These are the largest frames of the three, and the highest-quality, but the least efficient from a compression perspective. • P-frames: P-frames are 'predicted' frames.

Adobe Encoder Setup. You will need to start the Adobe Flash Media Live Encoder. If you opt to do Audio-Only without the AAC plugin the webcast will be. Adobe Flash Media Live Encoder 3.0 (FMLE) already includes the MainConcept H.264 Encoder technology to create professional video streams. Now using the AAC.

Specifically, the Coded Video Sequence refers to a 'Group of Pictures' or GOP, which is the building block of the H.264 stream—that is, each H.264 stream is composed of multiple GOPs. Each GOP starts with an I-frame and includes all frames up to, but not including, the next I-frame. By choosing a Coded Video Sequence size of 300, you're telling Flash Media Encoding Server to create a GOP of 300 frames, or basically the same as an I-frame interval of 300. IDR frames I'll describe the Number of B-Pictures setting further on, and I've addressed Entropy Coding Mode already; but I wanted to explain the Minimum IDR interval and IDR frequency. I'll start by defining an IDR frame.

Then install Adobe Flash Media Live Encoder or another software encoder such as Wirecast as well as h264 video codec and AAC audio codec on. A plugin for $180. MainConcept AAC Encoder Plug-In – Powerful AAC support for Adobe® Flash® Media Live Encoder 2.5.

A couple of things. First, unlike VP6, which is available only from On2, there are multiple suppliers of H.264 codecs, including MainConcept, whose codec Adobe uses in Adobe Media Encoder and Adobe Flash Media Encoding Server. I've compared the quality of H.264 files produced with H.264 codecs from other vendors, and. In general, while the overall quality of other codecs has improved, there are some tools to avoid out there.

Look for the application.onConnect function. You may find the line p_client.writeAccess, which prevents live streaming from happening by default. If you see it, be sure to comment out this line as follows. Following is a key with descriptions for the numbered sections in Figure 2: • Menus • Preview displays: input (left) and output (right) • Control panel: preset selector, video encoding settings, audio encoding settings, and output settings (not shown output metadata and encoding log) • Control buttons: start and stop Note: For a full description of all Flash Media Live Encoder's features, review the in-product help. You can access the help from the main menu by selecting Help > Flash Media Live Encoder Help. Sending your first live stream from Flash Media Live Encoder to Flash Media Server. To configure Flash Media Live Encoder to send your first live stream: • Hook up a video source to the computer that Flash Media Live Encoder will be running on.

Please note that the Adobe Encoder is no longer being supported or updated by Adobe. If you are looking for a free software to broadcast with we recommend looking into. The Adobe software will still install and run on Windows PCs but we no longer recommend it due to the fact that it is no longer being supported by Adobe. This page is a step-by-step on how to set up Adobe’s for LIVE broadcast on SermonAudio. For more on what other options are available and what is needed to set up your account for webcasting visit our.

• On the Components panel, expand the Video group and drag an instance of the FLVPlayback component to the Stage. • Select the instance of the FLVPlayback now on the Stage and, in the Properties panel, assign it the instance name myFLVPlayback.

In contrast, with regular I-frames, B and P-frames located after the I-frame can refer back to reference frames located before the I-frame. In terms of random access within the video stream, playback can always start on an IDR frame because no frame refers to any frames behind it. However, playback cannot always start on a non-IDR I-frame because subsequent frames may reference previous frames. Since one of the key reasons to insert I-frames into your video is to enable interactivity, I use the default setting of 1, which makes every I-frame an IDR frame.

• In the Insert Flash Video dialog box, from the Video type pop-up menu at the top, select Streaming Video. The appearance of the Insert Flash Video dialog box changes as shown in Figure 3. Regarding the main.asc file, for this article you copied a duplicate of main.asc earlier in the section on configuring Flash Media Server. When you publish to a production server, the contents of this main.asc file must be included in the main.asc file in the application directory on your production server.

