Encode a Video File Using Expression Encoder

Encode a Video File Using Expressio...

Windows Live

This sample demonstrates using Microsoft Expression Encoder to encode a video for use with Silverlight Streaming. Visit the Expression home page for download, installation, and usage instructions. Basic familiarity with Expression Encoder is recommended before beginning this sample.

This QuickStart involves the following tasks:

Encoding a video file using Expression Encoder.
Creating a manifest file to list the contents of your project.
Accessing your Silverlight Streaming account to upload and test your project.

Prerequisites

Expression Encoder (available from http://www.microsoft.com/expression/products/overview.aspx?key=encoder).
One or more video files, in any format supported by Expression Encoder.
A text editor such as Notepad.
A Silverlight Streaming account. Visit http://silverlight.live.com to obtain an account if you have not already done so.

Encode a Media File

Launch Expression Encoder.
From the File menu, select Import.
Navigate to the video file you would like to encode, and choose Open. Now you can add file markers, select skins, and perform other tasks in Expression Encoder. Keep in mind that videos may not exceed ten minutes and have a maximum bit rate of 1.4 Mbps.
In Expression Encoder, display the Output panel by clicking the Window menu and selecting Output.
Select a template from the Job Output section of the Output panel. If you do not select a template, Expression Encoder will not output the appropriate project files to accompany the video.
Enter a file name in the Media File Name field.

For more information on setting encoding properties in Expression Encoder, see the Essentials of Encoding topic in the Expression Encoder documentation.
When you are finished specifying encoding properties, click File, then Encode, or Encode Selected.
Navigate to the output file directory. Typically, this directory is ..\My Documents\Expression\Expression Encoder\Output. Each successive encoding is saved into its own timestamped folder by default. You can change these options in the Job Output section of the Output panel.

In the output file directory, you'll see that Expression Encoder has created a Silverlight application for you, including a XAML file, player.xaml, and the JavaScript files needed to display your video file with the template you selected.

Create the Manifest File

Launch the text editor of your choice.

Use the following markup to list the JavaScript that were created by Expression Encoder. The files are listed in the order they are to be loaded.

<SilverlightApp>
 <version>1.0</version> 
 <loadFunction>StartWithParent</loadFunction> 
 <jsOrder>
   <js>MicrosoftAjax.js</js> 
   <js>BasePlayer.js</js> 
   <js>PlayerStrings.js</js> 
   <js>player.js</js> 
   <js>StartPlayer.js</js> 
 </jsOrder>
</SilverlightApp>

Save the manifest file as manifest.xml.

Package the Silverlight Application

Create a .ZIP archive containing the following files:
- manifest.xml - The file you created in the previous step
- player.xaml - The XAML file output by Expression Encoder
- Your encoded .wmv video file
- The JavaScript files that you listed in the application manifest.
Important! If manifest.xml is missing from the archive, Silverlight Streaming will not accept the upload.
Upload the .ZIP archive using the Silverlight Streaming administration site. See Using the Silverlight Streaming Administration Site for more information about uploading to Silverlight Streaming.
Test your application by clicking on Launch Application Test Page on the Silverlight Streaming administration site.