1. Start a New Job:
Open the program. Choose File/New Job from the Main Menu.
2. Select your input source:
If you are working from a pre-existing digital file such as
an avi or wav file, click the round button next to "Input file" on
the left side of the screen (this type of button is called a "radio button"--a
black dot in the middle means it's selected). Then, click the "Browse"
button to find your file. If you will be recording from a media device such
as a VCR, CD player, audio microphone, or webcam, check the radio button next
to "Devices." From here you will be able to choose your appropriate
device from the pull down menus.
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3. Select Audiences:
As pictured above, on the right side of the program underneath the Output window, you will see a button labeled "Audiences." Clicking here will allow you to select the quality level(s) at which you wish to encode. A window will appear (see below), and you will be able to choose from a list of "Templates" for the desired Rate/Quality of your encoding. Here, we have the 56k Dial-up Template highlighted and have clicked the arrow between the windows in order to place that template in our job. We recommend that you only select one rate at a time, though it is possible to add more (RealMedia's SureStream technology, which makes this possible, can sometimes cause unexpected problems). As you scroll down, the settings get progressively higher. For video, the lowest you will probably want to go is 56k Dial-up. Higher data rate settings create better video but require higher bandwidth connections for viewing.
4. Fine-tune your settings:
Under "Audio mode" choose "Music," "Voice," or "No audio." "Music" produces higher quality audio, but uses a greater percentage of the overall bandwidth for your audience template. Under video mode, select an option that best describes the image quality you're looking for. "Normal Motion Video" works best in most situations. Select "2-pass video encoding" in order to maximize video quality. Because this will double the encoding time, select this option only if you're having difficulty achieving the quality you need with your desired encoding template. Check the "Use high quality resampler for audio" button to enhance audio quality.
5. Close the Audiences window:
Click the box with the small "X" in the upper right-hand corner of the Audiences window (shown below). Your new settings will automatically take effect.
6. Double-check your Destination name:
The Helix encoder automatically names your Destination file (the .rm file the program creates for you) based upon the name of the input file. If you don't want that name, you can change it by clicking on the square button with the pencil icon just below the destination window. This will also allow you to change the location of your finished file.
7. Start to Encode:
Click the "Encode" button with the red circle near the bottom right-hand corner of the program screen. This will begin the encoding process. The audio levels meters (below, they are the black vertical areas labeled "L" and "R" for "Left" and "Right") should register ascending green bars to show that your audio is being encoded. Ideally, these bars should rise toward the top of the vertical rectangles (where they will change from green to red), but not all the way to the top squares. If they do reach the top squares, your audio could sound distorted. To adjust the recording levels, use the Windows Volume Controls, which are accessible via the Windows Control Panel.
8. Stop Encoding:
The program will stop automatically when it is finished encoding. However, if you noticed you've made a mistake while it's in process, you can halt encoding by pressing the "Stop" button in the lower right of the Helix Producer window. Unless you redirected it by editing your destination (see previous step), the finished file will reside in the same directory as your input file.
