Chapter 9: Editing RealMedia Files

RealMedia Editor allows you edit existing RealMedia files. You can edit the length of a file, cutting either the beginning or end of a clip. You can change the title, author, and other clip information. You can also can merge image maps or interactive events into a RealMedia file.

Overview: RealMedia Editor

RealMedia Editor is installed automatically when you install Helix Producer, either the Windows or Macintosh version. Click on File>Edit RealMedia File from the Helix Producer main window to begin.

Once you have started RealMedia Editor, the main window opens for you. Below is a brief tour of the main window, introducing each element to you.

Main Menu—the menu items at the top of the window allow you to access different functions of this program

Clip Viewer—a video window that shows the video portion of the clip

Timeline—a graphical representation of the input file. You can move the slider to any keyframe or edit point. The current time position is also shown here.

Clip Info Area—this area allows you to quickly change the title, author, copyright, keywords, and description of a clip.

Opening a RealMedia File

The first step in editing a RealMedia clip is to open it with the RealMedia Editor. Once you have opened the clip, you can play it, navigate through it, and edit it.

To open a clip:

1. In the main window, choose File>Open RealMedia File.

The Open RealMedia File dialog opens.

2. Navigate to the directory where the RealMedia file (a file with a .rm extension) is located and select it.

Note: Currently, only RealMedia files with a maximum file size of 2 GB can be edited with this product.

3. Click Open.

The file opens in the RealMedia Editor main window. If it is a RealVideo clip, the first frame appears in the viewer.

Tip: You can also drag a .rm file into the RealMedia Editor main window to open that clip instantly.

Navigating Along a Clip

RealMedia Editor gives you different methods for you to navigate along a clip so that you can find the points at which you want to edit the clip. You can use the slider on the timeline, use the Play and Stop buttons, use edit points, or use keyframes. Use one or a combination of methods to reach the point in your clip you want to edit.

Using the Timeline

The timeline is the easiest way to navigate along your clip. The red line shown in the timeline marks the current position in the clip. To move the line, either drag it with your mouse, or click with the mouse button at a point in the timeline.

When the line is at the new position, the Clip Viewer shows the current video frame.

Using Buttons

Using the navigation buttons is another way to navigate. Click the Play button to start the clip. And click Stop when you reach the desired point in the clip.

Using Keyframes

Keyframes are video frames that are encoded pixel-for-pixel into RealMedia. A RealMedia clip consists of a number of keyframes with the other in-between frames based on the information from the keyframes. Video clips must have at least one keyframe.

Click the >> button to go to the next keyframe in the clip, and click the << to go to the previous keyframe in the clip. Navigating with keyframes allows you to quickly jump to a main section of a clip.

Using Edit Points

Edit points are simply other possible points at which you can edit a clip. These points are designated by the smallest block of audio data that a clip can be split up into. There are no edit points in a video-only clip, so you can edit the clip at any point.

Click the > button to go to the next edit point in the clip, and click the < button to go to the previous edit point in the clip.

Editing with the RealMedia Editor

This section shows you how use the RealMedia Editor to edit a RealMedia clip. You will learn how to edit out the beginning or end of a clip, how to change clip information, how to merge either an image map or an interactive event to a clip, and how to append another clip to the current clip.

Editing a Clip's Beginning or End

With RealMedia Editor, you can edit out the beginning or the end of a clip. This section shows you how to mark the points for editing and gives you tips on editing out sections of your clip.

To edit out the beginning or end of a clip:

1. Open a RealMedia file.
2. Navigate to the point at which you want to mark the beginning of the edited clip.
3. Click the Mark In button.

On the timeline, the beginning of the clip is marked by a bracket ( [ ), and the rest of the clip that remains has a darker grey color. The new beginning time of the clip is also shown.

4. Navigate to the point at which you want to mark the end of the edited clip.
5. Click the Mark Out button.

On the timeline, the end of the clip is marked by a bracket ( ] ), and the clip that is between the two brackets has a darker grey color. The new ending time of the clip is also shown.

6. Click the Play Selection button to play the marked section of the clip and verify that the clip is edited properly.
7. If you are satisfied with the new clip, select File>Save RealMedia File As and give the newly edited file a new name.

Editing Tips

Follow these tips to get the best out of your edited clip:

• If you mark an image in between keyframes, the resulting video may have a black or frozen image, or it may simply begin at the next keyframe.
• Video clips must contain at least one keyframe. If you create a clip without a keyframe, you will be unable to save it.
• You can type in times directly for current clip position using the format: days:hours:minutes:seconds.milliseconds.

Changing Clip Information

Clip information tells the audience about a clip and allows the audience to find a clip more easily. With RealMedia Editor, you can add clip information if none exists or you can change clip information that is attached to a file.

