We use the flash technology almost everywhere. But let’s see how it is delivered to the end user. There are several ways :

1.       The first and commonly used is as a standalone .FLV file. The big advantage  here is that the .FLV file is fully functional on its own and can be played or converted to formats from local storage such as DVDs, HDD, CDs etc.

2.       The second way to embedded the video in a SWF file using a FLASH software which should support Flash Player 6 or later version. The file must be transferred before the begin of playback. The cons here is that if you want to change the video you have to rebuild the whole SWF file. This method is not so cost&time – effective as previous. But is a widely used too.

3.       Progressive download via HTTP (supported in Flash Player 7 and later). This method uses Action Script to include an externally hosted Flash Video file client-side for playback. Progressive download has several advantages, including buffering, use of generic HTTP servers, and the ability to reuse a single SWF player for multiple Flash Video sources. Flash Player 8 includes support for random access within video files using the partial download functionality of HTTP, sometimes this is referred to as streaming.

4.       Streamed via RTMP to the Flash Player using the Flash Media Server (formerly called Flash Communication Server), VCS, ElectroServer, or the open source Red5 server. As of August 2007, there are three stream recorders available for this protocol, re-encoding screencast software excluded.