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Basic Instructions for Importing Video, & Audio into WildPresenter
This tutorial applies to WildPresenter Pro 2+.
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Introduction
This is a very basic tutorial to help you start to import video into WildPresenter. WildPresenter contains a great number of features that are not covered here. Instructions on how to use these features are located in the program's help file.
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Getting Started

In order to use WildPresenter you will need the following basic requirements:

  • 128MB RAM
  • 25MB free disk space
  • Processor: PC: Pentium III 800MHz
  • Operating System: PC: Win 2000/XP
  • PC: Internet Explorer 4.0 or higher
  • Internet connection for installation

The Video and Audio requirements are as follows:

WildPresenter converts imported video and audio files into different types of Flash files:

  1. Flash 8 SWF: The Flash 8 SWF output offers the best video quality, which is identical to the Flash 8 FLV output, except it uses the SWF format. It plays in the Flash 8 player. Flash 8 SWF files generated by WildPresenter will be placed directly onto the WildPresenter timeline. Use this format for encoding shorter videos (under 5 minutes).

  2. Flash 8 FLV : The Flash 8 FLV output offers the best video quality which is identical to the Flash 8 SWF output, except it uses the FLV format. It plays in the Flash 8 player. Flash 8 FLV files generated by WildPresenter will cause a placeholder SWF file to be placed directly onto the WildPresenter timeline because FLV files must be loaded into a SWF file in order to play them. Use this format for encoding longer videos (over 5 minutes) and video for CD distribution.

  3. Flash 7+ FLV : The Flash 7+ FLV output offers good video quality (with both 1-pass and 2-pass VBR - 2 pass is better) which is identical to the Flash 6+ SWF output, except it uses the FLV format. It plays in the Flash 7 player and higher. Flash 7+ FLV files generated by WildPresenter will cause a placeholder SWF file to be placed directly onto the WildPresenter timeline because FLV files must be loaded into a SWF file in order to play them. Use this format for encoding longer videos (over 5 minutes) when player distribution is a factor (i.e., the Flash 7 player has a wider player distribution).

  4. Flash 6+ SWF: The Flash 6+ SWF output offers good video quality (with both 1-pass and 2-pass VBR - 2 pass is better) which is identical to the Flash 7+ FLV output, except it uses the SWF format. It plays in the Flash 6 player and higher. Flash 6+ SWF files generated by WildPresenter will be placed directly onto the WildPresenter timeline. Use this format for encoding shorter videos (under 5 minutes) when player distribution is a factor (i.e., the Flash 6 player has a wider player distribution).

  5. Flash 3+ SWF: The Flash 3+ SWF output plays in any Flash player version 3 and higher (note: mp3 audio requires at least the Flash 4 player). While the Flash 8, Flash 7+ and Flash 6+ SWF and FLV video output is much better quality, you may want to use the Flash 3+ SWF video for certain applications - such as mobile devices, etc. that require an earlier Flash player. Use this format for encoding shorter videos (under 5 minutes) when player version is the most important factor.

  6. Vector SWF Video: WildPresenter can turn standard video into a vector based animation which is a special effect. WildPresenter can output four different types of vector video from the same source: color, gray scale, two color (any two colors) and outline (also with any two colors). WildPresenter's vector video plays in any Flash player version 3 and higher. Use this for special effects.

    See below for a chart that compares the different formats and their features.
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Acquiring your video source

WildPresenter encodes the following video, audio and image formats into Flash.

  • Video: avi, .dv, mov/.qt, .mpeg, .mp4, .3gp, .asf, .wmv
  • Audio: .mp3, .wav, .wma
  • Still Image: jpg, .gif, .png, .bmp, .psd, .tif, .pic, .tga, .wmf

In order to use WildPresenter, your source video/audio/images need to be located on your computer's hard drive, or be accessible by your computer.

If your source is DV and your computer has a firewire card, you can capture directly using a firewire digital transfer. If your source video is on an analog format such as VHS, you will need to use a video capture card. There are many capture cards available on the market. Some provide markedly better quality than others. We recommend using a capture card with both audio and video inputs to help keep the video and audio in sync.

