AVC encoding for Flash 9...?

[easy2Bcheesy]

Having done a search, it appears that the JW FLV player can run h.264 videos, just so long as the .mp4 extension is changed to .flv (really?).

Well I've tried it and I'm having no luck. I'm thinking that it may be because I encoded to level 4.1 specs.

Any ideas on what kind of encoding profile I can use to produce Flash-compliant h.264 videos?

And any fool-proof ways to try out the content locally? Does JW really work with h.264?

[nm]

I'd guess that the version of the Mainconcept H.264 decoder shipped with Flash handles high levels just fine. Do you have the Flash Player 9 update ("Moviestar") (http://labs.adobe.com/technologies/flashplayer9/) installed so that you actually have the decoder available?

Newest JW FLV player versions shouldn't require changing filename extensions.

[easy2Bcheesy]

I've just downloaded the latest release candidate and the JW FLV player doesn't want to know. And while your assistance is greatfully appreciated, I really haven't got a clue what to do with any webserver, portable or otherwise!

I don't suppose you could try this (http://216.75.63.164/assassin-test.mp4) .mp4 on your site test? It's all standard aside from using anamorphic pixels.

[sillKotscha]

u don't need a server to test it... just dl the player and extract it to somewhere...

inside u will find many files - one of them is video.flv and the other is flvplayer.html.

open flvplayer.html with an editor (e.g. notepad) and search to the line "s1.addVariable("file","video.flv");"

there you replace video.flv with your file, read 'video.mp4' (or in your case = assassin-test.mp4) ...

save the html file and double click it (= open it)...

the 1st example should work now ...

btw - your file plays perfectly :)

PS: that works because in that html file you have relative linking to your file, thus just place a videofile inside it, rename it accordingly in the html file and test it :)

PPS: you will see your file in wrong AR ... that is because you just test the file if it works or not - if you want to have the right AR just change width and height of the player according to your video...

for fullscreen experience for everyone no matter what monitor is used (16:10 or 4:3) just type the flashvars:

s1.addVariable('overstretch','true');

last edit: follow my signature and have a look at my "sourcecode" of my html file

ok - very last edit :)

for easy access here is the short version of my html file...


<title>testing mp4</title>

<script type="text/javascript" src="scripts/swfobject.js"></script>

<script type="text/javascript">

<div class="c5" id="vj">

<strong><a href="http://www.adobe.com/go/getflashplayer"><img src="images/flash.gif" alt="get flash player" width="88" height="31" /></a><br />
to see some nice music videos. Or your browser does not support Javascript (you should enable it, perhaps?)</strong>
</div><script type="text/javascript">

//<![CDATA[

var so = new SWFObject('media/flvplayer.swf','mpl','400','440','9');
so.useExpressInstall('scripts/expressinstall.swf');
so.addParam('allowfullscreen','true');
so.addParam('allowscriptaccess','always');
so.addVariable('displayheight','300');
so.addVariable('file','http://feedbeat.feedbeat.tv/rss/');
so.addVariable('logo','images/watermark.png');
so.addVariable('repeat','list');
so.addVariable('height','440');
so.addVariable('width','400');
so.addVariable('frontcolor','0xADADAD');
so.addVariable('backcolor','0x343434');
so.addVariable('lightcolor','0xA19271');
so.addVariable('screencolor','0x343434');
so.addVariable('thumbsinplaylist','true');
so.addVariable('overstretch','true');
so.addVariable('shuffle','false');
so.addVariable('smoothing','true');
so.addVariable('autostart','true');
so.addVariable('volume','100');
so.write('vj');

//]]>
</script>
</body>
</html>



very, very last edit ;)

those two lines are important...

var so = new SWFObject('media/flvplayer.swf','mpl','400','440','9');

so.useExpressInstall('scripts/expressinstall.swf');

as u should use SWFobject (it is already in your player folder) you can define with the number the minimum flash version your visitors should have installed... just by a number - here 9 - or precise version number...

if a user have a flash version below your defined one, SWFobject will automatically update flash to your defined variable (it asks before doing anything - so it is safe for everyone)... neat isn't it :)

just a proof to believe me your file is working...

http://img3.freeimagehosting.net/uploads/9330d4e6d2.jpg (http://www.freeimagehosting.net/)

[easy2Bcheesy]

Yes, the file is encoded 480x360, but is designed to be played back at 640x360. The human eye is far more tolerant of compromises in horizontal resolution vs vertical. Indeed, 360x360 expanded 2:1 widthways looks better.

Thanks a lot for your post but just one thing I don't quite get. When you say "download the player", er, what player? The previous poster has something like 4-5 different versions in his post and I'm assuming you don't mean the JW player as that's a standalone executable.

I'm a complete novice to web coding, as you might have realised by now ;)

[sillKotscha]

you don't mean the JW player as that's a standalone executable.

i do ;)

JW FLV PLAYER
(http://www.jeroenwijering.com/?item=JW_FLV_Player)

you have to look for the download link as I will not hotlink...

[easy2Bcheesy]

Ok, thanks, I'm checking that out now :)

[sillKotscha]

as far as it is about Jeroen's nice player I try to answer every question you have...

I went through a looong learning process (where to place what in my html, which flashvars are usefull, what is it with that SWFobject, etc.) and want to share my experiences now :)

btw, in the zip file of Jeroen's player swfobject.js - as I said - is already included... but that's just the plain js file (btw. u need it for best embedding of any flash object/ javascript and because MS somewhen had to introduce content clicking - u know what I mean when u use MSIS 6/7 and before u can use a flash object u have to click and activate it) ...

here u find the full info about SWFobject (http://blog.deconcept.com/swfobject/)... again there is a download link for it and withing that zip file u will find expressinstall.swf as mentioned earlier...

[easy2Bcheesy]

OK... got it working, with just one problem... the anamorphic pixels in the encoding are not being respected and I can't get the full 640x360 from the 480x360 encoding...

Any ideas on whether anamorphic pixels are supported?

[sillKotscha]

set so.addVariable('overstretch','fit');

that should do it...

explanation:

overstretch (true,false,fit,none):

Defines how to stretch images/movies to make them fit the display. "true" will stretch them proportionally to fill the display, "false" will stretch them to fit. "fit" will stretch them disproportionally to fit both height and width. "none" will show all items in their original dimensions.

[easy2Bcheesy]

Ah OK, now I've got it, many thanks!

