Chapter 9. Using Video
Flash video has come a long way since videos were first delivered via .swf several years ago. In fact, although this is still rare, it has matured to the point that some developers choose the Flash Player as their preferred method to deliver standalone videos (without any interactive content). This is largely because of the ubiquitousness of the Flash Player, and is usually coupled with a companion streaming server, but it does say a lot about the quality of today’s Flash video options.
Using video in Flash has many parallels with using sound in Flash. You can import video into a .fla (although it is not recommended), and you can load and play external videos, either with components or with your own scripting. The similarities between using sound and video in Flash are significant enough that you may find yourself understanding Flash video even quicker than you embraced Flash sound. To reinforce this familiarity, this chapter has been organized using a structure similar to that of Chapter 8. Repetition of applicable points will be emphasized, rather than avoided.
Importing Video
As with sound, there are two primary ways to use video in Flash. Videos can be imported into Flash and embedded in the .swf file, or they can be loaded as external assets at runtime using ActionScript. Originally, the only way to deliver video via Flash was to embed the video in a .swf file. ...
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