I posted the following in the "Off Topic" subforum (thread 732) but realize that it should have been posted in this subforum. So, here it is one more time:

Our media company develops original content intended primarily for Internet-based viewing. We deliver our programs through video podcasts (all clean, nothing explicit).

Do you (meaning Microsoft) have any preliminary WMV encoding specifications for providing UMPC-compatible video podcasts to our subscribers? Details such as maximum data rate for both the video and audio streams, preferred encoding algorithm, etcetera would be helpful.

We are working toward providing WMV encodes of our current shows and feel that the UMPC will give us better options for expanding our production values.

For more information, check out our website.

*Bump*

Anyone from Microsoft that can answer this question? We would like to start reencoding our programming so that it is available as soon as the UMPCs ship.

UMPCs will come with Windows Media Player. A special skin with extra buttons for easy, finger-based navigation that is provided in the Touch Pack (Brilliant Black). So, files with WMV file extension will play.

Lora:

Thanks for the reply. I do realize that WMV files will play on the UMPC.

My question is what are the specifications for optimized playback with minimum file size. That is the essence of good video encoding for any platform.

With the 7" diagonal screen, the viewing area is much larger. A larger viewing area leads to larger file sizes. I could create a 100 MB WMV file and get unbelievable video playback quality but it would not be useable for video podcast watchers since it would take a long time to download at today's bandwidth speeds.

What I'm looking for is the recommended encoding specs so that I can get good video quality at the smallest file size. Yes, I could experiment with the encoding variables and eventually discover the answer on my own. But, based on experience with doing this for QT, it could literally take days.

So, I'm asking if Microsoft has already figured out the optimum specifications.

*Bump*

Okay, last call!

Is there anyone from Microsoft who can point me in the right direction? Although I'm currently the only one on this forum who has asked this question, I'm sure many new media pioneers are looking for the same information.

I would like to offer both video iPod (iPod 5G) and UMPC video podcasts to our viewers. Currently we only offer iPod files for viewing on portable devices.

I'm sure that Microsoft would like content creators to offer video podcasts on the UMPC also. Until there is clear guidance, we will only be able to offer them on Apple's iPods.