A recorded media file often has metadata encoded in it by the server or a tool. The Flash Video Exporter utility (version 1.1 or later) is a tool that embeds a video's duration, frame rate, and other information into the video file itself. Other video encoders embed different sets of metadata, or you can explicitly add your own metadata (see "Add metadata to a live stream").

The NetStream object that plays the stream on the client dispatches an onMetaData event when the stream encounters the metadata. To read the metadata, you must handle the event and extract the info object that contains the metadata. For example, if a file is encoded with Flash Video Exporter, the info object contains these properties:

See "Add metadata to a live stream" for a list of property names Adobe suggests for users adding metadata to live video streaming from client to server.