Flash Article

Video in Flash MX and Flash MX 2004

In Flash MX, you can add video to your Flash content in one of three ways: importing it into your Flash document, adding video frames to the Timeline, or using Flash Communication Server to stream video into your Flash content.

In addition to these techniques, Flash MX 2004 allows you to play external Flash Video (FLV) files from a local file system or an HTTP address. This approach offers several benefits, including the ability to play long video clips without affecting performance, play video at a different frame rate than the Flash document that contains it, among other pluses. This feature is available in Flash Player 7 and later.

Flash MX 2004 includes the Video Import wizard which greatly simplifies the process of using embedded video in your Flash applications and presentations. The Video Import wizard gives you the option of editing video before importing it. You can also apply customized compression settings, including bandwidth or quality settings, as well as advanced settings for color correction, cropping, and other options.

Video performance has been greatly improved in Flash Player 7. All video, regardless of how you use it in your Flash presentations and applications, looks better and runs faster and more smoothly than in previous versions of Flash Player.

Video Enhancements in Flash MX Professional

Both Flash and Flash Professional provide the ability to play FLV files from the local file system or an HTTP address. In the standard edition of Flash, you write custom ActionScript to play external FLV files. Flash MX Professional provides several authoring features that make it easier to add video to your Flash projects.

Media Components: Flash Professional includes several media components that allow you play video or audio easily through progressive download, or stream using Flash Communication Server. These include MediaController, MediaDisplay, and MediaPlayback. These media components also let you add cue points to FLV video clips that trigger custom ActionScript commands.

FLV Exporter: Flash Professional ships with the FLV Export plug-in that lets you export FLV files directly from any video editing application or batch-encoding tool that supports the QuickTime Plug-in Architecture. For a complete list of supported video editing tools, as well as details on using the FLV exporter, see Exporting FLV Files from Video-Editing Applications in the Using Flash Guide.

Video in Flash Communication Server MX and Flash MX 2004

Both Flash Communication Server MX and Flash MX 2004 support playback of the FLV video format, which allows you to deliver truly unique, interactive video experiences. The differences between the two products, however, lie in how they deliver one-way video and in the additional multiway capabilities found in Flash Communication Server.

One-way web-based video authored with Flash MX 2004 is delivered to users using progressive download, whereas Flash Communication Server streams video to the end user (see the next section). In addition, Flash Communication Server provides video capture, live video streaming, multiway/multiuser video capabilities, and programmable stream control, which allow developers to create interactive audio/video applications.

Flash Communication Server MX 1.5 works with all the media components in Flash MX Professional 2004. The Flash Communication Server MX 1.5 authoring components (for example, SimpleConnect and AudioConference) work in Flash MX 2004 as long as you publish to the Flash Player 6 format. Macromedia is updating the authoring components and tools for use in Flash MX 2004. When they're available, you can get this update from the Flash Communication Server product page.

Streaming Versus Progressive Download

As I mentioned, one-way web-based video authored with Flash Professional 2004 is delivered to users using progressive download, whereas Flash Communication Server streams video to the end user.

Progressive download is a method of video delivery in which a video file starts to play, after a short buffer period, while it is being downloaded to the client's computer. It's easy to deploy video in this manner because it requires nothing more than a web server. It also provides a good experience (especially with short videos that don't need long buffering times). Because the video is downloaded to the client's computer, it allows the end user to rewatch the video without having to download it again.

Streaming video, by contrast, sends video in real time to a client machine, which plays the video as it is received and then discards it. A streaming server such as Macromedia Flash Communication Server MX can establish an intelligent connection with the client to allow the video to respond to the network connection and client requests. Because streamed video starts fast, plays in real time, and allows users to access different parts of the video immediately without first downloading the entire the video file beforehand, it's a great solution for long-playing videos, live video broadcasts, and applications that interact extensively with users.

In addition, streamed video optimizes video delivery to a large number of clients because it delivers video just as it is needed; progressive downloaded video, on the other hand, delivers video as fast as a user's computer accepts it. For large sites, streamed video reduces the overall load on servers.

Table 3 summarizes the differences between video delivered by streaming and progressive download. Think of the new video features in Flash Professional as an intermediate solution between importing video into your Flash file and streaming video using Flash Communication Server.

Table 3. Benefit Comparison of Streaming vs. Progressive Downloading
Benefit	Streaming	Progressive
Live broadcasts	X
Fast start	X
Long clips	X
Immediate random access to different parts of a movie	X
No specialized server		X
Consistent high-quality playback at any connection speed		X
Content downloads to client machine		X
Content remains on server (cannot be saved by viewers)	X