Player seems rather choppy compared to viewing the same file in Media Player Classic though. Hopefully they'll optimise it.

One thing I am curious about... is there any reason why this HTML won't stream the MP4 from where I've directly hosted it? It doesn't seem to want to connect.

<html>
<head>


<script type="text/javascript" src="swfobject.js"></script>


</head>
<body>


<h3>single file, with preview image:</h3>


<p id="player1"><a href="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer">Get the Flash Player</a> to see this player.</p>
<script type="text/javascript">
var s1 = new SWFObject("flvplayer.swf","single","640","360","9");
s1.addParam("allowfullscreen","true");
s1.addVariable("file","http://216.75.63.164/assassin-test.mp4");
s1.addVariable("image","preview.jpg");
s1.addVariable("overstretch","fit");
s1.addVariable("width","640");
s1.addVariable("height","360");
s1.write("player1");
</script>

</body>
</html>

[sillKotscha]

I'm not using your HTML right now, I'm just editing the original file:

<html>
<head>


<script type="text/javascript" src="swfobject.js"></script>


</head>
<body>


<h3>single file, with preview image:</h3>


<p id="player1"><a href="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer">Get the Flash Player</a> to see this player.</p>
<script type="text/javascript">
var s1 = new SWFObject("flvplayer.swf","single","640","360","9");
s1.addParam("allowfullscreen","true");
s1.addVariable("file","480x360.mp4");
s1.addVariable("image","preview.jpg");
s1.addVariable("width","640");
s1.addVariable("height","360");
s1.write("player1");
</script>

</body>
</html>

How does overstretch fit into this?

Being that I have no web experience whatsoever, I didn't quite understand your HTML file as I see no reference to .mp4s or .flvs in it...


ok... that will be fun with u :)

SWFObject("flvplayer.swf","single","x","y","9");

is the player itself ...

http://img3.freeimagehosting.net/uploads/2f3b4924e3.jpg (http://www.freeimagehosting.net/)


s1.addVariable("file","480x360.mp4");

is where the file is located - here relative (because ur file is in the folder) or absolute, e.g. as http://domain.com/360x360.mp4

s1.addVariable("image","preview.jpg");

is a preview of your file... without that visitors would only see that "play" symbol but with a preview (a screenshot of your file for example) visitors know what they can expect to see...

s1.addVariable("width","640");

again, that defines the width of the player not the file...

s1.addVariable("height","360");

accordingly...

so... those s1.addVariable("definition","variable");

are called flashvars (flash variables)... that means you can add a new flashvar to it...

I proposed that you should add s1.addVariable('overstretch','false'); to it...

s1 or in my case so are just naming schemes... stick with s1 for the moment... a second player would have s2 and so on...

now to what interests you...

it is displayheight - that means add another flashvar to it...

s1.addVariable('displayheight','x');

when u look at my site u can see that the whole player has dimensions of 400x440 but only a displayheight of 300... thus my videos a re displayed 400x300 and strechted to fit the display area... that makes sense as I have different videos with different resolutions and to show them consistent I have added the flashvar s1.addVariable('overstretch','true');


hope that helped...

[easy2Bcheesy]

Yes it did (http://216.75.63.164/flash) :)

[sillKotscha]

Any ideas on whether anamorphic pixels are supported?

save that as html and start to grin :)

<html>
<head>


<script type="text/javascript" src="swfobject.js"></script>


</head>
<body>

<h3>single file, with preview image:</h3>


<p id="player1"><a href="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer">Get the Flash Player</a> to see this player.</p>
<script type="text/javascript">
var s1 = new SWFObject("flvplayer.swf","single","726","360","9");
s1.addParam("allowfullscreen","true");
s1.addVariable("file","video.mp4");
s1.addVariable('displayheight','360');
s1.addVariable("image","preview.jpg");
s1.addVariable("width","726");
s1.addVariable("height","360");
s1.addVariable('overstretch','fit');
s1.write("player1");
</script>


</body>
</html>

[sillKotscha]

ok, u were faster than me :)

but my example has no "play-bar" ... have a look at it...

and I made a preview for u...

http://img3.freeimagehosting.net/uploads/th.a62aa58094.jpg (http://img3.freeimagehosting.net/image.php?a62aa58094.jpg)

save as preview.jpg and replace the one in the folder...

one thing is strange - my player does an anamorphic resize to 726 - that's why I entered 726 and not 640 - in my eyes both look ok?!!

[easy2Bcheesy]

One thing I am finding rather strange is that it doesn't work at all in Internet Explorer - loads but doesn't play - but streams fine in Opera. The same thing happens on a colleague's machine and with smok3's example above...

[sillKotscha]

for me IE works with your link...

http://img3.freeimagehosting.net/uploads/th.2ea9c2242a.jpg (http://img3.freeimagehosting.net/image.php?2ea9c2242a.jpg)

in what way it doesn't stream... is the player not showing up or the file won't start?

have you installed the latest flash9 plugin as a standalone *.exe ?

I have uploaded it again (http://www.yousendit.com/transfer.php?action=download&ufid=DC809EFA6A41247B) for you...

than there is also a flashplayer activex install *.exe ...

in case you have missed it (http://www.yousendit.com/transfer.php?action=download&ufid=B8212CE05CA488DD)...

[easy2Bcheesy]

Yeah I downloaded the standalone *.exe... the player shows up, the data loads, it simply doesn't play. I get the spinning thing in the middle and that's it.

Maybe IE needs the ActiveX control.

[sillKotscha]

Maybe IE needs the ActiveX control.

no, that would have been the case if you can't click the play button/ player...

normally that is the purpose of SWFobject but adobe offers that activex install for those who don't want to use SWFobject or UFO (http://www.bobbyvandersluis.com/ufo/)...

than - as I said - the user have to activate content before using/ seeing it... to circumvent that adobe offers that activex thingy...

but as the player is showing everything is alright... i'm still thinking about a solution... u just have to wait :)

hehe, I think IE needs the exact path to the file... so instead of:

s1.addVariable("file","assassin-test.mp4"); try s1.addVariable("file","http://216.75.63.164/flash/assassin-test.mp4");

that should do it...

Edit:

and please add s1.addVariable('displayheight','360'); to your variables... that looks much more cooler ;)

[easy2Bcheesy]

Made the changes, IE still hangs... totally black screen, spinning thing in the middle, says it's loaded 100% but doesn't play.

