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Configuring sources

Using Windows Media Encoder, you can encode live content in real time, stored content, or capture screens. Real-time sources of content include anything that you can plug into your audio or video card, including a CD player, microphone, VCR, video camera, video player, or television. Stored sources are audio or video files. You can also capture screens directly from your desktop, and insert script commands while encoding.

Keep in mind that the higher the quality of the source content, the higher the quality of the output content. This means that you should start with the highest quality source file or, if sourcing from devices, set your device to capture the highest quality possible.

When configuring a source, you first identify the source types (audio, video, or script) that make up the source. A source must consist of at least one audio or video source type. You can add an unlimited number of sources to an encoding session, either before or after encoding begins, but each subsequent source is based on the combination of source types you created in the session. For example, if your first source contained only audio, then all subsequent sources in the session are based on audio only. For multisource sessions, it is recommended that you configure your first source to use all three source types. If additional sources do not use a source type, you can encode a blank stream for that source type.

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