Introduction

Welcome to the Helix^™ Producer 9.0 from RealNetworks^® User's Guide from RealNetworks. This manual shows you everything you need to know about Helix Producer—a program that allows you to convert audio and video into streaming media.

Using Helix Producer, anyone can easily create streaming media from a variety of sources. Convert from audio or video files, record directly from audio/video (A/V) devices, or use Helix Producer together with Helix Universal Server to broadcast and stream live content.

What is Helix?

Helix^™ from RealNetworks is a universal digital media delivery platform. With industry-leading performance, integrated content distribution, advertising, user authentication, Web services support, and native delivery of RealMedia, Windows Media, QuickTime, and MPEG-4, Helix from RealNetworks is a robust digital media foundation that meets the needs of enterprises and networking service providers.

New Features for This Version

Helix Producer is completely new and redesigned for version 9. The following is a summary of some of the key new features:

New Graphic Interface—gives you a more usable workspace

RealVideo 9 Encoding—allows you to create the best quality video for any bit rate, especially at high-bandwidth rates

Encoding Jobs—allow you to save and share your encoding settings, such as sources used, destinations encoded to, and other settings.

Multiple Destinations—send the encoded output to more than one Helix Universal Server, or to a file and a server simultaneously.

Audience Templates—allow you to save and share information about your target audience, such as codec used, target bit rate, and target frame rate.

Server Definition Templates—allow you to save and share information about setting up a Helix Universal Server for live broadcasting.

Enhanced Live Broadcasting—new broadcasting models, such as Push and Pull that allow you to better customize your Helix Universal Server connection.

Logging—allows you to track important events that occur during encoding.

Conventions Used in this Guide

The following table explains the typographical conventions used in this guide.

Notational Conventions
Convention	Meaning
emphasis	Bold text is used for in-line headings, user-interface elements, URLs, and e-mail addresses.
terminology	Italic text is used for technical terms being introduced, and to lend emphasis to generic English words or phrases.
`syntax`	This font is used for fragments or complete lines of programming syntax (markup).
`syntax emphasis`	Bold syntax character formatting is used for program names, and to emphasize specific syntax elements.
`variables`	Italic syntax character formatting denotes variables within fragments or complete lines of syntax.
`[options]`	Square brackets indicate values that you may or may not need to use. As a rule, when you use these optional values, you do not include the brackets themselves.
`choice 1\|choice 2`	Vertical lines, or "pipes," separate values that you can choose between.
...	Ellipses indicate nonessential information omitted from examples.

Additional Documentation Resources

In addition to this introductory guide, you may need the following resources, which are available for download at http://service.real.com/help/library/encoders.html:

Introduction to Streaming Media

Start with this guide if you are new to streaming media or RealNetworks products. Written for the beginning user, it explains how to put together a basic presentation using different production techniques.

RealNetworks Production Guide

This guide is the main reference manual for streaming media production. It expands on most of the topics presented in this introductory guide. Refer to it for instructions and tips on media production, as well as for complete information about using SMIL.

RealOne Player Scripting Guide

If you are a Web programmer, refer to this guide for instructions about using Javascript or VBScript with RealOne Player. Using these scripting languages, you can customize RealOne Player to turn it into your own Internet jukebox, for example.

Helix Universal Server Administration Guide

The basic reference for the Helix Universal Server administrator, this guide explains how to set up, configure, and run Helix Universal Server to stream multimedia. You need this guide only if you are running Helix Universal Server yourself. It is available at http://service.real.com/help/library/servers.html.

Technical Support

To reach RealNetworks' Technical Support, you can contact their Web site by choosing Help>Technical Support from the Helix Producer main menu.

The information you provide in this form will help Technical Support personnel respond promptly.

For general information about RealNetworks' Technical Support, visit this Web page:

http://service.real.com

©2002 RealNetworks, Inc.
For more information, visit RealNetworks
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