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Putting Flash Video online using Flix Pro
Dec 30, 2004
Author: Rick Hendershot

Putting Flash Video online using Flix Pro

by Rick Hendershot, The Linknet Creative Resource Library

In the first segment of this report I briefly mentioned why I found the Big 3 online video alternatives unsatisfactory (the Big 3 are Windows Media, Real Media, and Quicktime) for day-to-day online video use. Essentially it boils down to this: too many versions, too many variables, too much fragmentation of the "viewing audience". Encoding a simple video for online streaming can involve creating up to 9 or 10 different versions.

In the process of looking around for an alternative I stumbled onto Camtasia's implementation of Flash for encoding screen captures. This produces beautiful low fps movies where there is little change from frame to frame. But it is unsatisfactory for real video. And its audio controls — at least as far as I can remember — were quite limited.

A few weeks ago I started looking in earnest again for a "solution" to some of these problems. This new found interest in the stalled world of online media was brought on by a series of projects I took on in the real estate area. More and more people are looking to the web as their first source of real estate information, and most real estate agents and brokers continue to be only marginally literate in the ways of the web. In theory, at least, that spells "opportunity".

We are studying the feasibility of making online audio and video a significant part of our efforts -- if nothing else this would set our services apart from the alternatives. We decided this would involve two types of "programming": video-style "virtual tours", and information presented in the form of "radio" programs -- what you might call "talking articles".

Both of these required a simple technique that could easily be embedded in web pages. Flash seemed like the answer in both cases, but I didn't have the specifics figured out for either.

First, I wanted to tackle the video issue. Other than my own "talking articles" and online tutorials (mentioned above), I had not seen many workable instances of flash-encoded video. A quick Google search revealed that there were two companies seriously developing tools for encoding video in Flash. The first product is "Squeeze", from Sorenson, a major player in the video encoding business. Squeeze has been endorsed by Macromedia, and has been integrated into Macromedia's "Flash Video Kit". Since this seems to require Dreamweaver (which I do not use), and gives the distinct impression of pushing users towards the complete (expensive and difficult-to-use) Macromedia suite of tools, this was not going to be my first choice.

The other product is Flix from a company called Wildform. At first glance Flix appeared to be my sort of product. Free-standing, no hidden Macromedia-oriented agenda, apparently quite flexible, and lots of built-in "player" designs that should hold off for quite a while the desire to go into Flash MX and start designing new players.

Flix Pro is not real cheap -- 9 for a tool that encodes flash video. But it will encode from almost any other format including .wmv, .avi, .mpeg, mp4, mov/qt, and audio formats .mp3, .wav, and .wma), and then nicely wrap it up with one of several special built-in players. Add on the "Power Players" () and you'll have 135 players to choose from.

Flix Pro is a very nice product which quite effectively solves my embedded video problem. Now I can throw together a movie in Ulead MediaStudio Pro, output an all-purpose .avi, and have it flash-encoded and "player-ized" in no time at all. Here's an example. I expect it to be one of the methods we may use for a unique type of "virtual tour" product we are working on.












Video encoded with Flix Pro from .wmv file

This video was recorded in the spring of 2001. It was originally encoded for Windows Media at 320 x 240, 30 fps. The .wmv file was 16 mb. I crunched this through Flix Pro, encoding it at 15 fps, and reducing the audio quality slightly.

The player was added by Flix Pro at the same time as the encoding was done.

The .swf file came out at just over 10 mb. There is no significant quality loss in the .swf version, even with the reduction to 15 fps.

The group was called "Shadow Fax", four guys from 16 -18. The leader is my nephew, Dan Rochester. Dan continues to work on his music along with his brothers, Matt and Doh.

Please excuse the camera work. I took this at a live concert standing in the crowd just in front of the stage holding a little hand held video camera. The audio is what was picked up by the onboard mic. Pretty amazing, I thought at the time.

This is not "streaming". It is a "progressive download" which is similar to streaming, but not as efficient.


Rick Hendershot is the founding publisher of The Linknet Marketing Resource Library, and has been dabbling in online video and audio for a number of years.

The Linknet Network is a library of resource materials spread across more than 20 websites and a number of blogs. You can place your link text on 15 pages spread out over at least 15 different sites for one small annual fee. Sites that focus on Trade Show and Event Marketing include Vinyl Banners from America-Banners.com, Vinyl Banners from Banners-Canada.com, Low Cost PopUp Displays, Trade Show and Display Graphics.