Should I Recommend Flash Video??
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From: JennySpade on 6 Apr 2006 19:08 More and more people keep asking about streaming video online. It's tempting to suggest Flash video to my clients, but is it really a viable option in terms of plugin ubiquity? Or is it still better to offer two options: Quicktime and Windows Media? Also, what are the limitations of dishing out progressive video versus streaming? It looks like streaming video in Flash requires installing server side software - can be exensive. Same with quicktime and windows? And what about meeting the needs of traffic... e.g. 3 or 4 viewers at a time versus 10 or 20? Any comments would be great! Cheers.
From: C-Rock on 7 Apr 2006 00:42 i've actually learned tons about this lately and i'm working with a start up company that is going to be huge using almost all video. i would say flash video is far and away the best choice. macromedia has a ton of stats on this. flash 7 is used by like 94% of all web users!!! media player and quicktime are both below 70%, if i remember correctly. the new flash detection system in 8 rocks. it makes it much easier for users. also the flash express detection system keeps the user on your site and installs and refreshes, totally the way to go. in my express detections i tell the user you already have a flash player installed you must upgrade. and i display their player version to them. it makes them feel all warm and fuzzy. so now that we have users easliy installing flash 8. i would say if you're doing it cheap, progressive is just fine. streaming is very expensive and we're only going there after the company begins to use too much bandwidth and returns enough revenue to pay for streaming. companies like vital stream make it much cheaper. i would suggest doing things in this order, seems the most logical to me; progressive vital stream your own server side install vital stream will meet your traffic needs like no other. you may wanna just stop there. flash 6, 7 and 8 can handle the sorensen codec but not the new on2p that comes with 8 and supports the alpha channel. if you have anymore questions i'd love to help; carey(a)richardson-graphics.com enjoy
From: Casperankinen on 7 Apr 2006 11:51 Have you ever tried installing Quicktime or Windows Media Player if you don't have them to start with? There in lies your answer. (just incase you haven't - you need a 20Mb+ download which then has over 10 clicks, a bombardment of another brand (do you want all your mp3 files to open in iTunes? no!!!) and sometimes a restart before the user can view the video) You want to offer the plugin that most people have and it's Flash.
From: C-Rock on 7 Apr 2006 11:57 i couldn't agree anymore with that last post. quicktime makes you install itunes and then always runs in the background taking up memory. and i'm not sure about mac and windows media player? anyways flash is the way to go for sure!
From: Stan Hirson on 7 Apr 2006 12:57
Originally posted by: C-Rock i would say flash video is far and away the best choice. macromedia has a ton of stats on this. flash 7 is used by like 94% of all web users!!! media player and quicktime are both below 70%, if i remember correctly. the new flash detection system in 8 rocks. it makes it much easier for users. also the flash express detection system keeps the user on your site and installs and refreshes, totally the way to go. in my express detections i tell the user you already have a flash player installed you must upgrade. and i display their player version to them. it makes them feel all warm and fuzzy. so now that we have users easliy installing flash 8. lHow can I put Express Install into a video blog on TypePad? I am not a developer or programmer. I am a professional film maker who thought a video blog (vlog) would be a great way to exhibit videos that I have made. I am dealing with people who, for the most part, have just gotten comfortable with email. Visitors to my site have been having a horrible time updating to Flash 8 or, once they see what is involved, are afraid to. This is particularly true, but not exclusively so, of people on Windows and IE. I would love to get a hold of code that I could put into TypePad that would do the detection and the Express Install the way C-Rocki describes it. But as a non-programmer who does not use ActionScript, etc., I have not been able to find it. Kind programmers have responded to my queries with of helpful advice that is so loaded with jargon that I can't undertand that I feel like I am crashing a party in a foreign country. There is a need for some cut-and-paste generic code that could go into a website. Or a webiste that idiots like myelf to link to that would do the detection and Express Install and then send the visitor back. Until this is possible, I would not encourage people to go to Flash 8. When and if there are utilities freely available (and understandable) for users who are not Flash developers, Flash 8 would be ideal except for downloading to iPods. Stan Hirson http://hestablog.com |