The Encoding Process
Using Avisynth
RealProducer 8.5 occasionally has trouble loading some file formats, and it cannot append segments of source video together. Fortunately, we can correct these problem using Avisynth. (You can obtain Avisynth from my Software page.) If your source video is segmented (takes up more than one file) or has a format that RealProducer won't load, please follow the instructions below. If your source video consists of a single file that RealProducer can read, you may skip to the section called Opening Your Video in RealProducer.
What Avisynth does is use a special text file on your computer to represent a video. Instead of telling a program to open your source video file(s), you tell it to open the special text file (*.avs). Avisynth then intercepts the program that is trying to read the special text file and redirects it to your actual video file(s).
Click on the following link to download a special text file that I created for you to use with Avisynth:
Extract the contents of the .zip file to the folder containing your processed video file(s).
Now run Notepad, select File -> Open, and open the 'avisynth.avs' file. At the top of the file, I have included an explanation for configuring the avisynth.avs file. Follow these instructions, save the file, and exit notepad. For more information about Avisynth, see my Avisynth page.
Opening Your Video in RealProducer
1) Run RealProducer Basic. You will see a dialog box asking you which Recording Wizard you want to use. Check the box labeled "Don't Use Recording Wizards" and hit OK.
2) You should now see the New Session window. Select File for the Input Source and click Browse. Browse to the folder containing the realvideo.avs file (or your source video if you're not using Avisynth). Select All Files (*.*), double click on the file "realvideo.avs" (or your source video), and click OK.
3) For the Output, select RealMedia File and click on Save As. Choose a location and file name for the output video and hit OK. The New Session window should now look like this:
If everything looks good, hit OK.
Setting the RealProducer Preferences
RealProducer has many different options to configure. I have taken the liberty of finding the optimal settings for you. All you need to do is this:
1) Click on Options -> Preferences.
2) Go through each tab and configure your settings to match those pictured below. For the sake of simplicity, I've avoided a technical description of the settings. However, you are free to ask questions in the Message Boards.
Note: most cartoons are produced at 24 frames per second and then converted (telecined) to 30 fps. The Inverse-Telecine filter tries to restore the original 24 fps, which will increase the quality of your video. However, if you use a PAL/SECAM video system or if your video was not originally produced at 24 fps, you can turn off this option to increase encoding speed. To determine if your video was produced at 24 fps and then telecined to 30 fps, see this page. If you are still unsure, leaving this option on will not harm the quality of your video.
When you have properly configured every tab, press OK.
3) Enable the VBR Latency trick by visiting my RealProducer
VBR Latency Trick page. After following the instructions on that page,
you may return here and continue with step #4.
4) Click on Options -> Video Settings. Make sure
that Cropping and Resizing are disabled (unchecked). See the picture
below:
Press OK when you are sure everything is disabled.
Customizing and Encoding Your Video
You should be at the main RealProducer screen. Follow these steps:
1) For the Clip Information, fill in the Title of the clip (e.g. the episode name), the Author (either you or the creator of the video), and the Copyright information. Also fill in the Description box with all relevant information about your video. This might include the name of the cartoon series, the episode number, the season number, etc. You do not need to fill in the Keywords box.
2) For the RealMedia settings, choose Single-rate. The Video Quality should be set to Normal Motion Video. You have several options for the Audio Format:
A) For standard mono audio, select "Music".
B) For standard stereo audio, select "Voice with Background Music".
C) If you want the highest quality stereo sound and are going to use the "512K DSL/Cable Modem" profile (see Step #3 below), you can select "Stereo Music". Please note that your video quality will slightly decrease if you use the "Stereo Music" option instead of "Voice with Background Music". The "Voice with Background Music" option will usually sound quite good, so choosing the "Stereo Music" option may be unnecessary.
3) The Target Audience settings set the bitrate for your video, which determines the quality and size of the output file. Here is a guide for choosing the correct Target Audience settings:
A) If file size is not a concern and you want to achieve the best quality, select "512K DSL/Cable Modem". However, this setting probably should not be used unless your video is loaded with high-motion scenes or you are not distributing it on the Internet. The total bitrate is a little higher than 450 Kbit/sec. After encoding, each 10 minutes of video will take up approximately 34-36 MB of space.
B) For most videos, choosing "384K DSL/Cable Modem" should produce good quality. The total bitrate is a bit higher than 350 Kbit/sec. After encoding, each 10 minutes of video will take up approximately 26-28 MB of space.
C) You can try choosing "256K DSL/Cable Modem" if your video doesn't have too many high-action scenes. For example, this setting may be well-suited for some types of anime. The total bitrate is bit higher than 225 Kbit/sec. After encoding, each 10 minutes of video will take up approximately 18-20 MB of space.
D) If you lower the Target Audience setting to "Corporate LAN", your video and audio quality will suffer. If you go lower than Corporate LAN, your video and audio quality will be drastically reduced. I recommend sticking with at least "256K DSL/Cable Modem" unless file size is a big concern.
4) Check with the picture below to make sure that your settings are correct. You choice for Audio Format and Target Audience may vary:
5) If everything looks good, press the Start button.
RealProducer will start to encode your video, which will take quite some
time. Please note that the encoder makes two passes over your video to
improve the quality. Therefore, the status indicator will reach the end
and then start again before the encoding is complete.
6) When the encoding is complete, you can press the View Statistics button to see how good of a job the encoder did. Go to the Video tab and look at the Frame Rate and Quality Index. If you enabled the Inverse-Telecine filter, your frame rate should be in the range of 24.0 to 30.0 fps. If you didn't, your frame rate should hopefully be 30.0 fps for NTSC video or 25.0 fps for PAL/SECAM video (or something very close to those values). Your quality index should preferably be in the range of 75-100. If your quality index is 90 or higher, you might be able to encode at a lower Target Audience setting while still retaining good quality. If your quality index is lower than 60, try re-encoding your video using a higher Target Audience setting. When you are done looking at the quality Statistics, hit Close. Then hit Close again to exit the Processing Complete dialog box.
7) Your video should now be encoded at the location you specified. Open it up with RealPlayer and watch the entire movie to make sure everything looks good.
Hooray, you have completed my video guide! You should now have the best darn video you've ever seen sitting on your hard drive. Feel free to share it with friends/family or upload to the Internet.
If you have further questions/comments/suggestions, please post them in my Message Boards.