Using Adobe Media Encoder CS4

Note: This is an update for Adobe Flash CS4 Professional of an older Quick Start tutorial, Using the Adobe Flash CS3 Video Encoder. If you are still using Flash CS3 Professional, please refer to that version. If you are using Flash Professional CS5, please refer to the updated version of this Quick Start tutorial, Using Adobe Media Encoder CS5.

Adobe Media Encoder CS4 is a stand-alone video encoding application that lets you encode audio and video in a variety of distribution formats:

• Adobe Flash video (FLV) encoded with the On2 VP6 or the Sorenson Spark codecs
• Adobe Flash video 2.0 (F4V) encoded with the H.264 (MPEG-4) codec
• H.264 video (MP4) encoded with the H.264 (MPEG-4) codec

The FLV and F4V formats let you easily incorporate video into a web page or Flash Professional document in a format that can be viewed using Adobe Flash Player. The H.264 video format lets you create video for use with Apple iPod, 3GPP mobile phones, Sony PSP, and other devices.

Note: Adobe Media Encoder provides different video export formats depending on the Adobe applications with which it is installed. When installed with only Adobe Flash CS4 Professional, Adobe Media Encoder provides export formats for Adobe FLV/F4V and H.264 video. When installed with Adobe Premiere Pro CS4 and Adobe After Effects, additional export formats are available.

This tutorial covers the following topics:

• Introducing video for Flash and Adobe Media Encoder
• Adding a video to the encoding queue
• Customizing video encoding settings
• Saving and loading encoding profiles
• Defining and embedding cue points
• Saving and loading cue points to an external XML file
• Cropping, trimming, and resizing video

Introducing video for Flash and Adobe Media Encoder

The FLV and F4V file formats are an integral part of the viewing experience, not a separate pop-up window that plays video externally and interrupts the experience. Flash Professional treats video as a media type; you can layer, script, and control video like any other object in a SWF file.

When you target specific versions of Adobe Flash Player, the F4V and H.264 formats can be viewed only in Flash Player 9.0.115 or later. The On2 VP6 codec is used for FLV files targeting Flash Player 8. The Sorensen Spark codec is used for FLV files targeting Flash Player 7.

H.264, On2 VP6, and Sorenson Spark video codecs

When encoding video using Adobe Media Encoder, you can choose from three different video codecs with which to encode your video content for use with Flash Player: H.264, On2 VP6, and Sorenson Spark. A codec is an algorithm that controls how video files are compressed during import and decompressed during playback.

H.264

Support for the H.264 video codec was incorporated into Flash Player beginning with version 9.0.r115. F4V video is a container format for the H.264 video codec, also referred to as MPEG-4 AVC (Advanced Video Encoding). The H.264 video codec provides higher quality video at lower bit rates than the Sorenson Spark and On2 VP6 video codecs used by earlier version of Flash Player. However, it is more computationally demanding than either of these codecs.

In addition to the F4V container format, Flash Player 9.0.115.0 and later versions support files derived from the standard MPEG-4 container format. These files include MP4, M4A, MOV, MP4V, 3GP, and 3G2, if they contain H.264 video or HE-AAC v2 encoded audio, or both.

Note: If you need to use video with alpha channel support for compositing, use the On2 VP6 video codec; F4V does not support alpha video channels.

On2 VP6

The On2 VP6 codec is the preferred video codec to use when creating FLV files you intend to use with Flash Player 8 and later. The On2 VP6 codec provides the following:

• Higher-quality video when compared to the Sorenson Spark codec encoded at the same bit rate
• Support for the use of an 8-bit alpha channel to composite video

To support better-quality video at the same bit rate, the On2 VP6 codec is noticeably slower to encode and requires more processor power on the client computer to decode and play back. For this reason, carefully consider the lowest common denominator of computer you intend your viewing audience to use when accessing your FLV video content.

Sorenson Spark video codec

Introduced in Flash Player 6, Sorenson Spark video codec can be used to publish Flash documents requiring backwards compatibility to Flash Player 6 and 7. If you anticipate a large user base that uses older computers, use FLV files encoded with the Sorenson Spark codec, as it is much less computationally demanding to play back than either On2 VP6 or F4V video.