Don't think the path makes any difference as it does load, it just doesn't play.

[sillKotscha]

now to some advanced things...

please add the following:

s1.useExpressInstall('expressinstall.swf');

you will find this swf in the folder of SWFobject (http://blog.deconcept.com/swfobject/#download). Place expressinstall.swf in your folder where everything else is...

now - as I said - flash will install automatically if a user doesn't have the right flash version defined by you... as many, many websurfer still have flash 8 installed but for those advanced options of JW Player (fullscreen for example) flash 9 is evident, ergo this expressinstall is very, very usefull...

just test it please - uninstall flash from your pc (http://www.yousendit.com/transfer.php?action=download&ufid=860C6FF56905B0D8)

and re-visit ur flash-example site...

than another usefull flashvar is so.addVariable('smoothing','false');

by default smoothing (= post-processing of the video) is on ... but for low-end pc's it may be a bit cpu intense to smooth the video (especially any h.264 video)...

turning smoothing off will result in more blocks but less power demanding

they are many more variables you could use - the readme (http://www.jeroenwijering.com/extras/readme.html) is a very usefull starting point :)

[easy2Bcheesy]

Uninstalling didn't help.

This is what I get:

http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/6858/43482177dc5.th.jpg (http://img215.imageshack.us/my.php?image=43482177dc5.jpg)

EDIT: Now Opera doesn't work either. I think the official installer isn't h.264 ready.

[sillKotscha]

Don't think the path makes any difference

true, your example works here with IE

as it does load, it just doesn't play.

not true... as JW Player "loads 100%" forever when it doesn't find anything...

really strange - I have no prob here... that said, u made everything ok and concerning the html code there are no errors...

[sillKotscha]

EDIT: Now Opera doesn't work either. I think the official installer isn't h.264 ready.

ok, but we have tracked it down... it must be the flash plugin...

concerning uninstalling... did the auto-install work??

Edit:

dumb me... autoinstall won't work if you have no flash at all installed... to test it the right way you can install flash 7 (http://kb.adobe.com/selfservice/viewContent.do?externalId=tn_14266&sliceId=2) or any version below flash 9 and re-visit your page.

As you defined flash 9 is needed it will auto-update than... sorry.

[easy2Bcheesy]

Yeah I got it now. The script to auto-update Flash is nice, but the official update doesn't include h.264 decoding. Manually forcing the Moviestar release candidate to install does the trick :)

[sillKotscha]

Manually forcing the Moviestar release candidate to install does the trick :)

how? just by entering the exact version numer 9.0.64.0?

btw, I have uninstalled flash too, to test the auto-update again... nice, now I have flash after reinstalling the plugin but not in IE :D

does it work with your IE now?

if not, try this (http://kb.adobe.com/selfservice/viewContent.do?externalId=kb402435&sliceId=1),for) - this I had to do now to get flash to work in IE again ;)

latest uninstaller for flash (http://kb.adobe.com/selfservice/viewContent.do?externalId=tn_14157&sliceId=1) is here

Edit:

and btw... h.264 encoded video with *.mov extension does also work with this player... ;)

[easy2Bcheesy]

Yes it is working with IE. I had to install the specific Moviestar release for ActiveX and Windows linked to on the last page. The auto-update thing doesn't update to the AVC decoding version of the software.

One thing I am noticing is that the video is a little jerky compared to normal playback. My guess is that as posted earlier, something isn't right with the decoder - maybe it is that B-Frames are not working yet. Fingers crossed the final decoder will have these issues sorted out.

Regardless, I'm very happy with the overall quality of the video bearing in mind how tiny the file is. I've got 1:43 of decent-looking video running well in a 640x360 window and the file is 12MB in total. As it's encoded at level 4.1, I might try my luck with a HQ-Insane setting in MeGUI.

Thanks for all the help!

[sillKotscha]

jerky playback? hmm, I don't really noticed that...

you could try adding s1.addVariable('smoothing','false'); and see if that changes anything...

concerning levels, adobe says that all levels are supported (http://labs.adobe.com/wiki/index.php/Flash_Player:9:Update:H.264).

but to stay completely safe and to have every video running smooth on nearly every pc I'd stick with MeGui's QT-CE profile...

my last question I must repeat - how did you force the moviestar update? just by entering the exact version numer 9.0.64.0, as you still have simply only '9' defined?!!

@all:

Q: Will Flash Player 9 Update 3 support non-FLV files?

A: Yes, with this update, Flash Player will also support files derived from the standard MPEG-4 container format such as MP4, M4A, MOV, MP4V, 3GP, 3G2 if they contain H.264 video and/or HE-AAC encoded audio.

[easy2Bcheesy]

My CPU isn't being stressed by high level clips according to Task Manager, there's definitely something up with the decoder. Smoothing makes no discernable difference.

I wouldn't really want to use the Quicktime profile because it's not using many features of the AVC compressor. I might as well save myself a lot of bother and use WMV.

When I say I forced the update, I mean that I manually downloaded the Moviestar update from the website as linked to on the first page. The auto-update code straight from the page updates you to the current release, not the beta update with AVC support.

By the way, does my video stream OK or is it constantly stop-starting? Is 1mbps too much to effectively stream, I wonder?

[sillKotscha]

stop-starting?... no, for me it plays fluently and as I said... I must not be very well trained but in my eyes there is no visible stutter/ jerky playback

xp2400+ / 2gb ram / ati 9600 pro

you could adjust the buffer-level if you think it stop-starts... that might help.

Edit: but pc-specs are not that important - it is more the internet-connection. You have a fast server, I have a fast connection (~ 19.000 kbit/s DSL) ... that's why downloading / playing starts immediatly - at least for me.

Thus, adjusting the buffer-level should really help.

[smok3]

nope, i tested various settings, jerky playback is there (i used about 5 different machines for test...)

[sillKotscha]

jerky playback, well do you guys mean playing not smooth / sometimes it stutters / not fluently playing back? ...

I believe you both but as I said I don't notice that.

[smok3]

yes for: not smooth / sometimes it stutters / not fluently playing back
(i have only ever tested the firefox plugin, maybe the ie version is better?)

[easy2Bcheesy]

So long as Adobe are aware of it and are going to fix it, I'm happy... I'm researching Flash AVC now but won't be deploying it for months yet.

Stuttering is identical on both Opera and IE by the way.

