Exploring Flash Player support for high-definition H.264 video and AAC audio
David Hassoun
The next major step in the video revolution is here. Flash Player 9 Update is taking a step into the high-definition (HD) video realm in a major way by adding MPEG-4 video to its already impressive ranks of video support. MPEG-4 utilizes crisp, powerful H.264 encoding and is an industry standard for video, which includes high-definition (HD) delivery. It is also the standard for HD content online and on devices such as your home television.
To pair with the excellent visual power of H.264 encoded video, Flash Player 9 Update also supports HE-AAC audio, which is the higher quality successor to MP3. Advanced Audio Coding (AAC) is a high-efficiency (HE) and high-fidelity (HiFi), low-bandwidth audio codec that can be used with or without video.
These codecs allow users to stream high-quality video at low bit rates. In addition, this update to Flash Player makes it possible to leverage tools that are standard across the industry, such as Adobe Premiere Pro, Adobe After Effects, Adobe Soundbooth, and Adobe Audition—and even such non-Adobe technology as Apple Final Cut Pro—to create and deliver compelling video content. Future updates are even being planned for Adobe Creative Suite 3 (CS3) to enhance end-to-end H.264 content development and distribution. The future is looking very bright indeed.
The new video and audio capabilities are available in Adobe Flash Player 9 Update 3 (version 9,0,115,0) and will be included in the upcoming release of Adobe AIR. Both platforms will have the ability to stream from the next generation of Flash Media Server, due to release early next year. The new Adobe Media Player, a powerful new AIR application, will also support H.264, HE-AAC, and encrypted video content using the new Flash Media Rights Management Server from Adobe.
So does this new Flash Player support for MPEG-4 and H.264 mean that it will replace the On2 VP6 codec? Absolutely not. The addition of H.264 gives developers greater choice to select the technology that best meets their needs. The current implementation of H.264 does have some limitations, such as lack of support for alpha channel and the inability to embed video into a SWF file. On2 VP6 is a solid, high-quality choice for Flash-based video projects. The On2 VP6 codec is also clear of any licensing issues that may arise with MPEG-LA. (Licensing information can be found on the MPEG LA and Via Licensing sites.) The On2 VP6 codec will remain a consistent and viable option for media delivery—see the On2 VP6 technology white paper (PDF, 140K) for more information. The added support for H.264 simply means that there are now more options and wider spread compatibility for high quality and HD video.
This article takes a look at the new codecs and file types supported in Flash Player "Moviestar." In the article I'll show you how to import both H.264 video and AAC audio into Flash, examine how to use hardware acceleration with the new Flash Player Update, and provide instructions on how to import the metadata included with MPEG-4 files.
Requirements
To complete this tutorial you will need to install the following software and files:
Flash CS3 Professional
Note: For users of Flash CS3 Professional, an update including all debug and release versions of Flash Player 9 Update 3—and a new video playback component supporting H.264—is now available via Adobe Update Manager or directly from the Flash Support Center.
Flash Player 9 Update 3 (9,0,115,0) or later
Sample files:
- h264_as3_samples.zip (ZIP, 48.3 MB)
- h264_as2_samples.zip (ZIP, 48.4 MB)
Note: The archive file h264_as3_samples.zip contains sample files for creating an H.264 video player and MP4 player in Adobe Flash using ActionScript 3.0. There are both video and audio sample files, as well as FLA files for each individual walkthrough in the article. The archive file h264_as2_samples.zip provides sample ActionScript 2.0 files as an alternative to the ActionScript 3.0 walkthroughs in the article.
