Author: S!ick

Joe from Pittsburgh called about how to get audio into Windows Media Encoder…

(Windows Media Encoder is tool for content producers who want to capture audio and video content.)

Because of all of the variables that need to be considered, this is one of those (many) situations where we need to be able to be there physically to possibly provide any reasonable assistance…but here’s what I found that might help…

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For a list of supported audio and video capture cards, see Windows Media Hardware Product Vendors….

Joe said he was using a Realtek device: they are not supported…

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“You can install Windows Media Encoder 9 Series on a computer running Microsoft Windows 2000, Windows XP, or Windows Server 2003. (For Windows 2000, you must also install Microsoft DirectX® 9.0)…The recommended configuration varies, depending on the encoding task, as described in the following paragraphs…

(These next three questions seemed to be the closest thing to what Joe had described to us…)

6.6 Why can’t I configure a particular device from the encoder?
Only the devices that are used in the current session are displayed in the Configure Devices dialog box.
To select a different device, do the following:
1. On the Session menu, click Properties.
2. Click the desired source, and then click Change.
3. Select a different device from the Video or Audio drop-down lists, and then click Configure.
If you still are unable to configure the device, the device might not be supported.
The encoder works with most capture devices that have Video for Windows or Windows Driver Model (WDM) drivers. If your device has Video for Windows or WDM drivers, check that you are using the most current drivers. See the documentation that comes with your device. To see a list of the capture devices that have been tested to work with Windows Media Encoder 9 Series, see the Microsoft Web site.

6.7 Can I use multiple capture cards on a single computer?
Yes. Having multiple capture cards installed on a single computer enables you to encode from multiple sources simultaneously.

6.9 What capture driver version should I be using?
In general, use the latest driver from the hardware vendor. Drivers can usually be found on the vendor’s Web site. For a list of the capture devices that have been tested to work with Windows Media Encoder 9 Series, see the Microsoft Web site.

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/forpros/encoder/faq.aspx

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System Requirements for Windows Media Encoder 9 Series

The Knowledge Center…the extensive collection of books, articles, videos, and technical documents…

downloadable Help Documentation…

Media Advice Archive

Brendan called in about “runtime” error messages…based on my research…

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A Runtime Error is an error that occurs during the execution of a program…they indicate possible bugs in the program or problems that the designers had anticipated but could do nothing about (running out of memory can cause a runtime error).

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Reasons runtime errors can occur:

operator error…

bugs in the original program…
the web page author made some programming error….
can be caused by other add-ons, plug-ins, or other extra software that has been installed onto the computer and is associated with the program generating the error. If you have any extra software installed that is associated with the program generating the error make sure there are no available updates for the programs and/or try uninstalling each of them to verify they’re not the cause of your issue.

…you are running a pop-up killer that closes pop-up windows so fast that the script on the web page fails.

…you might have some adware or spyware installed on your computer that opens the script error pop-ups.

virus…

resource exhaustion…

Robert, a programmer, called into the show and suggested that there may be a memory problem…based on everything I’ve read: he’s right. It could be “software interfering with hardware”, or there may be a problem with hardware.

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To troubleshoot a runtime error you will need additional information, such as:
* An error number
* Where you were in the program with the error occurred
* What you did just before the error occurred
* What you say just before and just after the error occured
* The state of the machine when the error occurred (memory, disk, and cpu usage)

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I found a listing of runtime error codes at http://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch000380.htm

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“A Runtime Error has occurred” error message when you view Web pages (in Internet Explorer after you install Office 2003)

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/822521

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To configure Internet Explorer to ignore script and runtime errors:
1. Open Internet Explorer.
2. Click on Tools, then on Internet Options.
3. Click on the Advanced tab.
4. Look for the “Disable script debugging” line and put a check mark in the box.
5. Now look for the “Display a notification about every script error” line and remove the check mark in the box.

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Also consider:

How to troubleshoot by using the System Configuration utility in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310560

and

How to configure Windows XP to start in a “clean boot” state
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310353