Mpg or Flash 8?

[ericahlstrom]

What are you guys thinking about using in your AMS projects now that Flash 8 with the new On2 VP6 codec has arrived. Mpg or Flash?

[Corey]

Personally, for training stuff I'm big on the techsmith .avi lately. For full motion video I like .wmv. That being said I know very little about the technical aspects of this topic. I like Flash video but what kills me is the lack of a "Full Screen" option. Until there is a full screen option for Flash video I don't think I will be using it to deploy full on video content.

[eric_darling]

As with any video technology, the trouble is going to be on the distribution side. As Corey said, WMV is very good, and quite popular. But the new Flash 8 player is going to catch on pretty fast, and most people/corporate offices are familiar and comfortable with Flash technology, and the plug-in for web browsers in particular, though some have still disabled it out of unjustified fear of the unknown hack.

MPG is going to reign in terms of ubiquity. It just can't be touched for backwards compatibility. But, that will eventually change, in my opinion as time hurries on. MPG-1 will go the way of VHS tape someday - still used, but under fewer and fewer circumstances. It certainly lacks in quality compared with more modern formats.

Personally, I love Flash 8. I think it's hot. There hasn't been anything this exciting in the world of computer based video deployment in a long time - maybe ever. The power of Flash over other video formats is simply awesome. There's still a place for MPEG-1, if you need absolutely EVERYONE to be able to see your video. But, to those still stuck in that world, I say it's time to upgrade.

[ericahlstrom]

As with any video technology, the trouble is going to be on the distribution side. As Corey said, WMV is very good, and quite popular. But the new Flash 8 player is going to catch on pretty fast, and most people/corporate offices are familiar and comfortable with Flash technology, and the plug-in for web browsers in particular, though some have still disabled it out of unjustified fear of the unknown hack.

MPG is going to reign in terms of ubiquity. It just can't be touched for backwards compatibility. But, that will eventually change, in my opinion as time hurries on. MPG-1 will go the way of VHS tape someday - still used, but under fewer and fewer circumstances. It certainly lacks in quality compared with more modern formats.

Personally, I love Flash 8. I think it's hot. There hasn't been anything this exciting in the world of computer based video deployment in a long time - maybe ever. The power of Flash over other video formats is simply awesome. There's still a place for MPEG-1, if you need absolutely EVERYONE to be able to see your video. But, to those still stuck in that world, I say it's time to upgrade.

I am with you. Flash 8 has great promise and besides, instillation of the flash codec is quick and painless. I have yet to have a problem with silently installing the necessary flash components even on systems running 98.

Personally I love to use flash for the GUI and now with Flash 8 I will try and use it for video as well.

[ericahlstrom]

Personally, for training stuff I'm big on the techsmith .avi lately. For full motion video I like .wmv. That being said I know very little about the technical aspects of this topic. I like Flash video but what kills me is the lack of a "Full Screen" option. Until there is a full screen option for Flash video I don't think I will be using it to deploy full on video content.

There is a Full Screen option

[Corey]

Cool! Can you point me to a Flash video online where I can right click on it (or equivalent) to toggle between fullscreen and normal view as I would with .avi or .wmv? I'm dying to see that in action.

[ericahlstrom]

Cool! Can you point me to a Flash video online where I can right click on it (or equivalent) to toggle between fullscreen and normal view as I would with .avi or .wmv? I'm dying to see that in action.

Here is a Flash 8 Projector file

http://www.bluecrabmultimedia.com/fl...lash_video.exe

ctrl-f makes it full screen or use the view menu.

The video controls aren't embedded with the exe so all you get is the video. With AMS though that's another story.

[Corey]

Sorry I wasn't clearer, I meant within a web page. That's what I meant originally when I said that I won't be using Flash to deploy video until it has a built in fullscreen toggle... Here's the thing, no matter whether you deploy .avi or .wmv standalone or embedded, all the user has to do is double-click anywhere on the video to toggle between fullscreen and normal view. To me this is a mandatory requirement for deploying video these days.

[ericahlstrom]

Sorry I wasn't clearer, I meant within a web page. That's what I meant originally when I said that I won't be using Flash to deploy video until it has a built in fullscreen toggle... Here's the thing, no matter whether you deploy .avi or .wmv standalone or embedded, all the user has to do is double-click anywhere on the video to toggle between fullscreen and normal view. To me this is a mandatory requirement for deploying video these days.

Oh, my main focus is on CD-Rom video. I am trying to minimize the number of different technologies that the end user needs to install. The more technologies that you need to install, the greater the chance something will go wrong. Besides, I am soooooo ready to move on from .mpg

With Flash 8 video, so far it looks as if my wait is over. The quality is as good as .wmv and since I use flash for my GUI, the end user will already have the technology.