For video on the Web, the mid-2000s proved to be a perfect storm. Increased broadband adoption by homes and businesses, faster and more powerful computers, and a new, cross-platform Flash format by Adobe combined with the introduction of video-sharing sites to ignite a wave of excitement in online video.
These factors, combined with declining TV viewership, could very well result in online video replacing television as the central means of personal entertainment.
Figuring Out the Format
Th e following points should be considered when deciding upon the best format for a Web video:
- Platform compatibility: To gain the widest possible audience, you need to use a format that can be seen by as many computer users as possible.
- File size: Even with broadband connections, videos files can be slow to download, which can cause viewers to lose interest and leave the site. In response to these concerns, developers have created two methods of delivering video: streaming and progressive download.
- Video quality: Typically, as file sizes get smaller, the quality of the image deteriorates. It is important to balance the need to keep file size low with the desire to provide content that is sharp enough to keep viewers interested.
- Accessibility and cost of conversion software: Shooting the video is the fun part, but it still needs to be edited and converted. Producers need to consider the cost of editing and conversion software and whether their computer’s operating system can run that software.
The Flash (.fl v) File Format: A Closer Look
Deciding which fi le format to choose might seem confusing and intimidating, but it is actually very simple. At the risk of sounding like a paid endorsement: Flash is far and away the best format choice. Practically every major video source on the Web utilizes the Flash format, including YouTube, Google Video, Yahoo! Video, and MySpace. This
underscores the widespread acceptance of this remarkable format. To understand why the Flash player and format have gained such tremendous popularity, one just has to look at the benefits associated with it:
underscores the widespread acceptance of this remarkable format. To understand why the Flash player and format have gained such tremendous popularity, one just has to look at the benefits associated with it:
- Wide-scale compatibility: Because the Flash player comes preinstalled in both PCs and Macs, practically all Web users can see Flash videos.
- Small file size: The Flash format uses its own codec, introduced in Flash 10, to keep files sizes very small.
- High image quality: The FLV format is created using a lossy compression method, which means that data is eliminated during the compression in order to reduce the file to a much smaller size. However, Flash does an excellent job of reducing files sizes without causing too much image quality deterioration.
- Multiple delivery options: FLV files can be created for either streaming or progressive downloads.
- Availability of custom controls: With the Flash player, developers can create their own custom player controls
- Full-screen capabilities: With just the touch of a button on the player controls, viewers can switch to watching the video full screen (assuming the developer allows that option).
- Friendly start-up screen: While other players just show a blank screen as the video fi les begins to download, the Flash player allows you to customize a fi rst frame, like “Hold on—video will start shortly”, to let the viewer know that the video really is working.
The only true downside to using the Flash format is the extra step needed to convert original files from .mov, .wmv, or other formats into an .flv. Fortunately, this extra step is fairly simple and can be accomplished one of two ways:
- Use an online service: Popular video-sharing Web sites like YouTube and Google Video allow you to upload video files, which the sites will convert to .flv files and host for free. Each video-sharing site has its own pros and cons. Each has its own list of the types of files they can convert, how they will treat your videos (putting ads before or after them, for example), allowable file size, etc. Make sure you read the specifications for a video-sharing site before beginning the upload and conversion process.
- Run conversion software from your computers: With the appropriate software, you can also convert videos into the .flv format on your own computer.
Once converted, .flv files can still be uploaded to video-sharing sites. If you want to display them on your own site, you will need to install a Flash player on your server as well. A variety of software applications can be used for converting files, with the best being the Adobe Flash Professional package. A full list of programs, their costs, and comparisons can be found at the blog site associated with this book. A list of available Flash players can be found here, as well.