To change clip information:

1. Open a RealMedia file.
2. In the Clip Info area, enter new information for the clip:

• Title—the title of the clip
• Author—the name of the clip's creator
• Copyright—year and owner of the clip's copyright
• Keywords—words that you think your audience would use to search for your clip.
• Description—a brief summary of the clip's contents

3. To enter more information, click the Clip Info button.

The Edit Clip Info and File Properties dialog opens.

4. You can also select a content rating. You have the following choices:

• No Rating
• All Ages
• Older Children
• Younger Teens
• Older Teens
• Adult Supervision Recommended
• Adults Only

5. Click OK to return to the main window.
6. To save the new clip, select File>Save RealMedia File As and give the newly edited file a new name.

Merging Image Maps or Events

Image maps are text files that create clickable fields within a RealMedia file. When clicked by the audience, a certain action—such as opening a company's Web site—occurs. Events are similar to image maps, except the action happens automatically during playback without any audience interaction.

For an image map or an event to work during playback, they must be "merged" to a RealMedia file. RealMedia Editor gives you the ability to merge these files to a RealMedia file.

To merge an image map into a RealMedia file:

1. Open a RealMedia file.
2. Select Merge Image Maps from the Tools menu.

The Merge Image Map File dialog opens.

3. Locate the image map text file that you will merge, select it, and click Open.

RealMedia Editor merges the image map to the RealMedia file, creating a new, "Untitled" clip; the original clip is closed.

To merge an event into a RealMedia file:

1. Open a RealMedia file.
2. Select Merge Events from the Tools menu.

The Merge Events File dialog opens.

3. Locate the events text file that you will merge, then select it and click Open.

Helix Producer merges the event to the RealMedia file, creating a new, "Untitled" clip; the original clip is closed.

Appending Other Clips to Your Clip

Helix Producer also allows you to combine one RealMedia file to another, thus "appending" a file to the current file. Appending only works when the number and type of streams in each file is identical. Therefore, this feature works best when the source files are all encoded with the Helix Producer using the exact same settings.

Because of RealMedia Editor's 2 GB limit for the size of files it can open, the combination of appended files can not be over this limit.

To append a file:

1. Open a RealMedia file.
2. Select Append RealMedia File from the File menu.

The Open RealMedia File dialog opens.

3. Locate the file you want to append, then select it and click Open.

RealMedia Editor appends the file to the currently open file. This process can take some time, depending on how large the appended file is.

4. When the appending process is complete, you can edit the combined files as a new clip; the original clip is closed.

Advanced Editing Features

In addition to editing files, RealMedia Editor gives you advanced features that can help you with the editing process. You can view information about all streams that are incorporated into a RealMedia file. Plus, you can decide how fast RealMedia Editor will preview a clip: quickly or normal speed.

Viewing Stream Information

Every RealMedia file is created with a number of streams. Single rate files contain only one stream, while SureStream files can contain multiple streams depending on the number of target audiences a clip is encoded for.

RealMedia Editor allows you to easily view valuable information about each stream that associated with a RealMedia file.

To view stream information:

1. Open a RealMedia file.
2. Select Stream Info from the Tools menu.

The Stream Info dialog opens, giving you the following information about the file:

• Audio Mode—the type of audio for the encoded clip (such as music or voice)
• Video Mode—the quality of the encoded video (such as normal or smooth motion)
• Video Size—the size and width, in pixels, of the encoded video
• File Type—either single rate or SureStream

This dialog also gives you the following information about each stream within the file:

• Bit Rate—the amount of bandwidth necessary to view the stream
• Preroll—the amount of bits needed to download before the stream can play
• Frequency—the frequency response of the encoded audio for the stream
• Codec—the compression/decompression coded used to encode the stream.

3. Click Close to return to the main window.

Changing RealMedia Editor Preferences

RealMedia Editor allows you to change how you preview a clip when it is opened in the main window. You can set RealMedia Editor to view a clip quickly, or you can set RealMedia Editor to view a clip more accurately. If you choose to view a clip accurately, it may take much more time to open if the clip is large in size.

To change Helix Producer preferences:

1. Select Preferences from the Tools menu.

The Preferences dialog opens.

2. Select either Accurate or Quick to designate how you want Helix Producer to open new RealMedia files.

• Quick—plays back the selection immediately with out delay, but audio and video may not play exactly as they would in the saved clip. For example, frames of video at the beginning of a clip may appear different. And audio may not stop precisely at the end of a clip.
• Accurate—saves the selection to a temporary file and can take longer for long selections. The preview, however, will look and sound exactly like the saved clip.

3. Click OK to return to the main window.

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