As you would guess, the higher-level profiles use more advanced encoding algorithms and produce better quality (see Figure 2). To produce this comparison, I encoded the same source file to the same encoding parameters. The file on the left uses the Main Profile; the files on the right uses the Baseline. A quick check of the chart in Figure 1 reveals that the Main Profile enables B slices (also called B-frames) and the higher-quality CABAC encoding, which I define later in this article. As you can see, these do help the Main Profile deliver higher-quality video than the Baseline. So, the Main and High profiles deliver better quality than the Baseline Profile; what's the catch? The catch is, as you use more advanced encoding techniques, the file becomes more difficult to decompress, and may not play smoothly on older, slower computers. Sony vegas serial number 1tr.

Since one of the key reasons to insert I-frames into your video is to enable interactivity, I use the default setting of 1, which makes every I-frame an IDR frame. If you use a setting of 0, only the first I-frame in the video file will be an IDR frame, which could make the file sluggish during random access. A setting of 2 makes every second I-frame an IDR frame, while a setting of 3 makes every third I-frame an IDR frame, and so on.

According to their website, MPEG-LA must disclose licensing terms at least one year before they become due, or no later than December 31, 2009. Until then, we're unfortunately in the dark as to which uses of H.264 video will incur royalties, and the extent of these charges. For more information on H.264-related royalties, check out my article,, at StreamingMedia.com.

While any quality difference is likely to be very minor, I generally change this to the High profile before encoding (see Figure 11). Other than this, the only setting that I modify is the Set Key Frame Distance in the Advanced Setting section, which I always enable, and insert 300 for Key Frame Distance. I always use the default values for Audio, changing only the data rate and channels to match my content and encoding targets. Flash Media Server and Flash Player can both stream or play back any H.264 file in virtually any format, so either the F4V or MP4 container would work. If you want a file that can be played by both QuickTime Player and Flash Player, I would choose MP4; otherwise, use F4V.

Each GOP starts with an I-frame and includes all frames up to, but not including, the next I-frame. By choosing a Coded Video Sequence size of 300, you're telling Flash Media Encoding Server to create a GOP of 300 frames, or basically the same as an I-frame interval of 300. IDR frames I'll describe the Number of B-Pictures setting further on, and I've addressed Entropy Coding Mode already; but I wanted to explain the Minimum IDR interval and IDR frequency. I'll start by defining an IDR frame. Briefly, the H.264 specification enables two types of I-frames: normal I-frames and IDR frames. With IDR frames, no frame after the IDR frame can refer back to any frame before the IDR frame.

In some rare instances, as with the decision to include B-frames in the stream, you trigger both trade-offs, increasing both decoding complexity and encoding time. To return to profiles: At a high level, think about profiles as a convenient point of agreement for device manufacturers and video producers.

Note: If there already is a main.asc file on your production server, be sure to check with your Flash Media Server administrator before possibly overwriting any existing main.asc file. Creating a playback SWF file to embed in your web page: Using Flash CS3 Professional. Fl ash CS3 Professional includes the FLVPlayback component, which makes it easy to insert and display Flash video in your websites.

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The third group, which is clearly the largest, is for free Internet broadcast. Here, there will be no royalties until December 31, 2010 (source: ). After that, 'the royalty shall be no more than the economic equivalent of royalties payable during the same time for free television.' According to their website, MPEG-LA must disclose licensing terms at least one year before they become due, or no later than December 31, 2009. Until then, we're unfortunately in the dark as to which uses of H.264 video will incur royalties, and the extent of these charges. For more information on H.264-related royalties, check out my article,, at StreamingMedia.com. H.264 and Flash Player As I mentioned, Adobe added H.264 playback support to Adobe Flash Player 9 Update 3 back in 2007.

Flash CS3 includes both ActionScript 2.0 and ActionScript 3.0 versions of FLVPlayback. The ActionScript 2.0 version is the same FLVPlayback component that shipped with Flash Professional 8. The ActionScript 3.0 version is new with Flash CS3 Professional and includes support for Flash Player 9 features such as full-screen video on playback.