Note: To see a list of encoding settings when you select from among the FLV/F4V presets, see the F4V and FLV encoding presets section of the Using Adobe Media Encoder CS4 online documentation.

Importing file formats to Adobe Media Encoder

Some filename extensions—such as MOV, AVI, MXF, FLV, and F4V—denote container file formats rather than denoting a specific audio, video, or image data format. Container files can contain data encoded using various compression and encoding schemes. Adobe Media Encoder can import these container files, but the ability to import the data that they contain is dependent on which codecs (specifically, decoders) are installed.

The free trial version of Adobe Media Encoder software, and trial versions of software applications with which it is installed, does not include some features that depend upon software licensed from parties other than Adobe. For example, some codecs for encoding MPEG formats are available only with the full version of Adobe Media Encoder software. You cannot encode the following file formats using the trial version: MPEG-1, MPEG-2, and MPEG-4; F4V; M4A; MP4; and 3G2. To import these file formats, you must register the software. For a list of file formats supported for import, see the File formats supported for import section of the Using Adobe Media Encoder CS4 online documentation.

Adobe Media Encoder can be used to edit your video and perform a range of pre-encoding production tasks. In addition, you can batch-process multiple video clips when you use a dedicated computer for video encoding. Batch processing produces an expedited workflow. For example, you can add, reorder, and change the encoding settings of files in the batch processing queue while Adobe Media Encoder encodes other video files.

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Adding a video to the encoding queue

When configuring encoding settings, you can select individual files and specify different settings based on the type of video format and quality required for each file, or you can select multiple files and specify the same settings for all of them.

Encoding video with Adobe Media Encoder:

1. Open Adobe Media Encoder by selecting Start > All Programs > Adobe Media Encoder (Windows), or open the folder that contains the Adobe Media Encoder application, and double-click the application icon (Macintosh).
2. In the Adobe Media Encoder, add source video clips to the list of files to encode by clicking Add (File > Add) and selecting one or more files on your computer.

Tip: You can also add files to the queue by dragging files directly into the list.

3. Click the Format menu and select a format with which to encode the video or audio clip.
4. Click the Preset menu and select an encoding preset suitable for your intended application.

   When you export with Adobe Media Encoder CS4, choosing an FLV or F4V format automatically makes available a list of associated presets designed for particular delivery scenarios. Selecting a preset, in turn, activates the appropriate options in the various settings tabs (Video, Audio, and so on). In most cases, one of the provided presets matches your output goals. However, you can also adjust the parameters of an existing preset and save it as a custom preset.

5. When configuring encoding settings, you can select individual files and specify different settings based on the type of video format and quality required for each file, or you can select multiple files and specify the same settings for all of them.

The encoding presets are based on the Flash Player version for which you intend to publish content and the data rate at which you want your video content to be encoded. By default, Adobe Media Encoder targets the F4V video format using the H.264 video codec for use with Flash Player 9.0.r115 and later, and the FLV format using either the On2 VP6 codec for use with Flash Player 8 and later, and the Sorenson Spark codec for use with Flash Player 7 and later.

6. Verify that the encoding profile you've selected is appropriate for your intended application. The Export Settings summary displays the preset including video codec, video encoding information, and audio encoding information for the selected encoding profile. Open the Export Settings to customize any specific encoding information.

7. Click the Output Name field to enter a filename and destination for the video file. If you don't specify a filename, Adobe Media Encoder uses the filename and location of the source video clip. When you name a file, do not enter the file type; Adobe Media Encoder enters the file type extension automatically.
8. (Optional) Click the five tabs below the Export Settings summary area to explore your options for adding filters, changing the video format and settings, changing the audio settings, and configuring the file for upload via FTP.
9. Click Start Queue to begin encoding your files.

