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Working with the Flash 8 Video Encoder

Working with the Flash 8 Video Encoder

The Flash 8 Video Encoder is installed in a separate directory as part of your Flash 8 Professional installation. This section walks you through some of its capabilities and features. After you know where and how to change the settings, check out the tables at the end. They give you some recommended settings for various types of projects.

When you launch the Flash 8 Video Encoder, you are presented with a simple interface. You can add content to the encoding queue by clicking the Add button or by dragging content to the queue window (see Figure 1). The default setting for encoding is Medium Quality 400 Kbps. If your source is 320 x 240 pixels or less, you may be ready to click the Start Queue button now. These default settings will give you good-quality VP6 video at the same frame size and frame rate as the source.

Cue window of the Flash Video Encoder

Figure 1. Cue window of the Flash Video Encoder

If you need to change the settings or use more advanced settings, highlight one or more source files and click the Settings button.

Tip: If you want to encode the same source with different settings, highlight the source, click the Duplicate button, and then adjust the settings separately for each instance of the source.

Within this simple settings dialog box you can set your source to encode to any of the Flash 7 or Flash 8 presets. You can also rename the output file and adjust (or trim) the in/out points for the encoding process. If you need to adjust further, click the Show Advanced Settings button to reveal more encoding options (see Figure 2).

Advanced encoding settings

Figure 2. Advanced encoding settings

The Crop and Trim tab gives you advanced options for cropping the frame as well as information on the trim settings (see Figure 3).

Crop and Trim tab

Figure 3. Crop and Trim tab

Tip: To avoid any distortion when cropping video, crop according to the ratio of the source. For example, when cropping a 4 x 3 source (240 x 180, 320 x 240, and so on) crop three pixels from the height for every four pixels cropped from the width. For extremely accurate trim settings, click one of the trim tabs on the bottom of the scrubber and use the left and right keypad arrows to adjust the settings.

On the Encoding tab you can create a custom setting by making adjustments to the frame rate, keyframe interval, frame size, and the audio or video bit rate (see Figure 4).

Encoding tab

Figure 4. Encoding tab

Tip: Never resize larger than the cropped frame size of the source.

Tables 1 and 2 give you a head start on adjusting the encoding settings for your projects. The most important variable is the amount of movement in the clip. Fast-moving music videos need a higher bit rate. Talking-head videos can be encoded using the lower bit rate settings. Adjust audio settings according to how important the audio is to your project. Music should be in stereo and go higher than 64 Kbps. Speech clips can be in mono and go as low as 16 Kbps.

Table 1. Recommended Flash Video Encoder Specs with VP6 Codec: High-Motion Video
High-Motion Video Total Bit Rate Video Bit Rate Audio Bit Rate Frame Size Frame Rate Video/Film Source Keyframe Interval*
Modem – Streaming** 40K 24K 16K mono 160 x 120 7.5/8 fps 8 sec.
Modem – Progressive 80K 64K 16K mono 160 x 120 7.5/8 fps 8 sec.
Small 220K 188K 32K mono 240 x 180 15/12 fps 8 sec.
Medium 400K 336K 64K mono 320 x 240 30/24 fps 8 sec.
Large 850K 754K 96K stereo 480 x 360 30/24 fps 8 sec.
X-Large 1400K 1304K 96K stereo 640 x 480 30/24 fps 8 sec.

* Start with an 8-second frame interval for all, and work down as needed.

** No real choice for 56K modem streaming. You must stay under 40K and you shouldn’t take MP3 audio under 16K.

Table 2. Recommended Flash Video Encoder Specs with VP6 Codec: Low-Motion Video
Low-Motion Video Total Bit Rate Video Bit Rate Audio Bit Rate* Frame Size Frame Rate Video/Film Source Keyframe Interval
Modem – Streaming 40K 24K 16K mono 160 x 120 7.5/8 fps 8 sec.
Modem – Progressive 50K 34K 16K mono 160 x 120 7.5/8 fps 8 sec.
Small 100K 68K 32K mono 240 x 180 15/12 fps 8 sec.
Medium 180K 132K 48K mono 320 x 240 30/24 fps 8 sec.
Large 350K 286K 64K mono 480 x 360 30/24 fps 8 sec.
X-Large 600K 504K 96K stereo 640 x 480 30/24 fps 8 sec.

* Lots of room for adjustments here. For the interview I encoded, I could have used 32K audio throughout.

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