I've updated my test site (http://216.75.63.164/flash/) and you can download the new video (HQ-Insane) here (http://216.75.63.164/flash/rr7-480x360.mp4). Put them side by side (I'm using MPC with CoreAVC) and the stuttering is clearly evident. It's a smooth 30fps video but it's not in the browser.

Driving games are the bane of streaming video, but AVC copes very well!

[sillKotscha]

By the way, does my video stream [...] is [...] constantly stop-starting?

this seems to be an issue related to mp4/mov files...

mov/mp4 files first start playing when they are fully loaded, like you might already know that from some quicktime files (apples trailer for example). The reason for that is the "moov atom" - which is kind of an index of contents within the datastructure of your videofile.

As far as I could read the "moov atom" can be at the end of a file or at the beginning. If it is at the end the drawback is that the whole videofile has to fully load before it starts playing and on the other hand it is not possible to seek into files (no real streaming, just downloading and playing - like youtube and other videohosters at the moment, respectively your h.264 demo-file)

I have found a website (http://h264.code-shop.com/trac) where they try to circumvent that behaviour.

The first issue [Edit by me: fully loaded before playing] is easily overcome by using a smart little tool called qt-faststart which patches the MP4 file and shuffles the headers from the end of the file to the beginning. The file now starts playback immediately, while the rest of the files is downloaded in the background.

the tool they are talking about can be found here: qt-faststart (http://multimedia.cx/eggs/improving-qt-faststart/)

View of ffmpeg's /trunk/tools/qt-faststart.c
(http://svn.mplayerhq.hu/ffmpeg/trunk/tools/qt-faststart.c?view=markup)
as it seems it handles only mov files, respectively mp4 files by quicktime (now it makes sense that I proposed to use MeGui's QT-CE profile - and when I look at the various apple trailers they aren't doing a bad job)

To get around the second issue [Edit by me: seeking] we've written a module for lighttpd. In a similar way as how Pseudo-Streaming is made possible for FLV files, this plugin makes seeking possible for MP4 files.

source as above mentioned: H264 (Pseudo) Streaming (http://h264.code-shop.com/trac) - there everyone can find the download of the "mod_h264_streaming"

but as far as I can see it is only designed for mac/ unix but when reading the blog (http://www.code-shop.com/2007/10/18/h264-pseudo-streaming#comment-42) I found out that Jeroen - the auther of JW Player is already in the process of implementing it :)

my conclusion:

find a way to treat your files with qt-faststart and see if it helps (as jerky playback might come from playing the video and still downloading in the background or do you also see jerky playback when playing the video again? - than the video is already in your browser cache and played back from your HD... btw, is your browser cache big enough?). And while testing we wait for an update of that fantastic player by Jeroen to see pseudo (flv / h.264) streaming implemented - that will be very nice - especially for you, as I saw you want to demonstrate game videos... if all is working well, your visitors can seek through every game video and see if they like the game or not and don't have to wait until the whole video is fully downloaded.

wow, things are getting wild with flash ;)

cheers

Edit: btw, awesome demo - but change the previeeeeeeew :D

[smok3]

nice, hopefully someone will build win version of lighty with this streaming hack as well soon :) (Jeoren is probably looking for a php version of this hack?)

[easy2Bcheesy]

The stuttering occurs even when the whole video is fully cached, alas. I'll try the tool out to see if it helps matters.

[easy2Bcheesy]

I've set up a series of different pages now:

512kbps, 400x224: Click Here (http://216.75.63.164/flash/512kbps)
1mbps, 400x224: Click Here (http://216.75.63.164/flash/1mbps)
1.5mbps, 848x480: Click Here (http://216.75.63.164/flash/1.5mbps)

I'm going to look more into this stuttering problem now because it's killing the quality of my videos, especially on the higher resolutions You can see in the Gran Turismo demo that many frames are being lost, yet they are silky smooth when played back in the media player.

Downloading the whole file and playing it back makes no difference.

Astonishingly I am also seeing the problem (albeit to a lesser extent) on the 512kbps files.

[sillKotscha]

wow, your videos do really look awesome :)

and as they are so well encoded please add s.addVariable('smoothing','false'); (I forgot that, sorry) - that should give a little speed advantage (I guess not really noticeable but at least a little)

but such high bitrate videos aren't ready for current users at the moment as I guess not many have a 16+ Mbit DSL connection and even with such a connection it's a pita to watch'em (smooth/ jerky free) :D

Edit:

you have a big disadvantage concerning anamorphic videos and the flashvar ('overstretch','fit'); - if you pre-define the dimensions of your player than it is nice as the video fits into these dimensions but when u push the 'fullscreen' button it fits into the display -> wrong AR again ;)

encode them non-anamorphic, pre-define your player dimensions and use than ('overstretch','true'); if you have different resoltutions or ('overstretch','false'); if you have one resolution for all your videos and the corresponding player dimension...

than you have the right AR in your player and in fullscreen :)

[smok3]

why 16 Mbit? it almost play smooth on my 1 mbit connection.

[sillKotscha]

does it?, ok fair enough :)

nice, hopefully someone will build win version of lighty with this streaming hack as well soon :) (Jeoren is probably looking for a php version of this hack?)

yeah, that would be cool but when implementing that "hack" it gets into the player and than it doesn't matter what someone uses ... (plain html or php)

[smok3]

sure, current php streaming of flv files is resource eater compared to lighttpd implementation, but still if you use some hosting you can usually just select apache or apache, so php version will be (more than) usefull there...

[easy2Bcheesy]

why 16 Mbit? it almost play smooth on my 1 mbit connection.

Sorry I don't understand... if you're talking about the 1.5mbps 480p vids, they're VBR-encoded, so while some stuff doesn't use that much bandwidth (so will stream quicker), other stuff will. Over the course of the video I doubt you're gonna be able to stream it consistently.

I have a 5mbps connection here but I can barely stream the 512kbps vids... great infrastructure we have here.

Are you seeing bad lag on the 480p vids too in terms of dropped frames?

I'll probably turn off full-screen playback completely because scaled video never really looks good blown up to full-screen.

[smok3]

i was reffering to bandwidth only (not decoding), the 1mbit version stops twice during playback (i imagine increasing buffer to say 15s would cure that - s1.addVariable('bufferlength','15');), 512 play nicely without stoping. 1.5 mbit stops all the time of course...., I think i was looking at wrong version before, sorry.

(it would be helpful if you would post exact command lines or at least profiles used btw).