Adobe Media Encoder starts encoding the first file in the video encoding list. While a file is being encoded, the Status column of the video encoding list provides information on the status of each video:

• Encoding indicates that the file is currently being encoded. Flash Video Encoder encodes one file at a time only.
• Waiting indicates that the file is in the encoding queue but has not been encoded. You can remove a file from the queue that has not been encoded or that is not being encoded.
• Skip indicates that the file will be skipped during the encoding process. You can choose to skip files or change their status to Waiting.

Completed files in the queue appear with a check mark in the Status column. They cannot be run through the queue again, but they can be duplicated to create a new item in the queue.

The FLV/F4V encoded files are saved to the same folder as the source video files with an .flv or .f4v file type to identify them. If you encode the same file more than once, an incremental number is appended to the filename for each additional encoding.

Note: The encoded FLV/F4V files will not be in the same folder as the source videos if you specified a new location in the Output File field in the encoding queue list or in the Output Name field in the Export Settings dialog (Edit > Export Settings).

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Customizing video encoding settings

Adobe Media Encoder lets you create custom video encoding settings to manage bandwidth, cue points, video size, and length.

Specifying custom video encoding settings:

1. Select the file or files whose encoding settings you want to modify. To select multiple files in the encoding list, Control-click (Windows) or Command-click (Macintosh), or select Edit > Select All to select all files in the encoding queue.
2. Click Settings (Edit > Export Settings). The Export Settings dialog box appears, allowing you to perform the following actions:
   • Specify alternate encoding settings to deliver video for different bandwidths and applications
   • Create cue points to trigger events
   • Crop and resize the video clip to alter its dimensions
   • Trim the length of the video to change its beginning and ending frames
   • Add blur filters
   • Preview the output file

Note: When editing multiple videos at once, you are not able to create or edit cue points, crop a video clip, or trim the length of the video; you must perform these actions separately on each video, or load an encoding profile which already contains these settings.

For more information, refer to the Custom encoding settings section of the Using Adobe Media Encoder CS4 online documentation.

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Saving and loading encoding profiles

In addition to the predefined video encoding profiles, you can save and load your own custom encoding profiles. Creating your own custom encoding profiles helps maintain consistency across videos when you want to encode several video files with the same settings. For example, if you were encoding multiple videos and each video had three versions (small, medium, and large) you could create an encoding profile for each quality level.

Saving a custom encoding profile:

1. Select a video from the encoding queue.
2. Click Settings (Edit > Export Settings). The Export Settings dialog box opens.
3. Click the Video tab and experiment with changing some of the video settings.
4. Click the Save Preset button (the disk icon) and save the preset. When the Choose Name dialog box appears, enter a unique name for the preset and select either the Save Filter Settings options if you added a filter or the Save Other Tasks option if you made other modifications to the encoding profile.

5. Click OK to close the Export Settings dialog box.

Applying a custom encoding profile to a video:

1. Select one or more videos from the encoding queue.
2. Click the Preset column in the encoding queue list and choose the encoding option from the menu.
3. If you need to import settings from a prior version of Flash Media Encoder or Adobe Media Encoder, choose (Edit > Export Settings) to open the Flash Video Encoding Settings dialog box.
4. Click the Encoding Profiles tab.
5. Click the Load Encoding Profile button (the folder icon), and locate a previously saved encoding profile from your computer. You can load settings saved in Video Preset File format (EPR), Adobe Media Encoder CS3 format (VPR), or Flash Media Encoder CS3 format (XML).

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Defining and embedding cue points

Cue points cause the video playback to trigger other actions within the presentation. For example, you can create a presentation that has video playing in one area of the screen while different text and graphics appear in another area synchronized to appear at specific times in the video.

Each cue point consists of a name, a type (ActionScript, Navigation, or Event), an optional parameters list (array of name value pairs), and the time at which it occurs. Cue point times are specified using the format 00:00:00.000 (hour:minute:second.millisecond).

Note: In addition to embedding cue points within the encoded video clip, you can create cue points using the FLVPlayback component. Using this component, you can create a cue point that is not embedded in the video clip itself, providing greater flexibility in triggering events. For more information, see the information on the FLVPlayback component in the Flash CS4 Professional ActionScript 3.0 Language Reference.

