I have recently started to look at video production methods and have just started using Microsoft’s free products for video Expression Encoder 4 & Screen Capture.

ExpressionEncoder4Screencapture is quite useful and can produce a video clip 10 minutes in length. This is produced in .xesc format which can be converted to .wmv format by ExpressionEncoder4 free version (mp4 format needs the EEncoderPro version).

The output .wmv format have 3 types VC1 Advanced/Main/Simple-here is the description (from Encoder4 help file):

1. Click the Encode tab.
2. Set your top-level options in the Encodepanel according to the following guidelines:
   • Output Format This setting specifies the type of file that you will create. You have a choice of Windows Media, MP4, and IIS Smooth Streamingas output formats. When you choose a format, all the other pertinent fields in the panel are automatically populated with the optimal settings for that format.

     Note
     The option of choosing MP4 or IIS Smooth Streaming as an output format is not available in the trial version of Expression Encoder.

   • VideoThis setting specifies the codec to be used for encoding. Select this option to include video in your encoded file. Depending on your format choice, you will have a choice of either VC-1 or H.264 codecs.For the Windows Mediaoutput format, you have four choices of VC-1 codec types. :
     • VC-1 Advanced Choose for high-bit-rate encoding (20 Mb per second and up), though this option is also effective with lower bit rates down to 2 Mb per second.
     • VC-1 Main Choose for bit rates below 20 Mb per second. This option is the most popular WMV profile for web and local playback.
     • VC-1 Simple Choose for bit rates below 400 kb per second. This option is the least difficult profile to decode, so it is appropriate for mobile phones and other devices that may have software-only decoders available. However, the main profile is likely as well suited for these scenarios too. Use the simple profile if you are certain that playback will generally happen in devices that require very low bit rates.
     • Source Choose to retain the codec and settings that the source video was originally encoded with.

     For the MP4 output format, you have three choices of H.264 codec types:

     • H.264-High Choose for high-definition broadcasting and high-quality disc media, such as Blu-ray discs. The high profile adds such encoding improvements as 8 X 8 block support and support for monochrome video.
     • H.264-Main Choose this high-quality profile for most web-based streaming scenarios. Before the advent of the high profile, the main profile was the standard for broadcast and disc storage.
     • H.264-Baseline Choose for mobile devices and playback scenarios requiring very low bandwidths.

     For the IIS Smooth Streaming output format, you can choose VC-1 Advanced, or any of the H.264 codecs described in the preceding section.

   • Please note MP4 not available in free version as stated above

   Here is the link to MS ExpressionEncoder4 free version with Screen Capture4

MS ExpressionEncoder4

When using MSEEScreenCapture4 it is worth knowing about the codec format it uses (MTS2).

See this link for more on this:  EEncoderScreenCapture4 codec info

Quote from that site

”  Microsoft Expression Encoder Screen Capture Codec will install and register the Expression Encoder Screen Capture codec that will allow you to playback the Expression Encoder Screen Capture output (XESC) on machines that do not have Expression Encoder installed. ”