This chapter describes how to set up a job using the Helix Producer main window if you are using the Windows operating system. You will learn what an encoding job is, how to create and save jobs, and how to use multiple jobs at once.
The encoding job (or "job") is a file that you use to show Helix Producer how to encode RealMedia. A job contains all of the settings for the different aspects that make up your encoding session. On a basic level, when you set up a job, you are defining what the input is, how the input is encoded into streaming media, and where the encoded output will be sent. The following diagram illustrates this flow:
The following is a list of the different parts of a job.
All of these parts that make up a job are described in greater detail throughout the remaining chapters. But first, this chapter shows you how to create and save a job for later use, and it describes the benefits of using multiple jobs.
The first step in encoding with Helix Producer is to create a new job.
You can let Helix Producer create it automatically by setting the input or an output destination. Or you can manually create a new job to work with.
When you manually create a new job, an untitled job appears in the Job Manager. This untitled job does not have an input or output defined and it uses default settings for encoding.
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To create a new, untitled job: |
A new job appears in the list of jobs at the bottom of the window. This list is called the Job Manager.
The Job Manager keeps track of the encoding jobs that you are using during the current session. It also allows you to quickly control more than one job at a time. See "Using Multiple Jobs" for more information.
Below is a description of the different columns in the Job Manager:
Status—gives you a description of the status of the job, such as Ready, Not Ready, Analyzing, Encoding, and Done.
Start—the time that the job began encoding.
End—the time the job stopped encoding.
Once your job is created, you can define the different components that make up a job. After that, you will want to save your job so that you can use it at a later time or share it.
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To save a job to a file: |
Saving a job creates a job file with a .rpjf extension that is stored on your computer. This job file can be modified in two ways. You can open the job (see "Opening Existing Jobs" below) and change its settings using the Helix Producer interface. Or you can modify the job file using an XML editor or text editor once you are more familiar with the other components and settings that make up a job. See Appendix B: "Job File Reference" for more information on editing the job file.
You can create jobs, save them, and use them as templates. Create jobs for different encoding situations that frequently arise and then make incremental adjustments to the job.
For example, if you often encode a list of files into RealMedia for a modem audience, you can save a job with a dummy file input that you can modify later. Or if you need to broadcast live video over the Internet periodically but to different servers, you can create a job with all the other settings and just modify the destination. Thus, your broadcast is quickly up and running each time.
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Tip: If you want to save the current job's settings as the default settings, select Settings>Default Settings>Save Current as Default from the menu. You can always restore the original default settings by selecting Settings>Default Settings>Restore Original Default |
Once you have saved your job, you can also share it. This means that you can give the job file (the .rpjf file) to another user. He or she can open it in his or her version of Helix Producer and use it to encode RealMedia. If you have set the input and output destinations, the new user needs access to the same sources and destination locations that you defined in the job.
You don't have to create a new job every time you use Helix Producer. If a job has been previously created, or if you have been sent a job by a colleague, you can open it and add it to the Job Manager.
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To open an existing job: |
The Open Job File dialog opens.
The job appears in the Job Manager and its settings appear in the main window.
One of the more powerful features of Helix Producer is that you can create and control multiple jobs at the same time. The Job Manager is used to show the jobs that have been added and are waiting to be modified or encoded.
This section shows you some of the benefits of using multiple jobs and some tips on how to use them effectively.
Setting up more than one job to encode one after the other is called "batch" encoding. Batch encoding is most useful when you have a number of files that you need to encode using virtually the same settings.
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To encode a batch of jobs: |
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Tip: To create a number of jobs with the exact same settings, select a job and drag-and-drop media files into Helix Producer. A new job is created for each file with the same settings as the selected job. You can also duplicate a job by right-clicking on a job and selecting Duplicate from the menu. |
To do this, select each job by using the CTRL key while selecting, or you can select a group of jobs with the SHIFT key.
Each job that is in the batch will encode in series. This means that only one job will encode at a time.
For more instructions on encoding, see the chapter entitled "Starting and Monitoring an Encoding Job".
When you multi-task, you don't have to wait for a job to finish encoding before you can continue working with Helix Producer. While one job is encoding, you can add a job or create a new job and begin defining the settings for the different components of the job.
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