Adding a cue point:

1. From the encoding queue, select a video in which you want to embed cue points.

   Note: You can add cue points to a single video only. You cannot select multiple videos and assign cue points to each of the videos.

2. Click Settings (Edit > Export Settings). The Export Settings dialog box opens.
3. Click the Simple Mode button to display the Cue Point list control, if necessary.
4. Use the playhead to locate a specific point in the video where you want to embed a cue point.

   To locate a specific time, drag the playhead to the point in the video where you want to embed a cue point. The video preview window lets you visually identify points in the video at which to insert a cue point. You can also use the elapsed time counter (located beneath the video preview window) to locate specific points in time at which to embed cue points.

   Tip: For greater precision, you can use the Left and Right Arrow keys to move the playhead in millisecond increments. To do this, select the playhead, and then use the arrow keys to further adjust its position. The left or right arrows move the playhead by one thousandth of a second (0.001). Holding the Shift key down while pressing the left or right arrow keys moves the playhead by a hundredth of a second (0.01), and pressing the Ctrl key while pressing the left or right arrow keys moves the playhead by two tenths of a second (0.2).

5. When the playhead is positioned at a place in the video where you want to embed a cue point, click the (+) button above the Cue Point list.

   Adobe Media Encoder embeds a cue point at the time indicated by the counter beneath the video preview window, and populates the cue point list with a placeholder for the name of the new cue point and the elapsed time at which the cue point is located (this is the time during playback when the event will be triggered), and displays a pop-up menu that lets you select the type of cue point to embed.

Note: Only one cue point can be embedded at a specified time code within the video clip.

6. Specify the type of cue point you want to embed. You can embed either a navigation or event cue point.
   • Event cue points are used to trigger ActionScript methods when the cue point is reached, and let you synchronize the video playback to other events within the Flash presentation.
   • Navigation cue points are used for navigation and seeking, and to trigger ActionScript methods when the cue point is reached. Embedding a navigation cue point inserts a keyframe at that point in the video clip to enable viewers to seek to that point in the video.

     Note: Adding additional keyframes can lower the overall quality of a video clip. For this reason, navigation cue points should only be used when users will need to seek to a particular point within the video.

7. (Optional) Enter parameters for the selected cue point. Parameters are a set of name-value pairs that you can add to the cue point. The parameters are passed to the cue point event handler as members of the single parameter object.
8. (Optional) Save the cue points you've created so that you can apply them to other video clips. Click the Save Cue Points button (the disk icon) on the cue points tab, and save the file to a location on your computer.

Removing cue points:

1. Select the cue point in the cue point list.
2. Click the Delete Cue Point button (–). The cue point is deleted from the cue point list.

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Saving and loading cue points to an external XML file

Adobe Media Encoder also supports loading and saving cue points to an external XML file which makes it easy to define cue points with the same attributes in several videos. This can be very useful if you are encoding the same video with several different quality levels and don't want to redefine the same cue points in each file.

Saving cue point data to an XML file:

1. With at least one cue point defined, click the Save Cue Points button (the disk icon) on the cue points tab.
2. Select a location to save the XML document to and click the Save button.

The previous steps created a new cue points XML file and saved it to your computer. Depending on the cue points you specified before saving the file, an XML document similar to the following may have been created:

The previous XML document identifies three cue points. The first cue point occurs at 0 seconds and contains one custom parameter, the second cue point occurs at five seconds and contains two custom parameters, and the third cue point occurs at 20 seconds and does not contain any custom parameters.

Tip: Instead of editing cue points information in the Flash Video Encoder directly, you can export the cue points XML document to a file on your hard drive, edit it using a text or XML editor, and then import the cue point XML file back into the video encoder.

Loading previously saved cue point data:

1. Click the Load Cue Points button (the folder icon) above the cue points list.
2. Select the cue point file you want to import, and click OK.

   The cue point file loads and populates the cue point list with the cue points specified in the file.

Warning: When you load cue points from a file, any cue points you may have created in the cue points list are replaced by the cue points in the file.

