There is a lot of talk on the web today about "streaming media." I prefer to divide that idea into two types because streaming media isn't just all about video: There's video streaming, using Flash Media Server to stream FLV files, and then there's audio streaming for something like MP3 files.

This article is about streaming MP3 files from Flash Media Server. The advantage of using Flash and Flash Media Server for streaming audio is that you can develop completely custom applications with your own branding (look at Odeo, for instance) while still providing a powerful, secure back end from which to stream files.

In this tutorial you will build a simple DJ application using Flash Professional 8 and Flash Media Server (see Figure 1). This application allows you to play MP3 files that are on the server to an audience—that is, anyone connected to the application. Audience members will hear the same song simultaneously, as though they are listening to a DJ playing tracks on the radio. You will start by including a set list of songs and defining two audio lines so that each song fades into the next. Then you'll create the interface for the application to allow the DJ to select the songs from the list and determine the play order. I'll also discuss how to add a microphone so that the DJ can talk to the audience. Because the authoring environment is Flash Professional 8, you can take advantage of the included components to control audio playback.

Figure 1. User interface allowing the DJ to order the songs

Requirements

To follow this tutorial, you should install the following software:

Flash Media Server 2

• Try
• Buy

Flash Professional 8

• Try
• Buy

Flash components

• ListBox
• PushButton

Additional elements

• Background graphics (optional)
• MP3 audio files

Sample files:

• live_dj_app_sample.zip (ZIP, 140K)

Page 1 of 5

Next Page

About the author