(For comparative playback statistics for H.264, VP6 and VC-1, check out my StreamingMedia.com article,.) In general, this means that as long as you're producing SD video at 640 × 480 resolution and lower, it should play fine on most post–2003 computers. If you're producing at 720p or higher, these streams won't play smoothly on many of these computers. You should consider offering an alternative SD stream for these viewers. What about H.264 levels? If producing for mobile devices with limited screen resolution and bandwidth, you also have to choose the correct level, which again should be specified by the device manufacturer. However, since Flash Player can handle any level supported by any of the supported profiles, you don't have to worry about levels when producing for Flash Player playback on a personal computer.

If throughput is critical, I would do the following: • Use the default value of 2 for reference frames • Enable all 'fast' encoding options • Use a 16 × 16 Search shape • Use a Full pixel for Motion estimation subpixel mode • Enable two or four slices, assuming that you were encoding on a multiple-core system If you take this route, however, you should compare the output from these parameters with the output using the recommended settings shown in Figure 13 to see if the faster encoding parameters make a noticeable quality difference. On the audio front, I would use the default values and change only the target bitrate and channels to match my targets. I also use the default values for other H.264 encoding parameters, like Timestamps and Sequence End codes, that Flash Media Encoding Server makes available. Go encode some video. Where to go from here To learn more about the topics described in this article, check out some of my favorite references: • • • • • •.

• From the main menu, choose File > New > Flash File (ActionScript 3.0). • Save the new file as myLiveVideoAS3.fla.

To export a file using Adobe Media Encoder, select a format in the Export Settings dialog box for the output. The selected format determines the preset options that are available. Select the format best suited for your desired output. Adobe Media Encoder is used both as a stand-alone application and as a component of Adobe Premiere Pro, After Effects, Prelude, Audition, and Animate. The formats that Adobe Media Encoder can export depend on which of these applications are installed.

This makes B-frames the most efficient frame of the three. Note that B-frames are not available when producing using H.264's Baseline Profile. Now that you know the function of each frame type, I'll show you how to optimize their usage. Working with I-frames Though I-frames are the least efficient from a compression perspective, they do perform two invaluable functions. First, all playback of an H.264 video file has to start at an I-frame because it's the only frame type that doesn't refer to any other frames during encoding. Since almost all streaming video may be played interactively, with the viewer dragging a slider around to different sections, you should include regular I-frames to ensure responsive playback. This is true when playing a video streamed from Flash Media Server, or one distributed via progressive download.

• Format: H.264 • Frame Rate: 30 (frame rates lower than 30fps may cause difficulty with some mobile devices.) • Input Size: 480×270 (this may be different depending on the input device) • Output Size: 480×270 • Bitrate: 150kps (Anything between 110kbps-150kbps is recommended) • Video Profile: Baseline 3.1 Recommended encoding settings for HIFI webcast. If you are unsure of what to enter feel free to use these exact settings for your initial webcast setup. You can lower the bitrate, or change the video size if needed for your particular setup. HIFI video settings for webcast. • Format: H.264 • Frame Rate: 30 (frame rates lower than 30fps may cause difficulty with some mobile devices.) • Input Size: 1280×720 (this may be different depending on the input device) • Stream 1: • Bitrate: up to 1Mbps • Output Size: 1280×720, or 1024×576 • Stream 2: • Bitrate: 150kbps • Output Size: 480×270 Important!

HEVC (H.265): 4K HD, 8K HD, HD 720p, HD 1080p Match Source - High Bit Rate, SD 480p, and SD 480p Wide. Supports 8-bit encoding and 10-bit encoding including High Dynamic Range and Rec2020. MPEG-2: M2T, M2V, MPA, MPG, WAV (PCM audio) Audio options are MPEG and PCM. Supports match source. MPEG-2 DVD (M2V, MPG, MPA (audio), WAV (PCM audio) Supports match source. MPEG-2 Blu-ray (M2V, M2T, WAV) MPEG-4 (3GP, MP4, M4V, AAC (audio)) Audio option is AAC. MXF OP1a (AVC-Intra, JPEG 2000, XAVC, IMX, XDCAM, XDCAM EX, XDCAM HD, DV, DVCPRO and AVC-LongGOP), XAVC Intra (including Hybrid Log Gamma) and XAVC LongGOP Supported in MXF container.

