Technical information

by Forest Key and Chris Hock
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What is the difference between Flash MX and Flash MX Professional
2004 in terms of video features and capabilities?
Flash MX Professional 2004 adds significant video capabilities: Media
Components and Flash Video Exporter accelerate development and simplify
production workflow; slides and special media behaviors facilitate creating
advanced video presentations.
Flash Communication Server Streaming Questions
How does Flash Communication Server integrate with Flash MX 2004?
Flash Communication Server MX is tightly integrated with Flash MX 2004
to enable developers to create and deploy compelling, interactive
audio/video applications.
Flash Communication Server MX provides a complete set of authoring tools
that install in the Flash MX 2004 environment, including a number of
ActionScript statements, a new Communications App Inspector panel, a
NetConnection Debugger panel, and a number of prebuilt communications
components.
Using these authoring tools, developers use Flash MX 2004 to author their
applications (SWF files). When a Flash Communication Server application is
viewed in Flash Player 6, a persistent connection is made back to Flash
Communication Server. Audio, video, and data can then be streamed over
the persistent connection.
What are some of the benefits to using Flash Communication Server
MX for audio/video delivery?
Flash Communication Server MX provides a number of advantages for audio
and video delivery, including:
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Multiuser, multiway streaming: Built-in multipoint control enables
developers to take advantage of multiway, multiuser streaming to create
a whole new class of audio and video applications such as video on
demand, live event broadcast, webcam chat, and real -time collaboration
applications.
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Video capture: Developers can easily create applications that capture
video from standard webcams and DV cameras.
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Faster start and better buffering: Buffering enables videos to be seen
immediately rather than having the end-user wait.
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Programmable stream control: A server scripting environment enables
development of audio and video applications with unprecedented levels of
functionality and interactivity.
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Data Streaming: The distributed data synchronization capabilities in
FCS enable developers to create applications that use real -time data
such as close captioning, stock tickers, sports scores, or multiuser
games.