Cisco Cisco MXE 3500 (Media Experience Engine) Guide D’Information
Q&A
© 2011 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. This document is Cisco Public Information.
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Media-Processing Functions
Q.
How can I monitor encoding jobs?
A.
Status of encoding jobs is provided through the web UI at http://<MXE 3500 hostname>/mxeui. Select Job
Status under Monitoring in the Toolbox. Then double-click the job to monitor the processing status. A job’s
status can also be retrieved by using APIs for the Cisco MXE 3500.
Q.
Can I receive email notifications when a job has completed?
A.
Yes. You can configure the Cisco MXE 3500 to send email notifications when a job completes successfully or
fails.
Q.
Are there any log files that I can review?
A.
You can easily access log files that provide critical information about job status for the control system and
encoders in the system. These files are instrumental for performing troubleshooting.
Q.
What should I do if I want to produce an audio-only file from a file that has both audio and video?
A.
In the encoder profile, deselect the “Video Enabled” box and select the “Audio Enabled” box.
Q.
How does the Cisco MXE 3500 handle video that does not contain audio?
A.
Two techniques can be used to encode video that has no audio. Some encoders support video-only output.
Alternatively, you can add a silent audio track in the Preprocessor profile.
Q.
Why do video files that do not have any audio fail to encode by default?
A.
Video files typically have audio tracks. By default, the Cisco MXE 3500 will fail to complete a job with a source
video that does not have an audio track. This is to ensure that all transcoded videos have an audio track. If this
behavior is not the desired behavior, select the "Add a Silent Audio Track" box on the Preprocessor profile. If an
audio track is present, it will be maintained. If no audio is present, a silent audio track will be added.
Q.
Does the frame rate of my output files have to match the frame rate of my input files?
A.
No. The Cisco MXE 3500 adds or drops frames of video as required to equal the output frame rate requested.
To ensure the smoothest possible output, video frame rates should be divided or multiplied by even numbers.
Q.
Can the Cisco MXE 3500 convert frame rates from 25 fps to 29.97 fps or 29.97 fps to 25 fps?
A.
Yes. The Cisco MXE 3500 adds or drops frames of video as required to convert video from 25 fps to 29.97 fps
or conversely. Although this frame-rate method provides acceptable quality, the conversion is not a vector-
based frame-rate converter. If the video has fast-moving motion, the picture may appear jittery.
Q.
Can I increase or decrease the frame size of my output video when compared to my input video?
A.
Yes. Reducing the frame size of the video is a common technique used to improve perceived video quality at
lower bit rates. You can also increase the frame size from the original, but there will be a corresponding
reduction in perceived video quality. This reduction is often acceptable if the content of the video is compelling
and a larger frame size is required to match the video display method. An example is increasing the size of
video captured with a cell phone to play back on TV.
Q.
Can I convert video with a 4:3 aspect ratio to video with a 16:9 aspect ratio?
A.
Yes. The Cisco MXE 3500 offers three methods to convert 4: 3 video to 16: 9 video:
●
You can add curtains (black bars on each side of the video).
●
You can apply a nonlinear stretch that increases the width of objects that are not in the center of the video
frame.
●
You can apply a linear stretch that increases the width of all objects to the video.