TABLE OF CONTENTS Recording and capturing high-quality audio and video are the first steps toward building a killer streaming media production. But the captured files need more work in order for you to increase your chances of a successful outcome. Before you encode with Windows Media Encoder, you need to optimize, that is, get the most out of your raw media file. You can do this with your editing program or Windows Media Encoder. This chapter goes over some of the fundamentals of optimization to prepare you for the next major step, encoding. By the time you finish, you'll know how to:
Optimize your audio
Optimize your video
The following sections gives you background about the properties of recorded sound. It also discusses some of the parameters you modify to achieve best sound quality before converting the audio file to a streaming media file.
Humans perceive sound as a complex set of vibrations in a medium, usually air, with differences in frequency, tone and volume over time. These vibrations can have infinite variety although the perceptible range is limited. Our ears convert these vibrations into analog electrical impulses. Our brain interprets and applies meaning to these impulses.
The first recording devices stored sound as variations in a continuous groove etched on a metal or wax cylinder or plate. To play the sound back, a motor powered by a spring or electricity turned the cylinder or plate at a constant speed. A diamond needle placed...