[easy2Bcheesy]

I'm using MeGUI's auto-encode feature and specifying a two-pass encode at 1mbps, 512kbps or 1.5mbps. I don't have a specific upper limit, so are you saying that peak bandwidth is actually 16mps?!

I'll see if I can adapt the HQ-Insane profile to limit the spikes.

[smok3]

you don't have to adapt encoder, just the player setup would need some more prebuffering (maybe), spikes shouldnt be a problem imho (at least not when we are talking about progressive download - they could become problem with real streaming, so unimportant in this case.)

[sillKotscha]

I'm using MeGUI's auto-encode feature and specifying a two-pass encode at 1mbps, 512kbps or 1.5mbps.

what smok3 is asking for is to enumerate your encoding details behind your examples...

what level is used, bitrate, audio-profile, etc. - simliar like he did on his page...

it is easier for visitors to see what they are capable to play and what not...

and about this "16+Mbit" ...

I was just saying that when I first visited your 1.5MBit (videobitrate) example, it was hard to stream (stutter, etc.) even for my 16MBit DSL connection...

EDIT:

and who knows, maybe adobe is visiting your page and then they can easily see where are the dilemmas with their current h.264 implementation and at what encoding level etc. ;)

[easy2Bcheesy]

All of my videos are stuttering and dropping frames for me even when the entirety of the video is cached to hard disk. The 1mbps files do it a fair bit, but the 1.5mbps ones playback terribly. It may well be that there's a limit to the peak bandwidth the decoder can handle.

CPU power this end isn't the problem though - I'm running the videos on a mobile Core 2 X7800 @ 2.6GHz.

[sillKotscha]

Adobe Flash Player v9.0.115.0 Final (http://www.adobe.com/de/products/flashplayer/)

features (http://www.adobe.com/products/flashplayer/productinfo/features/)

[katjarella]

@sillKotscha
Besser:

1: Load http://flexorg.wip3.adobe.com/189822/flex_sdk_3_189822.zip
2: go flex_sdk_3_189822.zip\runtimes\player\win
* FlashPlayer.exe (Standalone Player)
* Install Flash Player 9 ActiveX.exe
* Install Flash Player 9 Plugin.exe
All Version 9.0.115.0

Grüße.

[sillKotscha]

nice...

@all:

the advantage is that you have both plugins for your browsers (firefox et al = Flash Player 9 Plugin / IE = Flash Player 9 ActiveX) at once and don't have to separately open these browser for installation.

thank you for that tip

/ sill

[LoRd_MuldeR]

FlashPlayer v9.0.115.0 works like a charm with x264+FAAC encoded MP4 file from Avidemux :)

[smok3]

some interesting reading is here http://www.kaourantin.net/ (devs blog)

[smok3]

looking for good x264 command line for 576*320/25p at 482 kbps? (i prefer blockines before bluring...)

tested so far:
CE-HighProfile (filter 0,0)
CE-HighProfile (filter -2,-1)
HQ-Insane (filter -2,-1) <- seems to be the winner in the x264 category
HQ-Insane (filter -6,-6)
HQ-Insane (filter -2,-1), --ratetol 0.4 (i would like more bits for static scenes) - obviously ratetol does something else than i thought...
HQ-Insane (filter -2,-1), --vbv-maxrate 550

The idea is to beat vp6 at the same bitrate.

edit: test finished; for this specific material and my specific eyes for this specific bitrate - vp6 wins.

[sillKotscha]

The idea is to beat vp6 at the same bitrate.

if you ask me it already does - with no doubt...

I made a quick and dirty comparison of Flash 6/8/9 (avc)... I'm unable to host it for myself because of too small webspace but you can download it (http://s3.massmirror.com/f835f8cf256d8fa8e64c8bd552b69c3e.html), open the index.html and see for yourself...

I think you can clearly see the difference - and I just used MeGui's HQ-Insane with no alteration...

[smok3]

i need insane to beat vp6? :)

p.s. this specific material is home mpeg2 camcorder, which is probably annoying for any smart codec...

[sillKotscha]

i need insane to beat vp6? :)

probably not ... if you know every snick & snack of a good h.264 encoder (I used x264 here in combination with MeGui) you will surely not need Insane profil of MeGui...

but I'm not very experienced in configuring x264 and that's why I just trust these predefined profiles... that said, I don't care about encoding time and go straight with the insane one...

[smok3]

wasn't that bad time-wise, 6 fps is good enough (some opteron here) - + 'smooting = false' in jw player improves the picture for my eyes.

[sillKotscha]

+ 'smooting = false' in yw player improves the picture for my eyes.

I guess this is true for AVC content as Adobe's / Mainconcept decoder already does a very good job but for flash 6 & 8 I leave smoothing=true ... especially flash 6 needs post-processing and JW Player copes very well with deblocking when 'smoothing=true' ...

that is why I left smoothing to default (which is on by default)

P.S.: may I see an example of you please...

[smok3]

may I see an example
will update my test page as soon as i get some good testing material.

will update my test post;
http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=1072817#post1072817

[smok3]

that is why I left smoothing to default (which is on by default)
any clues what exactly smoothing really means in adobe flash terms? and how exactly definition changes from full screen to embeded?

[sillKotscha]

IMHO smoothing is a true player component and got nothing to do with adobe's decoder implementation... but that's not for sure.

the readme (http://www.jeroenwijering.com/extras/readme.html) says about smoothing (but I think you already know that ;) )

smoothing (true,false): If set to "false", video will not smooth, resulting in a more pixelated, but better performing display. Use this for large screen / slow computer combinations.

and your second sentence I don't understand, sorry

[foxyshadis]

Smoothing does two things: It turns on bilinear resizing, and flv deblocking (level 4). Better resize is good, obvs. You don't want deblocking ever with h.264, it'll reduce speed and quality, unless you encoded with inloop off.

However, there is absolutely no information on the effect of the deblocking parameter on AVC video yet. Maybe it'll ignore it, maybe not. Here's the doc on what it does for Spark & VP6 (http://livedocs.adobe.com/flash/9.0/ActionScriptLangRefV3/flash/media/Video.html#deblocking).

[smok3]

right, so i guess at this point in time this is something adobe (and player devs?) should fix, basically all 'we' need for avc is bilinear resizer part.

