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Create
Windows Media Files from your Mac!
For many Apple users,
creating Windows Media files was once a cumbersome chore. It
required a multi-step process, usually between a Mac and PC and
using more than one software application. All that has changed
with the recent release of Telestream's "Flip
4 Mac"-- a software plug in that allows Mac users to export
Windows Media (both video and audio) from Final Cut Pro, iMovie,
QuickTime Pro or most any program with video/audio export
capabilities. It can be downloaded on a trial basis from
http://www.flip4mac.com/flip4mac_home.htm and if you like
it, purchased for $99 (US). There's even a Pro/HD version
available for $179 (US), plus educational discount pricing
program for students, faculty and administrators at accredited
educational institutions at:
http://www.flip4mac.com/educational_signup.htm.
We've been using the product here for a couple of months and are
extremely pleased with Flip 4 Mac's ease of use and output
quality. Along the way, we've learned a few things that may
prove useful to those who decide they'd like to purchase the
plug in for themselves. First, let's look at how to open
and use the plug in and as we go along, insert some of those
hopefully useful tips:
Let's say you've downloaded the plug-in and want to
export something from a program like Final Cut Pro. Go
to File> Export>Use QuickTime Conversion. You'll see
some choices and by holding down the pulldown menu,
you'll see one of the choices is Windows Media. You
choose it and click "Options". The Flip 4 Mac interface
will open up, giving you a variety of options. Your
first choice when you click on the Video tab is Coding
Method. To adjust your Video Quality, you can choose to
go with "One pass, constant bit rate" or "One pass,
variable bit rate". (If you buy the Pro/HD
version, you'll get a few more choices). While it takes
more time, you tend to get better results if you choose
Variable Bit Rate (VBR). However, if your resulting
Windows Media file will be streamed, its best to go with
Constant Bit Rate. Note: if you choose to go with
Constant Bit Rate (CBR), you can adjust your bit rate.
We've found if you bump up the Bit Rate to say 386, you
tend to get a pretty decent picture-- especially if
there's movement in a lot of your video. If its a
"talking head", you probably don't need to adjust the
bit rate much, if at all.
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If you're
working with DV or Beta video, you'll probably want to
adjust your Input Frame from Progressive to
Interlace-Lower Field First-- as more often than not,
these formats are interlaced. Output Frame allows you to
decide the size of your Windows Media screen. We tend to
output
to 320 x 240 and we confirm the Rate is 29.97
frames/second. Again, this is especially true if there's
a lot of movement in the video. However, if its
just a "talking head" sometimes covered with static
PowerPoint overlays, we've found 15 frame per second can
suffice. Leave your Type at Progressive.
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Click on the
Audio tab and you'll see you have a few compression
choices as well. If you want to keep your final file
size down, you can choose a smaller sample rate like 22
k-- which isn't a bad choice when all you have is
narration or a "talking head". Also, stereo files take
double the space of mono files so think about that if
you're trying to make a smaller file.
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Last, there's the Content tab. Here you can add some
info about your video file to go along with the file as
it plays. This may be helpful if you have several
modules for an educational project and you want the
viewer to be able to confirm what module it is they're
watching. |
Overall, Flip 4 Mac is a
long-overdue product. It makes exporting files for PC users a
simple task and provides good results. One of our Distance Ed
folks, Lisa Hightower, just completed a project here where
several video modules were compressed using Flip 4 Mac to
Windows Media to be delivered via a DVD-ROM disc. She was
extremely happy that Flip 4 Mac came along when it did.
Otherwise, she'd still be doing the Mac/PC shuffle. Bottom line:
she's flipped for Flip 4 Mac.
Good luck!
Al Williamson
Coordinator: Educational Video
University of Florida, IFAS Communication Services
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