This observation illustrates one of the two trade-offs typically presented by H.264 encoding parameters. One trade-off is better quality for a file that is harder to decompress. The other trade-off is a parameter that delivers better quality at the expense of encoding time. In some rare instances, as with the decision to include B-frames in the stream, you trigger both trade-offs, increasing both decoding complexity and encoding time. To return to profiles: At a high level, think about profiles as a convenient point of agreement for device manufacturers and video producers. Mobile phone vendor A wants to build a phone that can play H.264 video but needs to keep the cost, heat, and size requirements down.

If producing for mobile devices, this typically means the Baseline Profile, but check the documentation for that device to be sure. If producing for Flash Player consumption on Windows or Macintosh computers, this means the High Profile. This sounds nice and tidy, but understand this: While encoding using the Baseline Profile ensures smooth playback on your target mobile device, using the High Profile for files bound for computer playback doesn't provide the same assurance. That's because the High Profile supports H.264 video produced at a maximum resolution of 4096 × 2048 pixels and a data rate of 720 Mbps. Few desktop computers could display a complete frame, much less play back that stream at 30 frames per second. Accordingly, while producing for devices is all about profile, producing for computers is all about your video configuration. Here, the general rule is that decoding H.264 video is about as computationally intense as VP6—or Windows Media, for that matter.

If producing for Flash Player consumption on Windows or Macintosh computers, this means the High Profile. This sounds nice and tidy, but understand this: While encoding using the Baseline Profile ensures smooth playback on your target mobile device, using the High Profile for files bound for computer playback doesn't provide the same assurance.

The maximum differential that I saw was 10 percent, which isn't enough to affect my recommendation to always use the High Profile except when producing for devices that support only the Baseline Profile. Advanced B-frame options Adobe Flash Media Encoding Server also includes the B and P-frame related controls shown in Figure 8. Adaptive B-frame placement allows the encoder to override the Number of B-Pictures value when it will enhance the quality of the encoded stream; for instance, when it detects a scene change and substitutes an I-frame for the B. I always enable this setting.

If you like using command line, then you can use this feature to control the encoder programmatically. Alternatively, you can use the streamlined and intuitive interface. The enhanced auto adjust feature ensures real-time delivery even when the network conditions are relatively poor. Including different parameters in the names of your streams and files ensures easier management. Adobe Flash Media Live Encoder gives you plenty of features if you want to stream live events, whether they are concerts, webcasts or sporting events.

Choose a preset that uses a resolution equal to or higher than your target to ensure that you use the proper Profile and Level. Figure 13 shows the H.264-related parameters in Flash Media Encoding Server. On the left are the default values for the preset selected in Figure 12. On the right are the values I would use. Big red asterisks identify recommended changes from the preset values, none of which are very dramatic. As I discussed earlier, I would extend the GOP size to 300 and use adaptive B-frame placement to provide the encoder with maximum flexibility.

FVSS provides an alternative to owning and operating your own FMS servers. • Web server: Simple HTTP server hosting the Flash SWF file that is downloaded by the audience's computers to receive the webcast event.

I typically use a value of 4. Finally, though it's not technically related to B-frames, consider the number of Slices per picture, which can be 1, 2, or 4. At a value of 4, the encoder divides each frame into four regions and searches for redundancies in other frames only within the respective region. This can accelerate encoding on multicore computers because the encoder can assign the regions to different cores.

Second, some older encoding tools do not offer output directly into F4V format. If F4V format is not offered in your encoding tool, the best alternative is to produce an MPEG-4 compatible streaming media file using the.mp4 extension. With this as background, I'll describe the most common H.264 encoding parameters. Though H.264 codecs come from different vendors, they use the same general encoding techniques and typically present similar encoding options. Here I review the most common H.264 encoding options.