Note: Only one cue point can be embedded at a specified time code within the video clip. If you attempt to import a cue point XML file with multiple cue points defined at the same timestamp, Adobe Media Encoder will display a dialog box informing you that the XML file is in an invalid format.

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Cropping, trimming, and resizing video

Adobe Media Encoder provides the following editing options that let you crop and trim video clips before encoding them:

• Cropping lets you alter the dimensions of a video clip. You can eliminate areas of the video to emphasize a particular focal point within the frame, such as highlighting a character by removing unwanted imagery or backdrops.
• Resizing lets you modify the width and height of the video frame. You can specify a frame size in pixels or as a percentage of the original image size.
• Trimming lets you edit the beginning and ending points (the in and out points) of a video. For example, you can adjust the trim of a video clip to begin play back 30 seconds into the full clip, removing unwanted frames.

The following sections give a brief overview of these topics. You can find more complete information in the Crop, trim, and resize video section of the Using Adobe Media Encoder CS4 online documentation. (There are some nuances to be aware of when cropping video in Adobe Media Encoder, specifically the options in the Output tab's Crop Settings menu.)

Cropping a video:

1. Select a video in which you want to edit. To select a video in the encoding list, click the video name in the video encoding queue.
2. Click Edit > Export Settings. The Export Settings dialog box appears.
3. Click the Crop tool above the left side of the video preview to display the crop and resizing controls.
4. Enter values for the right, left, top, and bottom edges to crop the video, or use the slider controls on the edges of the preview to visually adjust the dimensions of the video. Guides in the preview window indicate the cropped area. You can also adjust the size by changing the aspect ratio in the aspect-ratio drop-down list.
5. Click OK to close the Export Settings dialog box.

Resizing a video:

1. Select a video in which you want to edit. To select a video in the encoding list, click the video name in the video encoding queue.
2. Click Edit > Export Settings. The Export Settings dialog box appears.
3. Click the Video tab and click the Resize Video check box.
4. (Optional) Select the Maintain Aspect Ratio option to keep the aspect ratio the same as the original video clip.

   Note: If you resize a video clip's frame size, and do not select the Maintain Aspect Ratio option, the video may become distorted.

5. Specify values for Frame Width and Frame Height. Specify a frame size in pixels.
6. Click OK to close the Export Settings dialog box.

Trimming a video:

1. Select a video in which you want to edit. To select a video in the encoding list, click the video name in the video encoding queue.
2. Click Edit > Export Settings. The Export Settings dialog box appears.
3. Click the Crop and Resize tab to display the crop and resizing controls.
4. To set the in and out points (the points at which the video begins and ends), drag the in and out point markers below the scrubber bar until you finish adjusting the video clip size.

   The video preview window lets you visually identify beginning and ending frames where you can trim the video clip. You can also use the elapsed time counter (located in the Trim section of the dialog box) to locate specific points in time where you can trim the video clip.

5. Preview the video by dragging the playhead over the scrubber bar to ensure that it plays appropriately.
6. Click OK to close the Export Settings dialog box.

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Where to go from here

For more information about the FLV and F4V video formats, see the Flash Video Learning Guide.

For more information on automation tasks using the Adobe Media Encoder, see the Manage file encoding section of the Using Adobe Media Encoder CS4 online documentation.

For more information about working with video in Flash Professional, see the Digital video and Flash section of the Using Flash CS4 Professional online documentation.

For more information about the FLVPlayback component, see the following resources:

• Using the FLVPlayback component in the Using ActionScript 3.0 Components online documentation
• FLVPlayback class in the Flash CS4 Professional ActionScript 3.0 Language Reference online documentation

Be sure to check out the Using Adobe Media Encoder CS4 documentation, as well as the Adobe Media Encoder team blog for the latest information, links to tutorials, insights, news, and so forth.

Related Flash Quick Starts

• Getting started with the ActionScript 3 FLVPlayback component
• Using Adobe Media Encoder CS5
• Using the Flash CS3 video encoder
• Handling metadata and cue points in Flash video