Components and tools

Unlike other streaming formats, streaming Flash media is actually a small application, with several parts contributing to the video. This allows for extensive customization and programming in the event that Flash developers want to incorporate streaming video into more complex presentations or communications applications. Let's take a look at the parts, and then look at some tools you might use when making or working with them.

Components of a published streaming Flash video

1. Registration
   You must choose and register a directory on www.bu.edu where you will keep your FLV files (and if necessary, your server on the BU network). We'll do the necessary step of configuring the Flash server to recognize your directory. (This includes adding server-side ActionScript files as needed.)
   
   
2. The Web page
   Streaming Flash video is usually viewed in a Web page instead of playing in a stand-alone player. We'll look at the HTML code to add to your page.
   
   
3. The FLV file
   This is your video file. Your source video (tape, disc, or file) must be captured digitally and then exported as a compressed FLV file. We'll look at some tools for this task.
   
   
4. The SWF file(s)
   The same directory that holds your Web page needs at least one SWF file to negotiate the stream with the server and to provide the player controls (the start and stop buttons, etc.). Most people divide these two functions into two separate SWF files. You can use our generic SWF files, or make your own.
   
   

Tools and services for creating components

• NIS Encoding & Support Services
  NIS can can encode your video from videocassette or source file, or provide support if you want to do this yourself. We accept DVCAM, miniDV, Beta and VHS tape formats and almost any current video file format. Following the encoding, NIS will provide support to help you add the remaining components to your site. Contact us for more information.
  
  
• Dreamweaver 8
  The latest version of Dreamweaver has integrated tools for adding streaming Flash video to your page. We recommend that you only attempt to use these tools with the latest version of your current Web browser. This recommendation is due to the fact that the HTML code Dreamweaver produces is poorly supported by Internet Explorer 7 since that browser received updates in April, 2006. Dreamweaver does not create your FLV file.
  
  
• Flash Professional 8
  The Flash Professional 8 authoring software can generate SWF files for negotiating the stream with the server and for player controls -- you just fill out a few fields and menu selections. It offers more choices for player skins than Dreamweaver and, more importantly, you'll have the full power of the Flash programming (including the ActionScript coding window) at your fingertips if you want to do more than simply accept the defaults. You can even create your own player skins from scratch. You will still need to edit the Web page that will embed the video, however, and the creation of the FLV file is done with separate software.
  
  
• Flash Exporter
  Distributed with Studio 8 or purchased separately, the Flash exporter has one niche purpose: it converts your source video (for example, DV, AVI, MPEG, or QuickTime) to the FLV format for Flash 7 or 8 with quality settings that you choose. You can even queue up a series of source videos to export to FLV format with different quality settings. Unfortunately, Flash Exporter 8 does not offer 2-pass encoding, a method that improves quality.
  
  
• Flix Exporter, Sorenson Squeeze and other 3rd party exporting software
  If you plan to encode Flash videos often, or if best video quality is important, you'll want to consider third-party software for exporting your FLV files. (These products do not create your Web page or SWF files.)
  
  NIS recommends Sorenson Squeeze as well as Flix software, offered by On2, the same company that developed the compression method for Flash 8 streaming video (Sorenson Squeeze and Flix can also encode to Flash 7). The Sorenson software is stand-alone software. On2 offers stand-alone software as well as the Flix Exporter. Flix Exporter is a plugin for many of the best video editing applications, such as Apple FInal Cut and Adobe After Effects, providing export functionality more economically than the stand-alone Flix products. All of these offer 2-pass encoding, resulting in better-quality video by reading the source once to analyze it, then again to encode from it.
  
  Additionally, the Riva FLV Encoder is free software that can create Flash Videos from AVI, MPEG, Quicktime, and Windows Media (WMV) files.