.swf to .mov

[Lucy_Sky]

Hi

I need to convert a few swfs to.mov. The swfs are built in AS3 ( no timeline animation). I have tried Quicktime, but it doesnt work very good. What would be the best software to use? The size of the .movs is no matter, can be as big as they need.

THANX ALOT

[caseyryan]

actually, swf may contain flv video or some other. You can't conver swf object to video itself.
When I needed to do so, I played swfs with Opera and then cut the flv videos out of the cache Maybe it's not the best way, but it worked for me

[Lucy_Sky]

Hi

Thanx for your help. I can not make Opera generate a flv file? I have looked in the cache for and flv or swf, but nothing. Would you be able to tell me how it should work?
MANY THANX

[Video Man]

Well actually a .swf will not contain a .flv. An .flv file is a separate type of container format which can hold video and audio files. If a video file is embedded into the main timline of a Flash .swf, it is no longer a .flv file, it becomes a .swf file. So there is no way that Opera or any other Web browser can "generate" a .flv from that .swf.
If the .swf happens to be a video player, then it will play that seperate .flv video file and if you check the browser cache, you will find both the .swf and the .flv have been downloaded. The Browser has not generated the .flv.
Depending on your version of Flash and the complexity of the .swf, you may be able to "Export" your .swf as a .mov (or .avi). Main menu, File/Export movie/ choose your format. However, that doesn't always work very well if a lot of the display is generated by actionscript.
But, there are a lot of transcoders out there on the Internet which will transcode from a format like .swf to .mov. Just Google "transcode convert .swf to .mov", such as :
http://www.ehow.com/how_5302548_convert-swf-mov.html
not that I recommend that particular one, just to show how easy it is to find them.
Best wishes,
Video Man

[baits]

I use mo yea SWF to Video Converter Pro, which can keep good quality after conversion

[hikster]

actually, this does spark off an interesting conversation i would be interested in. I am looking for a solution for a problem i have been having.

I have a .avi file that weighs 156MB. I want to convert it into .flv and play it over the web as a course. As you well know the .flv size i am loking for is around 30 MB. I have tried Flixpro for conversion, but it takes 5 hours to do the conversion and since the video has many fast moving flash animations in it; those areas have very poor quality.

Then i tried Adobe flash media encoder. It takes far less time to do the same conpression but gives a size that is even bigger than the .avi file!! I am confused and need to come up with a solution at the earliest. So, any help is much apreciated.

Anything i am missing in the process?? Please advice.

thanks in advance

[Video Man]

It all has to do with the bitrate that you transcode at.
And since quality at a certain bitrate is tied to the display dimensions....
If you have a raw .avi at 156MB, transcoding with Flash Video Encoder should greatly reduce the file size.
I use it all the time with .avi, mp4, etc. works great with the correct settings!
Best wishes,
Video Man

[hikster]

what would you advice is the best bit rate for a video that runs for 19 mins and has 158MB as file size, to convert it to .flv

pls advice.

[Video Man]

I would suggest that you keep the bitrate under 1000kbps... but that is directly tied to the display size. Both the display dimensions and the bitrate can be manually set in the Adobe Flash Media Encoder. To help understand better.... from an old post:

Video bit rate

One of the principle of goal setting is to "Begin with the end in mind". In this case it'll be very hard to give good recommendations because the end is not defined. So I'll just make a few assumptions and you can correct me as needed.
First, I'll assume that since you are converting to Flash, you want to deliver this video over the Internet. If that's true, then we'll have to make some assumptions on the Internet connection download speeds of your potential viewers. Let's just say that most have at least a 1.5Mb connection or faster.
OK, that would mean that a video bitrate of half that should usually provide a video download that is not interupped by buffering (most of the time anyway). So assuming a video bitrate of 750kbps, what would the optimum display dimensions be?
Before we decide, here's a little info about bitrate. For highest quality playback, the video bitrate is tied directly to the display dimensions. That is, the larger the display, the more incoming data is required to properly display the video. Think of bitrate in terms of a can of paint. If you have 1 quart of paint, you might be able to do a very nice job on a 32 X 24 foot area. But if you try to stretch that same amount of paint out over a 64 X 48 foot area, the coverage will not be nearly as good and you get poor results.
In the same way, a video displayed at 640 X 480 pixels will require 4 times the bitrate as a video displayed at 320 X 240 pixels to produce the same quality. So for example a video with a bitrate of 100kbps, displayed at 160 X 120 will produce the same quality results as a video with a bitrate of 1600kbps if displayed at 640 X 480.
So to boil it all down, video bitrates of 750kbps, even up to 1000kbps can usually get delivered of the Internet on most high speed connections. Higher bit rates may work for really fast connections but will cause problems for viewers with slower connections. Video display size has a direct bearing on the final quality. In the 750 to 1000kbps range, display size should be kept around 450 or 500 width max (and whatever height the aspect ratio calls for). Yes it can be displayed larger, but the quality will suffer.
Sound like your audio settings are fine, especially for Internet delivery.
As for framerate, maintain the original raw video framerate for best results. So if the video was shot at 24fps, leave it.
As for video converters, do you have the Flash 8 Video Converter? It works just fine for video to be delivered over the Internet. Remember, you are taking a Cadillac version of video and stuffing it into a Chevy body to get it to work over the Internet.

Best wishes,
Video Man

[hikster]

thanks again videoman. My video dimensions are set at 1000*517 and this cannot be changed. I finally went with 400kbps for the video because size was a constraint, the video does have pixelations and i just uploaded a few hours ago. I am scared stiff.

Have i done right?

[Video Man]

400kbps will allow the video to be downloaded by almost all Internet connections, but it's a pretty low bitrate for such a large display size.
But... take a look after it's uploaded and see... maybe post a link if you want to get some other opinions.
Best wishes,
Video Man

[hikster]

wish i could Video man, but it is not mine actually, it is corporate property. As per your quote that i read the other day, the ideal video bitrate i should be assigning to this video should be 1500kbps, at that rate i was afraid the video might jump at aplces. Hence, i went with 44. Maybe i am wrong...It could be my system, or i am getting something else wrong.

[Video Man]

Your right about the 1500kbps and expecting some stalls as the video stops and buffers. But that would be an acceptable bitrate for a video display that large.
But the problem is the large display size... it need more data than a smaller display size.
But, if 400kbps provides enough quality... then problem solved!
VM