Microsoft Producer

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Microsoft Producer
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Q. What is Microsoft Producer?

• A. Microsoft Producer is an add-on for
  PowerPoint 2002 that makes it easy to capture,
  synchronize, and publish audio, video, slides,
  and images. With it, you can create engaging and
  effective rich-media presentations that can be
  viewed on demand, in a Web browser.

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Q. Who is the product designed for?

• A. Microsoft Producer is ideally suited for
  media professionals, training specialists, sales
  and marketing professionals, and knowledge
  workersanyone whose job includes producing
  exciting, rich-media presentations

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Q. How can I get Producer?

• A. You can download it from the Windows Media
  Technologies site.

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Q. How much does it cost?

• A. Producer is available at no charge to
  licensed users of PowerPoint 2002. Licensing is
  covered under your Office XP End-User License
  Agreement.

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Q. What special features and capabilities does
Producer offer?

• A. Producer makes it easy to
• Capture, import, and organize a wide variety of
  digital media elements.
• Easily synchronize digital media elements into
  customizable, rich-media presentations.
• Publish and share your presentations anywhere.

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Q. How is Producer different from PowerPoint?

• A. With PowerPoint, you can create slide
  presentations using diagrams, images, animations,
  and text. Producer enhances PowerPoint-based
  presentations by giving users the ability to
  synchronize audio, video, HTML, and other
  elements into their presentations. Producer also
  enables you to edit PowerPoint slides, and it
  supports the rich animations and transitions in
  PowerPoint 2002.

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Q. What are the minimum system requirements for
Microsoft Producer?

• A. Producer requires the following
• A 400-megahertz (MHz) processor, such as an Intel
  Pentium or an Advanced Micro Devices processor (a
  600-MHz or higher processor is recommended for
  capture of digital video content)
• 2 gigabytes (GB) of free hard disk space for
  capturing digital video content (20 GB of free
  hard disk space is recommended)
• 128 megabytes of RAM
• A video capture device and an audio capture
  device
• Microsoft PowerPoint 2002, which is included in
  most Microsoft Office XP suites
• Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 or later
• Microsoft Windows XP Professional, Windows XP
  Home Edition, or Windows 2000 Professional.

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Q. How do I view a presentation created with
Microsoft Producer?

• A. You can view rich-media presentations created
  with Producer in a Web browser window using
  Internet Explorer 5.0 or later, and the Microsoft
  Windows Media Player.

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Q. Where can I publish presentations created
using Producer?

• A. To an intranet site, the Internet, a shared
  network location, a CD-ROM, or a personal
  computer.

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Q. What publishing features does Producer
include?

• A. Producer provides a Publish Wizard that helps
  you publish content virtually anywhere. Producer
  also includes a software development kit that
  enables Web developers and IT professionals to
  create a custom publishing dialog, making
  publishing to the Internet or an intranet Web
  server even easier.

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Q. What audio and video formats are supported by
Producer?

• A. Producer can import Windows Media audio
  (.wma) and video (.wmv), .avi, .mpeg, .wav, and
  .mp3, as well as a variety of other popular audio
  and video file formats.

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Q. What image data types can be imported?

• A. Supported image file types include .jpg,
  .png, .gif, .tif, .bmp, .dib, .emf, and .wmf.

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Q. Can I use Producer to capture live video or
audio?

• A. Yes. You can use Producer to capture live
  video and audio from capture devices that support
  the Microsoft DirectShow application programming
  interface. However, Producer does not support the
  delivery of live content.

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Q. Can I use Producer to create video screen
capture demonstrations?

• A. Yes. Producer supports the industry-leading
  Windows Media Format, which includes
  compressor/decompressors, or "codecs." You can
  create video and still-image screen captures
  within Producer, or you can import existing
  Windows Media files created with the Windows
  Media Screen codec, which enables you to capture
  computer screen movement.

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Q. Does Producer provide any special effects?

• A. Producer offers many different video
  features, including video transitions and
  effects. With them, you can seamlessly switch
  between clips and add variety to your
  presentation by selecting from fades, wipes,
  brightness controls, and other enhancement
  features.

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Q. How do I synchronize the different elements
of a presentation with Producer?

• A. Producer includes a variety of wizards to
  guide you through the process of capturing and
  synchronizing audio and video with slides and
  other elements.

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Q. How do I customize web pages that include
rich-media presentations created with Producer?

• A. Producer provides presentation templates,
  which are simply Web page layouts based on
  industry-standard cascading style sheets (CSS).
  You can switch presentation templates during the
  course of a presentation to create a dynamic
  playback environment. You can also use the New
  Presentation Wizard to change fonts and colors.

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Q. Can I import slides from previous versions of
PowerPoint?

• A. Yes. While Producer itself requires
  PowerPoint 2002, and only supports the PowerPoint
  2002 animation engine, you can import PowerPoint
  files created in previous versions of PowerPoint.

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Q. Can I use Macromedia Flash files as part of
my presentation?

• A. Yes. However, it isn't possible to
  synchronize the Flash animation with the rest of
  the presentation.

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Q. What is the difference between a presentation
template that uses fixed slides and one that uses
resizable slides?

• A. A template with fixed slides will not resize
  the slides, even if the size of the Web browser
  window changes. A template with resizable slides
  will resize the slides if the Web browser window
  size changes.

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Q. Is it possible to play more than one video at
a time?

• A. No, not unless the other video is embedded in
  the PowerPoint presentation. Note This embedded
  video will not be re-encoded and will not be able
  to stream on a Windows Media server it will have
  to be downloaded first for playback. (This occurs
  automatically in the background.)

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Q. Can Producer use PowerPoint rehearsal
timings?

• A. Yes. PowerPoint rehearsal timings remain when
  you import a PowerPoint file into Producer. In
  addition, Producer includes a PowerPoint add-in
  program that records the timing of each slide
  flip and animation and enables you to return to a
  slide you've previously presented.

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Q. Does the Pack and Go option preserve all my
timings and files?

• A. Yes. Creating a Pack and Go version of your
  Producer project prior to publishing preserves
  all your assembled files, timings, templates, and
  transitions. Many Producer users use the Pack and
  Go as a way to archive a project prior to
  publishing.

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Q. Can I output a Producer presentation into a
.wmv file that includes my PowerPoint
presentation and digital media, instead of using
XML output?

• A. No. Microsoft Producer uses the XML output of
  the PowerPoint presentation and Windows Media
  technologies to create a synchronized, on-demand
  presentation inside a Web browser.