9/13/02 - Windows Media 9 Series Beta: Technical Review

New Encoding Software and Tools

The Windows Media encoder UI has changed somewhat, going for a slightly cleaner look. A handy toolbar has appeared at the top, where the start, stop, and pause encoding buttons now reside. Another nice feature is the properties icon on the toolbar, which puts all the session settings within easy reach – no more pop-up windows necessary.

There are other new features aimed squarely at the streaming media professional, such as timecode, IEEE 1394, and Edit Decision List (EDL) support. Not only can timecode be stamped into Windows Media files, but the Windows Media Encoder can control devices via FireWire, which means you can choose segments of a videotape for the encoder to automatically edit together and encode for you. How cool is that?

In addition to FireWire support, there is also VTR support, meaning you can control legacy devices such as beta decks via RS 422. The Windows Media Encoder now also supports plug-in processing. This means you’ll be able to use some of your favorite audio and video processing algorithms directly inside the encoder. Plug-in architectures are standard in audio and video editing platforms – it’s about time one of the streaming media platforms added this functionality.

The new release also includes utilities that make it simple to edit encoding profiles, add or subtract streams to scalable video files, and edit Windows Media streams. They are all simple, no frills tools that will be very useful to streaming media professionals. There is also tighter integration with the new Windows Media Server. For instance, you can now "push" streams to the Windows Media Server, and automatically create publishing points on the server instead of having to set them up manually. In addition, you can add DRM protection to live streams – previously not possible.

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