Installation guide

Embedded video Progressive download Streaming delivery
Frame rate Video frame rate and SWF
movie frame rate must be
the same.
The video le can have a
dierent frame rate than the
SWF le.
Same as progressive deliv-
ery. Live video capture has
programmable control over
frame rate.
ActionScript access Video playback and control
is achieved by manipulating
the movie’s playback on the
Timeline.
The NetStream class can be
used to load, play, and pause
external FLV les.
Seek can also be performed
on the portion of the video
that has been downloaded.
Same as progressive delivery.
Server-side ActionScript
can also be used to provide
additional functionality
such as synchronization of
streams, server-side playlists,
smart delivery adjusted to
client connection speed, and
more.
Components No video-specic
components.
Media components
(Flash 8 Professional and
Flash CS3 Professional)
can be used to set up and
display external video and
audio les together with
transport controls (play,
pause, seek, and so on.).
Same as progressive video.
Also, you can use Flash
Media Server communica-
tion components for stream-
ing live and multiway video.
Seek and navigation
ability
Requires the entire SWF le
to be downloaded before
user can seek or navigate
the video.
User can only seek to
portions of the video that
have been downloaded.
User can seek anywhere at
any time.
Web delivery The entire SWF le must be
downloaded to the client
and loaded into memory to
play back video.
Video les are progressively
downloaded, cached, and
then played from the local
disk. The entire video clip
need not t in memory.
Video les are streamed
from Flash Media Server,
displayed on the client’s
screen, and then discarded
from memory in a play-as-
you-go method.
Performance Audio and video synch is
limited. Sync between audio
and video will suer after
approximately 120 seconds
of video. Total le duration is
limited to available RAM on
the playback system.
Improved performance over
embedded SWF video, with
higher resolution and more
reliable audio synchroniza-
tion. Provides best image
quality, which is limited only
by the amount of available
hard drive space on the
playback system.
Improved eciency from
a web delivery perspective,
with optimal bitrate delivery
on an as-needed basis to
as many customers as
necessary.
Control over
video stream
None None Full control over what gets
delivered to the clients and
when. Advanced access
control via server-side
ActionScript.
Support for
live video
No No Yes
Compatibility Flash Player 6 or later Flash Player 7 or later Flash Player 6 or later
Feature summary of Flash Media Server 3
e Adobe Flash Media Server 3 family oers signicant new features that make it easy to stream
video with more performance, protection, and security than ever before. e ubiquity of the
FlashPlayer,powerfulserver-sideandclient-sideAPIs,andmoreaordablepricing,makethe
Adobe Flash Media Server 3 family the obvious choice for both streaming video and robust
interactive applications.
ese are the key features and improvements to the Flash Media Server 3 family:
• Performance—Maximizes the capacity of your hardware and lowers deployment costs
• Security—Helpsensuretheprotectionofyourcontent
• Quality—Deliversthehighestqualitycontent,uptoHDlevel
• Live—Providesthebestserviceandaninstantstartforhigh-qualitylivevideo
• Mobile delivery—Createsoneversionofcontentfordeliverytomobileandotherdevices
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