Flash Video

Flash® Video is viewable on most operating systems, via the widely available Adobe® Flash® Player and web browser plugin, or one of several third-party programs. This makes Flash® Video an extremely globally acceptable method of delivering your movies online to a wide audience.

Flash® Video files can be delivered in several different ways:

• As a standalone .FLV file. Although Flash® Video files are normally delivered using a Flash® player for control, the .FLV file itself is fully-functional on its own and can be played or converted to other formats from local storage such as a hard disk or a CD.
• Embedded in a SWF file using the Flash® authoring tool (supported in Flash® Player 6 and later). The entire file must be transferred before playback can begin. Changing the video requires rebuilding the SWF file.
• Progressive download via HTTP
• Streamed via RTMP to the Flash® Player using the Flash® Media Server

CD

Compact Disc

SWF

SWF (acronym of "Shockwave Flash" , pronounced swif) is a proprietary file format for multimedia and especially vector graphics. It was developed by Macromedia and is now, following their acquisition, coming from Adobe. Intended to be small enough for publication on the web, SWF files can contain animations or applets of varying degrees of interactivity and function. SWF is also sometimes used for creating animated display graphics and menus for DVD movies, and television commercials.

HTTP

HyperText Transfer Protocol

RTMP

Real Time Messaging Protocol