Using .mov files in Flash

[Joel Peregrine]

Up front – I’m no flash expert – but I use h.264 codec files with the mp4 extension created by compressor in conjunction with an flvplayer.swf file. I just change the .mp4 to .flv. The flash files on my preview page are all put together this way. I don’t believe .mov extensions can be changed to flv – only if the codec is supported by the flash specs. Others will know more specifics.

[Joel Peregrine]

Just a note – by “change .mp4 to .flv” I mean that you only change the extension name, not encode the file again. All flash needs to see is the extension .flv to know to play the file.

[Joey Williams]

I’ve tried out the mp4/h264 settings in compressor, but the file ends up being about twice the size as what I can do with .mov.

I’ve used the mp4 in the past, and I didn’t have to change extension to flv – mp4 is a digestible format for Flash.

Maybe I’m missing something, but the compression seems to be more efficient for .mov than the other formats. If this is the case, I’m going to have to end up using Quicktime for my videos instead of Flash. Hopefully Quicktime X will have something to do with that.

JW
TOAD ARRAY
https://toadarray.com

[John Fishback]

Changing the .mov extension of an h.264 encode to .flv definitely works. If the file size is too large, decrease the data rate in Compressor. I still like the On VP6 codec in Flash Encoder or Sorenson Squeeze which we use for encoding flvs.

John

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[Joey Williams]

Thanks for the tip. I’ll definitely try this out.

I must admit that I am a little confused about the workflow for this. I thought that Compressor would do all the encoding necessary for the video, but you mentioned using Flash Encoder.

Should I be encoding this separately from the Compressor?

I appreciate the info.

JW
TOAD ARRAY
https://toadarray.com

[John Fishback]

Up until a version (or so) ago, Flash Player would only play flv codecs. Then Adobe incorporated the h.264 codec and the flv extension could be attached to those files (change .mov to .flv). So now, you can use Compressor to make h.264 files that will be play in Flash Player. At the same time, you can use external encoders to do the same. I have not read about or seen comparisons of h.264 encodes vs. flv encodes, but I suspect the quality would be similar with the proper choices of encoding parameters. Perhaps a post in the Compression Techniques forum would provide you more detailed information.

John

MacPro 8-core 2.8GHz 8 GB RAM OS 10.5.5 QT7.5.5 Kona 3 Dual Cinema 23 ATI Radeon HD 3870, 24″ TV-Logic Monitor, ATTO ExpressSAS R380 RAID Adapter, PDE enclosure with 8-drive 6TB RAID 5
FCS 2 (FCP 6.0.5, Comp 3.0.5, DVDSP 4.2.1, Color 1.0.3)

Pro Tools HD w SYNC IO, Yamaha DM1000, Millennia Media HV-3C, Neumann U87, Schoeps Mk41 mics, Genelec Monitors, PrimaLT ISDN

[Joey Williams]

Thanks for the info John – I do appreciate it. I will definitely be looking into this more.

JW
TOAD ARRAY
https://toadarray.com