WildPresenter has a video capture option. For more information on using the video capture see the help file section on the Recording Utility.
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Importing your video into WildPresenter
Open WildPresenter and at the start screen click "Create New Project." We will label this project, "Flash Video".
Your WildPresenter program will now open.
There are several ways to import video into WildPresenter. You can use the import wizard, you can use the import menu, or you can simply use the Video, Audio, Image Converter button. For this tutorial we are going to use the Video, Audio, Image Converter button.
The Import Video, Audio, Image box will appear
Once you have selected the video file you want to encode, you may bring it into WildPresenter by clicking on the Browse button to the right of the Input box in the File tab.
Select the file you wish to encode from your hard drive and click open. You will now see the name of your selected file located in the Input box in the file menu
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Preparing your video in WildPresenter
Selecting a preset
Before encoding, you may either select a preset, which fills in all of the required encoding information or you can fill in these options manually (but this is recommended only for advanced users.)

The minimum settings required for encoding are: input filename and export Video and/or audio (File tab), output video dimensions, video and swf framerates, bitrate and keyframe options, image quality if no bitrate is selected, as well as audio sampling rate and bitrate (all of these are in the vid/aud tab). As mentioned, selecting a preset fills in all required settings.

As a general rule, we advise people to encode their videos at 2 bitrates, one for viewers on a dial-up modem (i.e., 56k) and one for viewers on a broadband connection (i.e., 300k or 512k). To do this you will have to encode your video twice – once for each preset. However, you can encode just a single preset.

WildPresenter comes with multiple video presets for the following bandwidths: 56k, 300k, 512k, and 1,000k. These are divided into groups for Flash 8 SWF & FLV (best quality), Flash 7 FLV (good quality), Flash 6 SWF (good quality), Flash 3+ SWF & vector video SWF output. WildPresenter also includes audio only output presets as well as image file presets.

As an example, if you want video for a medium broadband connection, then select the "300k Broadband Video (SWF or FLV)" preset.

Once you have selected a preset you may change any of the values associated with the preset, or add any other variables or settings you desire. If you change any value in WildPresenter from the preset value (except for values in the Vector tab), the selection in the preset field will automatically shift to "Customized".
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Encoding your video
You are now ready to encode your video. To encode, click the Encode & Insert button in the file tab.
Once your video is finished encoding it will automatically be inserted into your WildPresenter project. If you have encoded an FLV file a placeholder SWF file will automatically be inserted into your WildPresenter project. This placeholder SWF file will load the FLV file (this is required since FLV files must be loaded in order to play - this is part of the FLV format specification).

You may play your output file directly from the media encoder interface using the "Play output" icon from the toolbar.

Your output files are located on your hard drive in the "Source Files" (or "Load External Files" for FLV files) location you specified for your WildPresenter projects directory. To play your .swf file from your hard drive, open the folder in which it is located and double click on the .swf or .flv file. WildPresenter includes a player that can play both .swf and .flv files.

If you have many files to import you can use WildPresenter's batch encoding feature (View>Batch Processing). That feature is not covered in this tutorial but information about it is available in the help file.
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Setting project dimensions
You must now set the project dimensions to equal the video dimensions.

Open the Object Settings window and click the Appearance tab. You will get your dimensions (Width & Height) in the Transform Options section.

Now open the Project Settings window and from the Output tab enter in the dimensions.
To help center the video over the stage use the Horizontal Center In Slide and Vertical Center In Slide buttons.
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Exporting your Flash file

There are many ways you can export your Flash video. You can click File then Export File, use the shortcut CTRL+SHIFT+E, or click the "Export File" button.

Click the "Export File" button.
At the Export File box you may change file name.
Click Save.

Playing your video in a web page
If you wish to output your Flash video directly into a web page, open the Project Settings window, click on the HTML tab and click the "Export HTML" box in the HTML Options section. You may click the browse button to the right of the box if you want to change the location or name of your output file.
Then click on the "Export File" icon to export your files.

If you have the export HTML option checked, WildPresenter will export both your swf and an HTML file. To play the HTML file, double click on the file from your hard drive.

Placing your file in a web browser
You may now take your html and swf files and upload them directly to your web site via an ftp program.

