Technical information

by Forest Key and Chris Hock
10
programmatically.
File Size SWF files contain both the
video and audio streams as
well as the Flash interface,
resulting in a single, larger
file size. SWF files can load
each other, enabling you to
break up individual video
clips into multiple files.
SWF and FLV files are
kept separated, resulting in
a smaller SWF file size.
Same as Progressive FLV.
Timeline
Access
When embedded in the
Flash Timeline, video
appears on individual
keyframes and can be
treated like any other object
on the Stage. Ideal for
creating interactions based
on individual keyframes of
video .
Video is played back only
at runtime. Individual
keyframes are not visible
on the Flash Stage.
Same as Progressive FLV.
Publishing Each time the Flash movie
is published or tested the
entire video file is re-
published. Changes to
video files require manually
re-importing the files into
the Flash Timeline.
FLV files are only referenced
during runtime. Publishing
does not require referencing
the video file directly, and is
much faster than the
embedded video approach.
FLV files can be updated or
modified without changing
the SWF files for a project.
Same as Progressive
FLV. You can dynamically
pull FLV from virtual
locations, such as your
SAN or the Flash Video
Streaming Service CDN.
Frame Rate Video frame rate and SWF
movie frame rate must be
the same.
The FLV video file can have
a different frame rate than
the SWF movie, allowing for
separate timings between
video and the Flash movie.
Same as Progressive FLV.
Live video capture has
programmable control over
frame rate.
Action Script
Access
Video playback and control
is achieved by controlling
the movie's playback on
the Flash Timeline. Flash
MX 2004 includes several
behaviors for controlling
video and audio playback.
The netStream command
can be used to Load, Play,
Pause, and Seek through
multiple external FLV files.
Same as Progressive FLV.
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-specific
components.
Media Components (Flash
MX Professional only) can
be used to set up and
display external FLV files
together with transport
controls (Play, Pause, and
Search).
Media Components (Flash
MX Professional only) can
be used with video
streamed from Flash
Communication Server or
Flash Video Streaming
Service. Also, you can use
Flash Communication
Server Communication
Components for streaming
live and multiway video.
Web Delivery The entire SWF file must
be downloaded to the
client and loaded into
memory in order to play
back video.
FLV files are progressively
downloaded, cached, and
then played from the local
disk. The entire video clip
need not fit in memory.
FLV files are streamed
from Flash Communication
Server, played on the
client’s machine, and then
discarded from memory in
a play-as-you-go method.