Transcoding is the process of converting from one video format to another. In the Freedman Center most patrons will be converting AVI to MPEG2 (for DVD) or AVI to MPEG1 (for PowerPoint). In both cases the transcoding time is approximately 1:1. 60 minutes of AVI video, for example, will take approximately 60 minutes to transcode.

1. Open Tsunami-MPEG Video Encoder XPress, located in the Media Encoders Folder on the desktop.
2. Click on the "Start new project" button in the Project menu.
3. Click "Add file" to select the AVI video file you wish to transcode.
4. The "Add clip" dialog box, with three buttons along the top (Clip info, Cut-edit, and Filter), will open once you select your AVI video file.
   • Clicking the Clip info button will show you information about the video clip; nothing in this window will need to be changed.
   • Clicking the Cut-edit button will allow you to select the starting and ending frames of the video clip. In order to select the starting frame, either slide the cursor or use the navigation buttons to find where you want the video to start and click "Set as start frame;" in order to select the ending frame, find where you want the video to end in the same way and click "Set as end frame."
   • Clicking the Filter button will allow you to apply several filters to the video clip. There are three filters that most patrons will need to consider using. When selecting a filter from the menu on the left, click the desired filter button to highlight it, and then check the box within the filter button.
     • The Deinterlace filter is automatically selected by Video Encoder XPress, but this should be double-checked and selected manually from the drop-down menu in the dialog box that appears when the Deinterlace button is selected. From this drop-down menu select "deinterlace".
     • The second filter to consider is the Crop filter, but it is only necessary if the AVI video file was created from a VHS tape (if the AVI video file was created from a DV tape, this filter is unnecessary). Video captured from a VHS tape will often have several pixels of blurred or missing data along its edges which this filter will eliminate. Check the "Activate image crop" box and increase the amount of cropping along each edge until the blurred or missing data has been trimmed from the video.
     • The third filter to consider is the Audio Correction tool which helps optimize the audio signal on your video file during the transcoding process. If desired, select this filter and click the "Volume Change" tab in the dialog box. On this tab check the box marked "Activate volume change".
   • Clicking the OK button will add the video clip with the Cut-edit and Filter features applied to the transcoding queue. Click "Add file" again to select another AVI video file to transcode (the "Add clip" dialog box will appear once again).
5. Click the Set Output button at the top of the Video Encoder XPress window to select the video output specifications.
   • NTSC is the video specification used in North America and Japan and will always be selected for transcoding; PAL is the video specification used in Europe and Asia and videos transcoded using the PAL system will not work in NTSC players.
     • The DVD NTSC video specification should be selected if you are transcoding video for use on a DVD.
       • Once selected, also make sure that you use the "Rate Control Mode" drop-down menu to select the CBR or Constant Bitrate setting.
       • On the next screen check the "Limit Bitrate" checkbox, which sets the bitrate to 8000kbps.
       • In the same window check the MPEG 2 file size. Make sure to leave at least 5% of the estimated available DVD disc space for creating a DVD menu in the DVD authoring process (covered in the next section).
     • The Video CD NTSC video specification should be selected if you are transcoding video for use in a PowerPoint presentation or on a website where DVD-quality video is not necessary.
   • Clicking the Select button will prepare the video clip for transcoding in accordance with the video specification chosen.
6. Click the Encode button at the top of the Video Encoder XPress window to finish preparing for final encoding.
   • If you are transcoding more than one video clip, the Output path tab at the bottom of the window will allow you to either output all of the clips in a single file or output each clip separately.
7. Click "Start output" to begin encoding the video. Depending on how long the resulting video is, this process could take anywhere from 10 minutes to several hours.

Freedman Center Howto Guides
Category	Guides
Audio	Converting Records | Converting Cassette Tapes Recording Voice | Podcasting
Video	Capturing Video | Transcoding Video | DVD Authoring | DVD Photo Slideshow
Scanning	Basic Flatbed | Large Flatbed | Transparent Media | Slides Negative Film | Sidekick Scanning | TextBridge OCR Microfiche | Microfilm
Video Conferencing	MSN Messenger 7.0