[sillKotscha]

version 3.13 of JW FLV PLAYER released:

Added ASX playlist support, advertisement integration, duration playlist tag, recommendations endscreen* 1), config XML, Lighttpd MP4 streaming support* 2) and stop button. Increased timing resolution for more accurate subtitling. [download (http://www.jeroenwijering.com/?item=JW_FLV_Player)]

nice :)

* 1)

URL to an XML with movies you want to recommend. The thumbs will show up when the current movie stops playing, just like YouTube.

* 2) STREAMING EXAMPLES (http://www.jeroenwijering.com/extras/streaming.html)

[smok3]

possible bugs in jw player:
a. i think there is a playback 'bug' in jw player, first N seconds will playback jumpery (if resolution is big enough, 576*320 seems to be big enough), did you notice that as well? (no matter what settings are used as it seems)

b. in version 3.13 preloader animation will show up from time to time when the movie is allready playing (progressive download mp4).

[sillKotscha]

possible bugs in jw player:
a. i think there is a playback 'bug' in jw player, first N seconds will playback jumpery (if resolution is big enough, 576*320 seems to be big enough), did you notice that as well? (no matter what settings are used as it seems).

no, I haven't noticed it as I don't had to upgrade... I have such a simple and limited webspace (only 10MB and plain html allowed - coming as a "bonus" of my phone/dsl provider) that flv streaming or mp4 streaming is (until now) no testing ground for me... hence, this version is very, very nice for ur purpose but not for me -> I didn't test the new player...

but u could be right - as I know JW is not so keen about big resolutions I don't like big screen sizes. There's nothing i can see at 640x480 that i cannot see at 320x240. Remember that the screen area of the first one is 4 times the area of the second one, and that the file will also become about 4 times as large. You will rule out a lot of people with you big-screen fetish.... maybe resolutions above 320x240 weren't tested by him... do you have a test-page / setup for me - I can see if it is the same for me...

b. in version 3.13 preloader animation will show up from time to time when the movie is allready playing (progressive download mp4).

preloader animation?? do you mean this "loading sign" before the video is fully downloaded to start playing??

[smok3]

test page is in your pm.
b. yes, others have found that as well;
http://www.jeroenwijering.com/?thread=8115

I don't like big screen sizes. There's nothing i can see at 640x480 that i cannot see at 320x240. Remember that the screen area of the first one is 4 times the area of the second one, and that the file will also become about 4 times as large. You will rule out a lot of people with you big-screen fetish
huh, honestly i wouldnt expect something that silly from a video player developer...

[sillKotscha]

test page is in your pm.
b. yes, others have found that as well;
http://www.jeroenwijering.com/?thread=8115

ok, but as you can read as well he's already trying to fix it...


huh, honestly i wouldnt expect something that silly from a video player developer...

:D

[smok3]

I have such a simple and limited webspace (only 10MB and plain html allowed - coming as a "bonus" of my phone/dsl provider) that flv streaming or mp4 streaming is (until now) no testing ground for me...
i can easily 'give' you few gigs, however the only streaming possible is via php, so that is only flv/vp6.

edit: i have 'heavily' updated my php pulldown btw, check it here;
http://blog.somestuff.org/index.php?entry=entry070611-064852

[easy2Bcheesy]

Thread resurrection time!

Can any one tell me why the "Update Your Flash" part of my page (http://216.75.63.164/flash/1mbps) doesn't work?

Some visitors are just getting a black screen with the "loading" symbol and nothing is happening. It's exactly the same fault I had myself until I manually de-installed Flash and re-installed the new one.

Is there any way to get an "Update your Flash" screen that is actually user-friendly? The bottom line is that if this is not possible, should I do a proper website, I'm just going to lose visitors.


Is the CoreAVC plug-in working on all browsers yet? I looked at it a while back and the quality level annihilated Flash.

[smok3]

easy2Bcheesy, cos they have older version of flash that doesn't support mp4?

(with my script iam requesting version 9 if file extension is *.mp4, but i didn't really test that very well...,

new version of jerowin player has some sort of fallback included, so you can alternatively serve flv version as well (or display an image with text - get flash 9).

check;
http://www.jeroenwijering.com/?page=wizard&example=17

There are other means to test the flash version - to be found somewhere on adobe's page i think.)

coreavc plug-in is pretty nice, but visitors will not bother with that.

[sillKotscha]

Thread resurrection time!

Can any one tell me why the "Update Your Flash" part of my page (http://216.75.63.164/flash/1mbps) doesn't work?

look at your flash version within your html code and you will see that you still point out to version:

var s = new SWFObject('flvplayer.swf','playlist','640','360','9,0,45,0');

but when you check out adobes 'about page (http://www.adobe.com/products/flash/about/)' page you will see that the latest official version is 9,0,115,0 - 9,0,45,0 was beta stage

so, you have two possibilities...

either you keep your html pages always up2date or you can be a lazy player and just write a minimum flash version required for watching your content, that would be 9,0,0,0.

but concerning flash avc content that isn't an option as version 9,0,0,0 didn't support avc. That was nice for the first fullscreen option introduced by adobe... every player since 9,0,0,0 onwards supported fullscreen and it was sufficient to write 9,0,0,0 in your html code but now with flash avc you have to keep up with technology.

so, keep your html pages always up2date with the latest official adobe player version required :)

[sillKotscha]

(or display an image with text - get flash 9).

I wrote the html code for this very tiny test page and what I did was a different, imho better approach...

an automatic check for the version with automatic update offer within your page - which he must have removed :)

@easy2Bcheesy

I told you to include: Express Install with SWFObject (http://blog.deconcept.com/swfobject/#expressinstall)

and as far as I can remember I did include those lines in your html code ;)

[easy2Bcheesy]

Thanks for the fast update. I don't recall changing your initial HTML that much at all - all I did was change the list of content to point to the right files.

Sorry to be a pain, but could you check the site and let me know what I should change?

[sillKotscha]

let me know what I should change?

<script type="text/javascript" src="scripts/swfobject.js"></script>

just change from:

var s = new SWFObject('flvplayer.swf','playlist','640','360','9,0,45,0');
s.addParam("allowfullscreen","true");

to

var s = new SWFObject('flvplayer.swf','playlist','640','360','9,0,115,0');
s.useExpressInstall('scripts/expressinstall.swf');
s.addParam("allowfullscreen","true");

that should fix it...

you will find 'expressinstall.swf' in the zip file from here (http://blog.deconcept.com/swfobject/#expressinstall) and u should place it in ur subfolder called 'scripts' ...

