AVChat Software Product Blog

We have a new build of our video recorder today, there are several new features and quite a few bug fixes.

Here’s what’s new:

• new JS API (onCamAccess) lets you know if the user allowed or denied access to the camera
• Logo overlay: ability to overlay a logo over the video, in the top right corner using the new overlayPath option in avc_settings.xxx
• Loopback microphone: there’s a new option (loopbackMic in avc_settings.xxx) that allows you to loop the mic back to the speakers/headphones during recording
• Countdown timer: ability to display a countdown timer until the recording will stop (countdownTimer in avc_settings.xxx).
• Butonless mode: ability to hide the menu entirely with the showMenu option in avc_settings.xxx  (Some people want to contro the HDFVR from Java Script entirely).
• HDFVR will only show the Privacy tab now (with Allow, Deny and Remember options) when trying to access the webcam microphone
• Lots of bug fixes especially regarding the Settings panel

You can go grab the new build from your client/trial area. To update just overwrite the old HDFVR files. You will loose your existing changes. Make a backup first just in case.

Just the client side files and the hdfvr app for FMIS have been changed. If you’re running HDFVR on Wowza or REd5 there’s no need to update your hdfvr app.

Lisa Larson Kelly has a great video up on Adobe Tv explaining the basics behind delivering prerecorded video using the Flash Platform.

In this short video tutorial you will learn about:

• video codecs and video file types supported by the Flash Platform
• delivery options (streaming vs. progressive)
• what software you can use to encode Flash Video
• where your video files can play (in a webpage using the Flash Player, AIR apps, Adobe Media Player)
• what makes up a simple flash video player

You can watch the video tutorial on the Adobe Tv website by following this link.

Adobe TV is a free online video resource for expert instruction and inspiration about Adobe products.

We’ve got a lot of emails on these topics recently so we decided to clarify the issue here.

Adobe announced support for h.264 video in Flash Player in August 2007 in this press release.

Adobe announced Flash Media Server 3 and Flash Media Encoder 2 in September 2007 in this press release.

Prerecorded h.264 video

Right now the latest Flash Player Beta Update available on Adobe Labs only supports playing/decoding of prerecorded video files encoded with h.264 and delivered using progressive download.

To deliver prerecorded h.264 video files to Flash Player applications (video players, etc…) using streaming we need to wait for Flash Media Server 3 due to be released in Spring 2008.

Flash Media Server 2 can only stream prerecorded .flv files encoded with ON2′s VP6 or with Sorenson Spark.

Live h.264 video

FME2-> FMS3 ->Flash Player apps

To deliver live h.264 video to Flash Player Applications (live video players, AVChat, etc…) we need to wait for Flash Media Encoder 2 and Flash Media Server 3 to be released. At that time we will be able to push live h.264 video feeds from FME2 to Flash Player Apps via FMS3.

Flash Player apps-> FMS3 ->Flash Player apps

If Flash Player will ever support encoding live video with h.264, then we will be able to deliver live h.264 video feeds from Flash Player applications (video chat software, etc.) to Flash Player apps (video players, etc.) using FMS3 as a streaming server!

Right now Flash Player can only encode live video using the older Sorenson Spark (h.263) video codec.