Flash Media Live Encoder basics

    What’s new in Flash Media Live Encoder 3.2

    Flash Media Live Encoder 3.2 includes support for the Windows 7 operating system. Refer to the Flash Media Live Encoder System Requirements page on the Adobe web site for detailed information on hardware, software, and OS requirements.

    About GUI and command-line modes

    You can run Flash Media Live Encoder from the graphical user interface (GUI) or from the command line. Some operations are available in only one of the two modes, and some are available in both modes.

    Start the Flash Media Live Encoder GUI

     Do any one of the following:

    • (Windows) Select Start > All Programs > Adobe > Adobe Flash Media Live Encoder 3.2

      (Macintosh) Go to the /Application/Adobe/Flash Media Live Encoder 3.2 folder and select FlashMediaLiveEncoder

    • From a command prompt in your Flash Media Live Encoder installation directory (typically C:\Program Files\Adobe\Flash Media Live Encoder 3.2 on Windows and /Application/Adobe/Flash Media Live Encoder 3.2/CommandLineFMLE on Macintosh), enter the following (on Macintosh, replace back slashes with forward slashes in the file path):

      FMLEcmd /g [/p [path\profile.xml]

      The /g parameter starts Flash Media Live Encoder in GUI mode. For information on the optional /p parameter, see Start Flash Media Live Encoder in command-line mode.

    About the Flash Media Live Encoder GUI

    The Flash Media Live Encoder GUI includes a preview of input video, output video, and the audio level. Before encoding, you can select the input/output size to view in the Video Preview window. During encoding, if you are encoding multiple streams simultaneously, you can also select which stream to view, using the Output Preview control below the output window. The control panel in the GUI is where you configure encoding options, view and configure encoding logs, and start and stop encoding sessions.

    View full size graphic
    Flash Media Live Encoder 3.2 GUI, before encoding begins.

    Previewing video and audio

    The Preview panel in the Flash Media Live Encoder GUI includes the following:

    • An audio level meter, indicating input audio volume, and a mute button

    • An Input display of the video currently being captured

    • An Output display, which reflects current video encoding settings. If you are encoding multiple streams simultaneously, you can select the desired stream to view. This control appears below the output window during encoding.

      Note: Before encoding starts, the Output display reflects only crop settings.

      By default, the Preview panel is active and appears at actual output size.

    Show or hide input video, output video, and audio

     Select or deselect the following Preview options:

    • Input Video

    • Output Video

    • Audio

    Mute or unmute the audio

     Click the speaker icon  below the audio level meter.

    Adjust the zoom level

     Select a percentage from the pop-up menu on the upper right of either the Input or Output preview.
    Note: Zoom level does not affect encoding or the stream that viewers see.

    Show or hide the control panel

     Click the triangle next to the Encoding Options tab.

    Start Flash Media Live Encoder in command-line mode

     From a command prompt in your Flash Media Live Encoder installation directory, enter the following (on Macintosh, go down one level to the CommandLineFMLE folder and replace back slashes with forward slashes in file paths):
    FMLEcmd [/p [path\profile.xml] [/l [path\log_file] [/ap userID:password] 
       [/ab userID:password] [/t dd:hh:mm] [/r] /d [/s fmle_uid] [/u fmle_uid] 
        [/dvrstart[fmle_uid]| /dvrstop fmle_uid | /dvrstate fmle_uid]

    Parameter

    Description

    /h

    Shows a list of all parameters and their usages.

    /p [path\profile.xml]

    (Optional) Specifies the path and filename of an XML profile to use. If you do not use this parameter, Flash Media Live Encoder uses the default profile, startup.xml. For more information, see Saving encoding profiles.

    /g

    Starts Flash Media Live Encoder in GUI mode. This option cannot be used with any parameters except for /p.

    /l

    (Optional) Specifies the path and filename of an encoding log file. The settings in the log file override the settings specified in the currently loaded profile. For more information, see Using the Encoding Log.

    /ap userID:password

    (Required if the primary server requires authentication) Specifies an authenticating user ID and password for the primary server. Because the password is shown in plain text, take care when entering your password.

    /ab userID:password

    (Required if the backup server requires authentication) Specifies an authenticating user ID and password for the backup server. Because the password is shown in plain text, take care when entering your password.

    /t dd:hh:mm

    (Optional) Instructs Flash Media Live Encoder to restart after the time interval specified by dd:hh:mm. For more information, see Scheduling automated maintenance restarts.

    /r

    (Optional) Registers the encoding session to restart at an operating system relaunch after a system closure or crash. For more information, see Configuring Flash Media Live Encoder to launch at system startup.

    /d

    (Recommended) Validate the encoding profile and, if any values are invalid, use the default values instead.

    /s fmle_uid

    Stops the Flash Media Live Encoder session (instance) specified by the identifier fmle_uid. Prints a list of all running sessions if the identifier is invalid or unspecified.

    /u fmle_uid

    Un-register the Flash Media Live Encoder session (instance) specified by the identifier fmle_uid. Unregistered sessions do not start automatically when the operating system is launched. Prints a list of all registered sessions if the identifier is invalid or unspecified.

    /dvrstart [fmle_uid]

    /dvrstop fmle_uid

    /dvrstate fmle_uid

    Controls recording during streaming. For more information on these options, see Start or stop digital video recording from the command line.

    Flash Media Live Encoder launches without displaying the GUI and immediately starts an encoding session.