Flowplayer: What Is It and Why You Need It
Date: January 20, 2010
Author: Adrienne M
Use of video on the internet is no longer limited to entertainment.? It is now a key component of website instructional content.? Consequently, our clients require different video types and formats for their sites.
Unified video playback should not be restricted by format.? At developerprogram.com, we use Flowplayer, a unique and flexible video player, effortlessly embedding many types of videos on websites.?
Unlike Adobe's embedded video player, adding Flowplayer to a web page is as easy as copying and pasting one simple line of HTML.
Many other embedded video players only allow the playing of videos
without permitting any of the following customizations:- style of the control bar
- how the video is played
- the addition of features to your video like overlays and links
Here are some of Flowplayer?s key features:
- Play multiple videos on the same page:
http://flowplayer.org/demos/installation/multiple-players.htm - Customize the control bar:
http://flowplayer.org/demos/skinning/skin-example1.htm - Create and customize playlist:
http://flowplayer.org/plugins/javascript/playlist-internal.htm - Add captions or HTML content directly over the video:
http://flowplayer.org/demos/configuration/wmode.htm - Brand your video with a logo:
http://flowplayer.org/demos/commercial/embed.htm - Add email and embedding features:
http://flowplayer.org/demos/tools/sharing-tabbed.htm - Add splashes with HTML:
http://flowplayer.org/demos/skinning/splash-info.htm - Add a fun background around your video:
http://flowplayer.org/demos/skinning/css-background.htm (Click on "Hello World!").
For many our clients, it is important to have a video player on-brand with the rest of the website. With Flowplayer, the control bar and buttons may be color coordinated to match any website. ?Additionally, custom-made skin easily applies to videos on the site and looks identical across major browsers.? A fullscreen button, a volume slider or a mute button may be added to the control bar providing the user more control of the video playing experience.?
How to Customize Tooltips in Flowplayer
Click the image above to see a larger view
Want to add tooltips to the buttons? Not a problem! Flowplayer has this feature built-in so the user knows exactly how the button operates.? These features may be implemented in a separate file for the user.? The skins may be updated, by updating the file, and it automatically amends all videos using that skin across the website.
Flowplayer also has features to deal with issues that arise when embedding large videos on a web page. By implementing pseudostreaming technology with Flowplayer, the user can skip to any clip in the video - even if the video has not finished buffering.?By adding a splash image (the first image you see before playing the video) to the playlist the user pre-buffers the video. The user is ready to view the video while the video buffers into the player's memory. The video will play smoothly from the beginning.
At developerprogram.com, we have found many benefits to using Flowplayer when assisting our clients with video. Hopefully this article gives you some ideas about how Flowplayer could work for you.
