Managing Online Video

BTJohnson,

I work with Flash development and Flash video in my real job, and I prefer Flash video over any other video format.

Have you looked into using the Flash .flv format to stream your videos more quickly (Flash MX or MX 2004)? I have only done a few projects using flv's and wouldn't try to discuss in detail here, but you can find a lot of free online tutorials on the subject. It might take a little studying and upfront work the first time you delve into it, but in the long run it could make future online video handling easier and more user-friendly.

Julie

The program I use is Macromedia MX Professional 2004 - and the files it creates - before publishing - are .flv files. Macromedia converts the .flv file into a .swf file when you publish it as a movie. Basically, the .flv file is turned into a .swf file (shockwave)- which is pretty much what I think most of the fancy online graphics are created with. I like the results. However, what I don't like is first having to upload my video to my computer into in my situation a Pinnacle program. I then have to render it into a mpeg file. I then can transfer it into Macromedia - where it becomes an .flv file before it becomes a .swf file when I publish. The whole process is very time consuming. The results I think are pretty good - in that my movies start very quickly when my handler file is clicked. What I really would like is a one step process to create one file that plays quickly without the buffering issues and without having to pay for a service to stream the video. Here is an example of the .swf handler in action - for me - it seems to work pretty good at getting the content to the user quickly and smoothly - or is it just my computer that seems to do it well? Let me know if this video is easy for others (starts quickly and plays smoothly)? Movie Handler File

Your swf file loaded quickly and played almost immediately for me, but I'm on a high speed connection (cable) so I don't know if that would hold true for everyone.

I haven't used Flash video on my past few projects, but I recall doing one project where I uploaded the flv itself to a standard server, and "called" the flv from within another swf (like the handler file you mentioned), playing the flv as an external file - I didn't have to re-export the video as a swf.

Again, I haven't worked with this much lately, but I am just starting a new project next week involving Flash video, so I'll be brushing up on the latest techniques, and I'll let you know if I see anything interesting that might save you a step or two.

Julie