Streaming Video Using Flash at DVinfo.net

Alastair Brown · January 8th, 2007, 06:33 AM

I'm envious whenever I view a clip on somebodies site that is done in flash. It starts playing immediately and streams without interuption.

My hosting package came with Coffee Cup Flash Video streaming software. My grumble with this is the preview window is very small.

Anybody care to recommend the best way of putting videos up as flash?

Richard Wakefield · January 10th, 2007, 07:41 AM

Does anyone know if 1and1 host site is a 'streaming site'?
Anyone with proven experience of setting up streaming movies with 1and1 somehow? (I wasn't keen on linking to other sites like 'youtube' etc, as I'd really like my clips to play on my pages, and with good quality...)

They never got back to me when I emailed them...and the flash+wmv files I post don't stream.

Patrick Moreau · January 10th, 2007, 11:25 AM

Richard,

I haven't tried flash with 1&1 but I use them for streaming quicktime files all the time. We have one domain with them just for hosting samples for our clients. You can check out something we have on the server here- and it should stream-

http://www.smcouples.com/hodgkinson/credits.mov

Alastair,

We export all of our samples via a flash 7 plug-in that works with final cut pro. That offers a lot of flexibility in the encoding and sizing options. Other than that, I know there are some other free and cheap flash encoders for PC and Mac but they often have lower quality and take longer. You can see some some flash samples on our site at www.still-motion.ca if you would like. These were all done at 500hbps and 2 pass encoding.

Patrick

Steve Maller · January 10th, 2007, 05:54 PM

Patrick, which Flash exporter plug-in do you use?

Michael Nistler · January 10th, 2007, 05:57 PM

Hi Patrick,

I've always considered you website and video demos among the best - all excellent work. While I think the resolution and performance of your flash files is tops, I've noticed the slider control is not active so the viewer cannot forward or backup the show as featured by other streaming players.

Regards, Michael

Eric Gan · January 11th, 2007, 02:40 AM

Due to the popularity of YouTube and the quality of the VP6 encoder, I've just added the option to view in Flash for all my samples. As far as I know, you don't need anything special on the server side. My method is a bit of a multi-step process - there's probably a better and easier way to do it.

I encode to .flv using Flash's media encoder. Then I import into a Flash project, create the settings for the buttons and sliders, size, etc. Hit the publish button, which creates an HTML file as well as an .swf file. I edit the HTML file to customize it to the way I want to look. Then upload everything to the server.

Both Flash and Quicktime starts playing as soon as the page loads (of course presuming you have a decent broadband connection). I have ditched Windows Media because quick-start doesn't seem to work that well at all.

I've just launched my company website with a new name - Vivid Motion. You can look at the gallery there.
http://www.vividmotion.net

Cheers,

Richard Wakefield · January 11th, 2007, 04:21 AM

This reply from 1and1:

"Unfortunately none of our shared hosting package support the media
streaming.
You can only upload your video or audio files to your webspace and
create hyperlinks to those files from your web pages and the users have
to download them before they can play them on their local pc.
IF you want the media streaming support, you have to go for the Windows
Server 3 package and it is the only package that support this."

DAMN!

but, then Patrick, you have said you have streaming quicktime files...is that definitely on a 1and1 site? are they streaming from the Apple site maybe? were they created with Quicktime Pro?

thanks in advance

Ian Briscoe · January 11th, 2007, 05:27 AM

Hi Richard

Do you actually need genuine streaming or is it just embedded video which starts playing fairly quickly - in which case you're fine with 1 and 1.

Ian

Richard Wakefield · January 11th, 2007, 06:31 AM

Hi Ian,

Well I'd rather have a video that starts within a second or two of the page loading...i have embedded(?) videos...

http://www.fxfilms.co.uk (all my demos take a while to load)

any advice greatly received...can i make quick-loading wmv, mov files that are just as good as streaming?

Alastair Brown · January 11th, 2007, 02:27 PM

Damn you Patrick....I've just looked at your samples.....now I'm REALLY envious!

Thats a great site and some beautiful samples on both the photography and video side.

I've got my coffee cup one working now but......the preview window size is woefully small.

OK...whats a good flash video encoder that you can set preferences i.e. window size with? I'm using Vegas 7, so I'm just about to give encoding a Quicktime file a go. Any recommendations as to what settings work best?

