Flash glossary: Embedded video

When you embed video in Adobe Flash Professional, all of the video file data is added to the Flash file. This results in a much larger Flash file and subsequent SWF file. The video is placed in the Timeline where you can see the individual video frames represented in the Timeline frames. Because each video frame is represented by a frame in the Timeline, the frame rate of the video clip and the SWF file must be set to the same rate. If you use different frame rates for the SWF file and the embedded video clip, video playback will be inconsistent.

Note: To use variable frame rates, present the video using either progressive download or Adobe Flash Media Server. When you import video files using either of these methods, the FLV or F4V files are self-contained and run at a frame rate separate from that of all other timeline frame rates included in the SWF file.

Embedded video works best for smaller video clips, with a playback time of less than 10 seconds. If you are using video clips with longer playback times, consider using progressively downloaded video or streaming video using Flash Media Server.

You might encounter problems if the resulting SWF files become excessively large. Flash Player reserves a lot of memory when downloading and attempting to play large SWF files with embedded video, which can cause Flash Player to fail. Additionally, longer video files (over 10 seconds long) often have synchronization issues between the video and audio portions of a video clip. Over time, the audio track begins playing out of sequence with the video, causing a less than desirable viewing experience.

Preview frames of an embedded video by dragging the playhead along the Timeline (called scrubbing). The video soundtrack does not play back during scrubbing. To preview the video with sound, use the Test Movie command.

To embed video within a Flash file, follow these steps:

1. Select File > Import > Import Video to import the video clip into the current Flash document.
2. Select the video clip on your local computer to import.
3. Select Embed FLV In SWF and Play In Timeline, and then click Next.
4. Choose the symbol type with which to embed the video in the SWF file: Embedded Video.
5. Import the video clip directly onto the Stage (and the Timeline), and then click Finish.

The Video Import wizard embeds the video into the SWF file. The video appears either on the Stage or in the Library, depending on the selected embedding options.

To learn more about publishing videos on web pages, see the Video Learning Guide for Flash and read the article, Adding video to a web page.