You may also bring your .swf files directly into an HTML editor, such as Dreamweaver or FrontPage. The Flash video file you create in WildPresenter functions like any other .swf file and is brought into these programs in the same manner as any other .swf file. For further instructions on how to do this, please see our tutorials site.
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Playing your encoded files
Once you have exported your output file, you may play your output file by clicking on the Play Output button.
Or, by selecting "Play Output" from the "Preview" drop down menu
Your output files are located on your hard drive in the location you specified in the Export File box. To play your .swf file from your hard drive, open the folder in which it is located and double click on the .swf file. Your output html page is also located here. To launch the html page, double click on it.
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Issues to consider

Using the presets in WildPresenter is the easiest way to create video, audio and image files - they enable you to convert your files in three clicks (browse to your source video, select a preset and click encode). But there are a couple of issues you should watch out for.

  • FLV vs. SWF: SWF files will be placed directly on the WildPresenter timeline, while FLV files must be loaded to play. SWF files have a 16,000 frame limit and use up a lot more RAM than FLV files. FLV files have no 16,000 frame limit and they handle RAM in a different way than SWF files, so if you are creating large video files, it is strongly recommended that use FLV output. Also, when creating video for CD, you should use FLV video because it performs better.

  • Source Video Framerate: Flash SWF video has two framerates: 1) a video framerate, which is the number of distinct video frames per second in your video, and 2) a SWF framerate, which is the number of SWF frames in your final Flash video. (This is not an issue with FLV files.) These are not the same thing and you have to keep track of both - and how they relate to each other and to the source video framerate. Flash SWF video is different in this way then standard video which has only a single video framerate. The presets in WildPresenter automatically select video and SWF framerates for your output and are based on the idea that most video is encoded at 30 fps. However, the preset values may not provide the smoothest playback or best audio sync for your output if your source video uses a different framerate. We advise that your video framerate should be a factor of your source video framerate. A factor is a number that divides evenly (without a remainder) into another number. For example 1, 2, 3 and 6 are factors of 6; 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 10, 15, and 30 are factors of 30, and so on. Also the SWF framerate must be equal to, or a multiple of your WildPresenter video framerate. So double check your video and SWF framerates and how they match up with your source video. Your source video framerate is shown in the "Input video properties" section of the Video Audio tab (if this information is available).

  • WildPresenter Project Framerate: If you are encoding SWF video you may want to set your SWF framerate to be the same as your project framerate. This is not an issue with FLV files.

  • Image dimensions: The presets set default image dimensions (width and height) for your output video. Some of these are based on aspect ratios of 3:2 (the aspect ratio is the width of your video divided by the height). However, if your source video uses a different aspect ratio, such as widescreen format (16:9), the video will look stretched when encoded using the default settings. So once you have selected your source video and a preset, you may want to go to the video tab and select the "Maintain source aspect ratios" option in the "Output video dimensions" section. Your source video dimensions are shown in the "Input video properties" section of the Video/Audio tab (if this information is available).
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Other options
This tutorial is meant to provide you with the basics of using WildPresenter to encode Flash video. However, WildPresenter provides a rich array of features and options, and you will no doubt wish to explore these in greater depth. All of WildPresenter's features are explained in this help file. Among the other features that are available are: batch encoding, editing, cropping, de-interlacing, video filters, and vector video. In addition, once you have imported a video into WildPresenter you can apply any of the features within the program including players, animation, automated Flash functions (such as links, looping, preloaders, loading actions), additional exports such as screensavers and Windows, Mac and Linux projectors, etc.

Here is a brief overview of WildPresenter's various video formats.

Which format to use?
 
VP6 SWF
VP6 FLV
Flash MX FLV
Flash MX SWF
Image Sequence SWF
Vector SWF
Output format
SWF
FLV
FLV
SWF
SWF
SWF
Key features
Best quality. Identical to Flash 8 FLV in quality
Best quality.  Identical to Flash 8 SWF in quality.
Good quality.  Identical to Flash 6+ SWF in quality.
Good quality. Identical to Flash 7+ FLV in quality.
Lower quality, but widest possible player distribution.
Vector video is a special effect.
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