Ian Briscoe · January 11th, 2007, 03:30 PM

Hi Richard

I see you're already doing what I though you might have wanted so sorry - can't help! I should have checked your website first :)

Nice site - and 3 Brits on the same page on dvinfo - the invasion starts here!

Ian

Patrick Moreau · January 11th, 2007, 05:37 PM

Steve,

I believe it is the flash media exporter that comes with flash 7. It lets me export directly from FCP. I haven't purchased anything other than flash, so it is something that came bundled with that.

Michael,

Thanks for the great compliment about the site and work, it really means a lot.

I too have noticed that I cannot scrub through the video clips once they have loaded. It is a template that I am uploading the clips to and so I don't have much control over that. The upside is that once the clip is exported, it is very easy to get it onto our site.

Richard,

I am definitely with 1&1 for our smcouples.com site which hosts all of the samples we send to couples. If you check out that link I posted above, you can see if it streams on your machine or not. It has when I have checked it but I have heard from some people that it won't stream ( I had just assumed that was due to their version of quicktime or something and not the server). Everything is exported with quicktime through FCP, make sure you have the hinted video option enabled when you export.

Alastair Brown · January 11th, 2007, 11:55 PM

I know 1and1 in the USA and 1and1 in the UK are two different beasts. What we get in the UK bears no relation to what you get over in the USA. We are the poor relations over here! Thats why I went with lunarpages.

David Mathew Bonner · January 12th, 2007, 06:00 AM

Ditto Patrick, nice site and good work.

dMb.

Meryem Ersoz · January 12th, 2007, 11:45 AM

so, patrick, do you have a link to your flash plug-in? or at least a name?

January 8th, 2007, 06:33 AM	#1
Alastair Brown Major Player Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Glasgow/Scotland Posts: 626	Streaming Video Using Flash I'm envious whenever I view a clip on somebodies site that is done in flash. It starts playing immediately and streams without interuption. My hosting package came with Coffee Cup Flash Video streaming software. My grumble with this is the preview window is very small. Anybody care to recommend the best way of putting videos up as flash?

January 10th, 2007, 05:54 PM	#4
Steve Maller Major Player Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Burlingame, CA USA Posts: 285	Patrick, which Flash exporter plug-in do you use? __________________ me@facebook: http://facebook.com/stevemallerphotography

January 10th, 2007, 05:57 PM	#5
Michael Nistler Major Player Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Petaluma, CA Posts: 456	Flash Player Hi Patrick, I've always considered you website and video demos among the best - all excellent work. While I think the resolution and performance of your flash files is tops, I've noticed the slider control is not active so the viewer cannot forward or backup the show as featured by other streaming players. Regards, Michael

January 11th, 2007, 02:27 PM	#10
Alastair Brown Major Player Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Glasgow/Scotland Posts: 626	I thought I knew what envy was! Damn you Patrick....I've just looked at your samples.....now I'm REALLY envious! Thats a great site and some beautiful samples on both the photography and video side. I've got my coffee cup one working now but......the preview window size is woefully small. OK...whats a good flash video encoder that you can set preferences i.e. window size with? I'm using Vegas 7, so I'm just about to give encoding a Quicktime file a go. Any recommendations as to what settings work best?

January 12th, 2007, 06:00 AM	#14
David Mathew Bonner Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada Posts: 163	Ditto Patrick, nice site and good work. dMb. __________________ www.dmbvideo.com

January 10th, 2007, 07:41 AM	#2
Richard Wakefield Major Player Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Surrey, UK Posts: 680	Does anyone know if 1and1 host site is a 'streaming site'? Anyone with proven experience of setting up streaming movies with 1and1 somehow? (I wasn't keen on linking to other sites like 'youtube' etc, as I'd really like my clips to play on my pages, and with good quality...) They never got back to me when I emailed them...and the flash+wmv files I post don't stream.

