Digital Video - June 2008 - (Page 44)

CLICK TO PLAY nished solely by its own runtime, which produces a low ceiling for scalability. Also, it’s not really good (yet) at computational intensity, nor is it currently designed to be shipped with or embedded in standalone applications. On the plus side, AIR developers get to sharpen their ActionScript 3 skills, along with learning ActionScript JIT which provides greatly improved runtime performance compared to regular JavaScript. Figure 2 shows Adobe Flex Builder in Action. Security-wise, AIR has a much better (and more flexible) model than embedded SWF files working with standard Web browsers. Gone are Flash’s unwieldy crossdomain.xml restrictions and workarounds such as JSONP in JavaScript to fetch data from remote Web pages. Again, such ideas are meaningful mostly to software engineers (as opposed to managers and videographers) but they can and do decisively affect project timelines. Other key benefits of AIR dev are ease of deployment and portability. Like Flash, AIR rests on a single code base for building cross-platform applications (as Web pages, depending on your POV) with few if any installation issues for either Windows or Mac OS. Linux support is currently in beta. Even better, Adobe provides a command-line tool for generating AIR app bundles, along with AIR app installer badges which developers can deploy on Web pages to automate installation and assist users with runtime installation (if necessary). Figure 2: AIR application development with Adobe Flex Builder. capabilities, basic networking, SQLite and a JavaScript API for persistent storage. One side effect, of course, to the notion of Web page development as desktop app dev is that developers may succumb to using Web UI idioms instead of desktop UI idioms. AMP is an excellent example of not being this lazy. Also note that while Flex does bundle a set of widgets for programmers who need buttons, trees, etc, it does not give you broad access to native Windows form controls (except for menus). Is AIR scalable and secure? Depends on what you choose to compare it to, the obvious choices (at this point) being Microsoft’s Silverlight and JavaFX script. These frameworks let developers leverage huge existing .NET and Java libraries (respectively), which extend and exploit their native system resources (both client and server-side). AIR is limited to the local system functionality fur- HOT AIR? Not at all. And, judging by AMP, the core AIR technology is hot indeed (in a good way). Flash Video itself is clearly red hot and now positioned to take on Comcast if not the mighty iTunes. Developers who stretch AIR beyond its current capabilities may get frustrated, but there is no shortage of demand for site-specific browsers and lean/mean desktop apps for connecting to remote Web services. And, unlike Microsoft, Adobe is likely to quickly overcome AIR’s current limitations in future versions. DV > AIR MOBILE — AND WHAT’S F4V? O ne nice thing about the AIR development model (because it's browser app-headed) is that resulting apps should be well-suited for execution on mobile devices, including the iPhone, once it renders Flash Video. There's a distinction to be made here between running on a phone's OS vs. in a browser running on a phone's OS, but it might be moot from a user POV if it just works and AIR developers are able to select "mobile device" as the project output target (generally speaking). If you missed Adobe's May 1 announcement of the Open Screen Project, the company expects more than a billion handsets and mobile devices to ship with Flash technology by 2009. And they will drop the licensing fees on the next major release of both Flash Player and AIR, making them free for devices. The project reportedly includes ARM, Intel, Motorola, Cisco, Marvell, Nokia, Verizon Wireless, NTT DoCoMo, Sony Ericsson, Toshiba, Samsung, Qualcomm, LG Electronics, the BBC, MTV Networks and NBC Universal. But not Apple. As this technology continues to evolve, you'll be hearing more about F4V files (as opposed to FLV files). While this may remind you of Apple's MOV vs. M4V nomenclature, it does not imply iTunes or H.264. According to Adobe,“The FLV/F4V open specification documents the file formats for storing media content used to deliver streaming audio and video for playback in Adobe Flash Player and Adobe AIR software. The F4V format is based on the format specified by ISO/IEC 14496-12 (http://www.iso.org/iso/catalogue_detail? csnumber=41828): ISO base media file format. Starting with SWF files published for Flash Player 9 Update 3 (9,0,115,0), Flash Player can play F4V files.” In practical terms, F4V files are standard MP4 files (with a new filename extension) that can be played back by Flash Player 9 Update 3 and above. MP4 files are MPEG-4 files which can also be played by the QuickTime player. — NJ 44 dv june 2008 www.dv.com http://www.iso.org/iso/catalogue_detail http://www.dv.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Digital Video - June 2008

Digital Video - June 2008 Contents DV Update My Studio Runners World Brevis Flip 35MM Lens Adapter 4160 Soom Tripod System Century Essential-5 Filter Kit Little Big Disk Quadra Instant Expert DXA-2S Adapter Technology Treasures Making What You See Sound Great Click to Play DV 101 Production Diary

Digital Video - June 2008

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