[easy2Bcheesy]

OK, done that, thanks for your help. Now to see if works OK with my guinea pigs!

[easy2Bcheesy]

Nope, still doing exactly the same thing with my guinea pigs - and even a new one I've roped in who's never looked at the page before (so not a caching issue).

Loading graphic on-screen with no evidence of the data being loaded at all. It just hangs.

[sillKotscha]

I only have ur linked page (http://216.75.63.164/flash/1mbps/) as an example...

and although you didn't change anything there for reproduction your problem it works for me ;)

as you had this behavior before described on page one of this thread I'm very sure it is an adobe player plugin issue, read false installation... I recall fixing this issue by completely removing any adobe parts and reinstalling or something similar...

but as it works for me it is no html or javascript issue

[smok3]

ok, so my version 'code' is completely wrong, ignore my previous post please.

easy2Bcheesy; is the issue IE only or it will happen with all browsers?

[easy2Bcheesy]

Well on page one of the thread it was happening for me with both IE and Opera. My PC guinea pigs are using IE and my new Mac guinea pig is using Firefox.

I'm sure that completely uninstalling Flash and reinstalling the new one will work as that's what I did when I started this thread, but the average guy is just going to skip the site instead.

[sillKotscha]

but the average guy is just going to skip the site instead.

yes, but blame adobe for that... there are many threads in their forum describing your problem...

all you can do as a content provider is to offer a technology as it is meant to be, read: point to the right flash version recommended by adobe, offer a possibility to upgrade the flash automatically if it is needed to watch your content, etc.

When all this is done by you and you are 100% sure that you didn't make any mistake (are the subfolders really on your server, are really all files on your server, are you really pointing to right path to your files etc.) than it is not your fault but still an adobe issue...

[easy2Bcheesy]

Well you can see the HTML for yourself and the scripts are here... (http://216.75.63.164/flash/1mbps/scripts) Not sure what else there is I can do.

[sillKotscha]

unfair...

now you have changed it, 5min before you didn't ;)

I have uploaded a "test package (http://s1.massmirror.com/b8caa2f79e9aa9fdd2ed90e580e035be.html)"... click on the html in the folder and it should work out of the box - no need to upload any file to a server first. With that you can play around, change entries, see if it is still working, etc. - send this zip package to someone who couldn't watch any video on your website and when this person still can't watch anything from my example than you can do nothing at all as it is a problem on the client site...

sad but true...

but when the person can watch my videos out of the package than you can be sure you made a mistake somewhere on your website...

[easy2Bcheesy]

My guinea pig confirms that your offline site doesn't work either. Someone suggested that the update SWF object may have to match the newer version of Flash?

[sillKotscha]

My guinea pig confirms that your offline site doesn't work either.

what the hack is a guinea pig??? someone like him??

http://img33.picoodle.com/img/img33/4/2/19/f_IMG1096m_08e3914.jpg (http://www.picoodle.com/view.php?img=/4/2/19/f_IMG1096m_08e3914.jpg&srv=img33)

whatever... when my offline site won't work for him it is something on the clients end...

easy to test if swfobject works - just uninstall flash completely, install some older version of flash, say version 8 or below, open my offline site again and than it should automatically upgrade to 9,0,115,0 ...

if that's the case the whole thing got nothing to do with my test page or swfobject or something else... than you can be sure to blame adobe for faulty plugin installation.

'nuff said ;)

and btw, swfobject just performs a check of a version number. if this number doesn't fit the number you defined than it will upgrade - no matter if flash is old, new, brand new or whatever...

[easy2Bcheesy]

OK the solution is this:

var s = new SWFObject('flvplayer.swf','playlist','640','360','9.0.115.0');

It now works - for some reason the SWFObject requires points and not commas!

[sillKotscha]

SWFObject requires points and not commas!

http://www.computerbase.de/forum/images/smilies/Anstossen.gif

[smok3]

express install seems to work really fine with firefox, IE is a different story thought (i got auto-reboot on one machine, more tests needed...)

p.s.
guinea pigs (or better white-mice?) are welcome to try this with INTERNET EXPLORER:
http://somestuff.org/flashAVC/flvplayer.php?moviename=movies/slon61_14_kdosem_rigTest3_768_320.mp4
and report back, thank you (expect nasty behaviour, so save all your work before clicking 'update')

p.s.2. another auto-reboot on 2nd machine, firefox didn't work either (so estimated success is probably lower than 10% with this method... <- from a web user perspective)

[ricardo.santos]

the videos on the link you posted play fine, no hicups while playing them either normal or fullscreen mode.

What program/settings did you use to encode those samples? ive been trying automkv and megui and cant get to play the videos without stuttering in fullscreen mode.


I have uploaded a "test package (http://s1.massmirror.com/b8caa2f79e9aa9fdd2ed90e580e035be.html)"...

the avc video stutter when in fullscreen mode

[Atak_Snajpera]

Quote:
Originally Posted by sillKotscha View Post
I have uploaded a "test package"...
the avc video stutter when in fullscreen mode

I've downloaded and plays fine in fullscreen :)

[smok3]

the videos on the link you posted play fine, no hicups while playing them either normal or fullscreen mode.

slon61_14_kdosem_rigTest3_768_320.mp4 = qt compatible profile
HD_noCabac_stiriOpcijeRenderiranja_640_360.mp4 = very simple baseline profile, no cabac, ect
others are encoded by 3rd party, so i don't know, however CG and animation are not hard to encode, so this videos are not really representative in any way i guess. Two things i noticed however is that
a. very small videos tend to stutter (small as small in resolution) in full-screen modes.
b. On 1920x1200 screen everything stutters in fullscreen mode when smoothing is enabled.

p.s. for encoding i use custom batch script, but that should not make any difference - procedure is similar to megui i would guess. You can grab the script here:
http://blog.somestuff.org/static.php?page=x264_ng

[ricardo.santos]

Thanks smok3

will try Megui and the QT profile first as im not that good with scripts and command lines :)

the thing is audio will not encode in Megui using Nero aac encoder, will ask in the megui thread

Thanks once again

By the way the elephant dream clip playsperfectly here, im surprised, im on a 512k net connection.