January 10th, 2007, 11:25 AM	#3
Patrick Moreau Still Motion Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 1,186	Richard, I haven't tried flash with 1&1 but I use them for streaming quicktime files all the time. We have one domain with them just for hosting samples for our clients. You can check out something we have on the server here- and it should stream- http://www.smcouples.com/hodgkinson/credits.mov Alastair, We export all of our samples via a flash 7 plug-in that works with final cut pro. That offers a lot of flexibility in the encoding and sizing options. Other than that, I know there are some other free and cheap flash encoders for PC and Mac but they often have lower quality and take longer. You can see some some flash samples on our site at www.still-motion.ca if you would like. These were all done at 500hbps and 2 pass encoding. Patrick

January 11th, 2007, 02:40 AM	#6
Eric Gan Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Vancouver, Canada Posts: 187	Due to the popularity of YouTube and the quality of the VP6 encoder, I've just added the option to view in Flash for all my samples. As far as I know, you don't need anything special on the server side. My method is a bit of a multi-step process - there's probably a better and easier way to do it. I encode to .flv using Flash's media encoder. Then I import into a Flash project, create the settings for the buttons and sliders, size, etc. Hit the publish button, which creates an HTML file as well as an .swf file. I edit the HTML file to customize it to the way I want to look. Then upload everything to the server. Both Flash and Quicktime starts playing as soon as the page loads (of course presuming you have a decent broadband connection). I have ditched Windows Media because quick-start doesn't seem to work that well at all. I've just launched my company website with a new name - Vivid Motion. You can look at the gallery there. http://www.vividmotion.net Cheers,

January 11th, 2007, 04:21 AM	#7
Richard Wakefield Major Player Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Surrey, UK Posts: 680	This reply from 1and1: "Unfortunately none of our shared hosting package support the media streaming. You can only upload your video or audio files to your webspace and create hyperlinks to those files from your web pages and the users have to download them before they can play them on their local pc. IF you want the media streaming support, you have to go for the Windows Server 3 package and it is the only package that support this." DAMN! but, then Patrick, you have said you have streaming quicktime files...is that definitely on a 1and1 site? are they streaming from the Apple site maybe? were they created with Quicktime Pro? thanks in advance

January 11th, 2007, 05:27 AM	#8
Ian Briscoe Major Player Join Date: May 2005 Location: Southport - UK Posts: 208	Hi Richard Do you actually need genuine streaming or is it just embedded video which starts playing fairly quickly - in which case you're fine with 1 and 1. Ian

January 11th, 2007, 06:31 AM	#9
Richard Wakefield Major Player Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Surrey, UK Posts: 680	Hi Ian, Well I'd rather have a video that starts within a second or two of the page loading...i have embedded(?) videos... http://www.fxfilms.co.uk (all my demos take a while to load) any advice greatly received...can i make quick-loading wmv, mov files that are just as good as streaming?

January 11th, 2007, 03:30 PM	#11
Ian Briscoe Major Player Join Date: May 2005 Location: Southport - UK Posts: 208	Hi Richard I see you're already doing what I though you might have wanted so sorry - can't help! I should have checked your website first :) Nice site - and 3 Brits on the same page on dvinfo - the invasion starts here! Ian

January 11th, 2007, 05:37 PM	#12
Patrick Moreau Still Motion Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 1,186	Steve, I believe it is the flash media exporter that comes with flash 7. It lets me export directly from FCP. I haven't purchased anything other than flash, so it is something that came bundled with that. Michael, Thanks for the great compliment about the site and work, it really means a lot. I too have noticed that I cannot scrub through the video clips once they have loaded. It is a template that I am uploading the clips to and so I don't have much control over that. The upside is that once the clip is exported, it is very easy to get it onto our site. Richard, I am definitely with 1&1 for our smcouples.com site which hosts all of the samples we send to couples. If you check out that link I posted above, you can see if it streams on your machine or not. It has when I have checked it but I have heard from some people that it won't stream ( I had just assumed that was due to their version of quicktime or something and not the server). Everything is exported with quicktime through FCP, make sure you have the hinted video option enabled when you export.

January 11th, 2007, 11:55 PM	#13
Alastair Brown Major Player Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Glasgow/Scotland Posts: 626	I know 1and1 in the USA and 1and1 in the UK are two different beasts. What we get in the UK bears no relation to what you get over in the USA. We are the poor relations over here! Thats why I went with lunarpages.

January 12th, 2007, 11:45 AM	#15
Meryem Ersoz Wrangler Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Boulder, CO Posts: 3,015	so, patrick, do you have a link to your flash plug-in? or at least a name?