You can deploy digital video in Flash in several different ways:

• Progressive download from a web server
• Streaming video using Adobe Flash Media Streaming Server
• Embedded video data directly inside a Flash file

When you stream video, each Flash client opens a persistent connection to Flash Media Server and a controlled relationship exists between the video being delivered and the client interaction. Flash Media Server uses bandwidth detection to deliver video or audio content based on the user's available bandwidth. This enables you to provide different content for users based on their ability to easily access and download content. For example, if a user accesses the video content with a dial-up modem, you can deliver an appropriately encoded file that doesn't require too much bandwidth.

Flash Media Server also provides you with quality of service metrics, detailed tracking and reporting statistics, and a range of interactive features designed to enhance the video experience. As with progressive downloading, the video content (FLV or F4V file) is kept external to the other Flash content and the video playback controls. This lets you easily add or change content without having to republish the SWF file.

Streaming video with Flash Media Server (FMS) or Flash Video Streaming Service (FVSS) provides the following advantages over embedded and progressively downloaded video:

• Video playback starts sooner than it does using other methods of incorporating video
• Streaming uses less of the client's memory and disk space because the clients don't need to download the entire file
• Network resources are used more efficiently because only the parts of the video that are viewed are sent to the client
• Delivery of media is more secure because media is not saved to the client's cache when streamed
• Streaming video provides better tracking, reporting, and logging ability
• Streaming lets you deliver live video and audio presentations, or capture video from a web cam or digital video camera
• Flash Media Server enables multiway and multiuser streaming for video chat, video messaging, and video conferencing applications
• By using server-side scripting to control video and audio streams, you can create server-side playlists, synchronized streams, and more intelligent delivery options based on the client's connection speed.