displays.
Select Recording to adjust the input recording volume. (The Playback option adjusts the level of the volume you hear while you are recording, not the volume RealProducer uses.)
Select from the list of volume controls the type of inputs you will be using and click OK.
The Recording Control window opens.
Select which recording inputs to use by choosing the Select box for each input.
Adjust the sound level by moving the sliders up or down.
Remember, if the volume is too high, the recorded sound may be clipped and appear distorted. If the volume is too low, it will be difficult to hear. Use the audio level meter in the RealProducer window to monitor the level during encoding.
Close the Recording Control window and return to the RealProducer.

Video Capture Settings

With RealProducer, you can set the following settings for your video capture card: video format, video source, and video compression.

Setting Your Video Card

RealProducer allows you to set how your video capture card creates video input. Every supported capture card works differently, so be sure to refer to your card's documentation.

To change settings for your video capture card:

Select Video Capture Settings from the Options menu.
A drop down list gives you the following options:
- Video Format
- Video Source
- Video Compression
Select an option and adjust the settings according to your video capture card's documentation.