# Flash Video Player



## mrtechnique (Jan 3, 2007)

I'm developing a site for a non-profit foundation. They want to have a flash video player like the one at the following site:

http://www.answerthecall.net/site/c.eeIMLROpGjF/b.795387/k.A124/Mission_Service_Corps_Home.htm

I've noticed these types of players at all websites as opposed to an embedded Windows Media Player. Is there an easy way to have this type of video player without having to create it from scratch in Flash? I'm probably a beginner to intermediate at the most at Flash development. Thank you everybody in advance.


----------



## TheRobatron (Oct 25, 2007)

You don't have to make one from scratch - there are plenty of free ones.

http://flowplayer.org/ looks like one of the best ones.


----------



## Eriksrocks (Aug 7, 2005)

The one I've seen a *ton* around the web is the JW FLV player, it's also #1 on Google.

http://www.jeroenwijering.com/?item=JW_FLV_Player



> The JW FLV Media Player (built with Adobe's Flash) is an easy and flexible way to add video and audio to your website. It supports playback of any format the Adobe Flash Player can handle (FLV, but also MP3, H264, SWF, JPG, PNG and GIF). It also supports RTMP and HTTP (Lighttpd) streaming, RSS, XSPF and ASX playlists, a wide range of flashvars (variables), an extensive javascript API and accessibility features.


----------



## mrtechnique (Jan 3, 2007)

The JW FLV Player is great, but if I want to use it for my clients, I'll have to pay the licensing fee. For unrestricted use it is around $230. Is there a way around this? Or is there an alternative? I like the video player on http://www.ufc.com/. You can click on one of the thumbnails to see the video player. Also, can anyone recommend a flv encoder? I've tried to use the Riva FLV Encoder and I get an ffmpeg.exe error everytime I try to encode a video. The online encoder at www.zamzar.com works ok, but sometimes that one crashes as well.


----------



## Eriksrocks (Aug 7, 2005)

mrtechnique said:


> The JW FLV Player is great, but if I want to use it for my clients, I'll have to pay the licensing fee. For unrestricted use it is around $230. Is there a way around this? Or is there an alternative? I like the video player on http://www.ufc.com/. You can click on one of the thumbnails to see the video player. Also, can anyone recommend a flv encoder? I've tried to use the Riva FLV Encoder and I get an ffmpeg.exe error everytime I try to encode a video. The online encoder at www.zamzar.com works ok, but sometimes that one crashes as well.


I don't believe that a non-profit is classified as a commercial organization, but I could be wrong. As long as you're using it on a non-profit site, you shouldn't have to purchase a commercial license. The one on the UFC site is the standard Flash video player that you can create in Adobe Flash.

The best FLV encoder is the one that comes with Flash itself, but I'm sure that there are many more out there.


----------



## mrtechnique (Jan 3, 2007)

Can I create that Flash Video Player in Flash MX 2004 or do I have to have the latest version? How about the video player on this site:

http://www.readtheanswer.com/

Is this a pre-made player from Adobe Flash as well? Thanks.


----------



## Eriksrocks (Aug 7, 2005)

I believe you need Flash MX 2004 *Professional*, but otherwise yes (I think).  The www.readtheanswer.com one is also a pre-made player from Flash. 

EDIT: Otherwise if it's getting too complicated between licensing the JW player and using Flash's pre-made one, you could go with Robatron's suggestion (Flow Player).


----------