[sillKotscha]

Some visitors are just getting a black screen with the "loading" symbol and nothing is happening.

man, i dont know but as i had another look over the html code and another pair of eyes to help me it might be that i have the solution for this :)

try changing:

<body onLoad="start2play ('video_01.mp4', false)">

to

<body onLoad="start2play ('rr71.mp4', false)">

u've renamed the files :) ... that might do the trick...

it doesn't explain why it works for 50% and for the rest not (presumed everyone got the same flash plugin) but I think that's the solution...

let's see...

[Bear]

I didn't read all the posts, I just read the first and last posts.

JW FLV player can handle h264+acc with mp4 ext. So I can't think of any reason to make the container as flv.

JW FLV player can handle h264 streaming (not progessive download) by using lighttpd, even if the ext is mp4.

[Atak_Snajpera]

Does anybody know why download button is not working
http://img523.imageshack.us/img523/1668/new1mg6.th.png (http://img523.imageshack.us/my.php?image=new1mg6.png)

<script type="text/javascript" src="swfobject.js"></script>
<body bgcolor="#F8F8F8">
<div id="player">This text will be replaced</div>

<p>
<script type="text/javascript">
var so = new SWFObject('http://www.jeroenwijering.com/embed/mediaplayer.swf','mpl','640','380','8');
so.addParam('allowscriptaccess','always');
so.addParam('allowfullscreen','true');
so.addVariable('height','380');
so.addVariable('width','640');
so.addVariable('bufferlength','15');
so.addVariable('file','http://blip.tv/file/get/Atak_snajpera-The1000thSummerOpening610.mp4');
so.addVariable('backcolor','0x000000');
so.addVariable('frontcolor','0xAAAAAA');
so.addVariable('lightcolor','0xFFFFFF');
so.addVariable('showdownload','true');

so.write('player');
</script>
</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><a href="http://www.jeroenwijering.com/embed/mediaplayer.swf">http://www.jeroenwijering.com/embed/mediaplayer.swf</a></p>

[hubereevez]

I didn't read all the posts, I just read the first and last posts.

JW FLV player can handle h264+acc with mp4 ext. So I can't think of any reason to make the container as flv.

JW FLV player can handle h264 streaming (not progessive download) by using lighttpd, even if the ext is mp4.

Thanks dude :)

Works on IE with a nero recoded mp4 file

But not on Firefox :!

Works now :). Very good flv player

[ricardo.santos]

Hi everyone!

I'm still trying to find out whats wrong with my encodes, i tried many tools but now i only use AutoMKV and Megui.

Ive setup a test page with video samples, they play fine when in normal/window mode but as soon as i go fullscreen the stutter starts.

In the sample at the beggining the camera moves from left to right behind some soldiers and in fullscreen mode the "stutter" effect is very noticeble.

ive included AVINAPTIC stats for every video sample.

Can someone help me out on this issue? Tracking down the problem

test page is located here:
http://ricardosantos.com.pt/mp4test/

Thanks

[elguaxo]

test page is located here:
http://ricardosantos.com.pt/mp4test/

Both videos play fine at fullscreen on my PC. AMD 64 X2 3800+

[ricardo.santos]

Dont know whats going wrong :mad::mad:

the videos play well on vlc,mpc,mplayer in fullscreen, but when i view them online the problem appears.

what gets me :mad: is that the examples smok3 posted play fine here:
http://somestuff.org/flashAVC/flvplayer.php?moviename=movies/slon61_14_kdosem_rigTest3_768_320.mp4

all of them play fine!! the elephants dream clip plays fantastically well no hiccups whatsoever even on faster movement scenes.

i have a P4 2.6, 1gb ram, ati 9550

[peter100m]

I also experience stutters on my encodes, sometimes in both full screen and "normal" view. Would like to know why this happens too.

I think the flash decoder is to blaim but if there are special encoding settings which works, those would be nice to know of.

[smok3]

there are no magic settings, but again, CG is not relevant or comparable to 'real' video or film master.

p.s. will add some more encodes;
http://somestuff.org/flashAVC/flvplayer.php?moviename=movies/imax_mute-x640y368.mp4 (qt profile)
http://somestuff.org/flashAVC/flvplayer.php?moviename=movies/FighterPilot-x1280y720.mp4 (HD - baseline)

[ricardo.santos]

Smok3 true what you say, but take a look at this video from Lord Mulder, its not CG and it plays just fine no stutter

http://mplayer.somestuff.org/misc/flv_test/

peter100m does it play well on your side?

Im Lost

[smok3]

thats like 15 fps (based on my eyes), not relevant enough to compare imho.

edit: added some annoying footage (but very nice to check the playback smoothness imho):
http://somestuff.org/flashAVC/flvplayer.php?moviename=movies/hvx200_raw_0013EO_mute-x960y544.mp4
p.s. this was shot with Panasonic hvx200 > converted to cineform > downscaled to 960x and encoded with x264.

[nhope]

For those of you interested in this there is now an improved version 2 of swfobject.js (http://code.google.com/p/swfobject/wiki/SWFObject_2_0_documentation) for embedding Flash players.

The code required in the page is significantly different from previous versions of SWFObject.

For an example of the new dynamic method take a look at the source of this page (http://www.bubblevision.com/underwater-footage/cowries/mole1a.htm) and if you use it then read that documentation very carefully. It's different from the old way.

[lucassp]

Adobe realeased Flash Media Encoder 2.5:

http://www.adobe.com/products/flashmediaserver/flashmediaencoder/

[smok3]

and yw player now (3.16) supports true hardware scaling as it seems.

edit: my php will now try to 'find' a subtitle file as well, here is a demo:
http://somestuff.org/flashAVC/flvplayer.php?moviename=movies/ED_huff-x640y352.mp4
(hardware scaling + subs)

[Mgz]

adobe released the SWF and FLV spec paper yesterday.

http://www.adobe.com/devnet/flv/pdf/video_file_format_spec_v9.pdf

http://www.adobe.com/devnet/swf/pdf/swf_file_format_spec_v9.pdf

[Inventive Software]

Flash BTW is officially THE slowest player of H.264 video, after the JM reference software. It's unwatchable on my desktop computer, and that handles other H.264 content without too much fuss.

[shae]

Flash BTW is officially THE slowest player of H.264 videoBut it's more or less the only sensible option for online playback. Microsoft's player is way too fragmented, broken a lot because of all its endless dependencies, unreliable. Quicktime is probably uncommon on Windows. Flash is common, *works*, and is even multiplatform.

In general I hate Flash, but for video playback it's nice.