Macromedia has dramatically bolstered video quality in Flash Professional 8, leveraging On2’s VP6 codec to embed cleaner, smaller video files in Flash 8 content. Macromedia claims 95 percent of PCs have Flash Player 7 installed, making its Flash Video (FLV) format a powerful, viable platform for video distribution. Macromedia is especially touting its suitability for authoring content for mobile devices, many of which have Flash player installed out of the box.
The video workflow has been simplified, with new features including the ability to embed event or navigation cue points, and support for alpha channels during playback. A standalone Flash 8 video encoder is included, allowing users to set up a dedicated video-encoding workstation, as well as Flash Video exporter plug-ins for various NLEs.
Flash is available in Professional and Basic editions for $699 ($299 upgrade from any version) and $399, respectively, or as part of the new Studio 8 package, which bundles Flash Professional 8, Dreamweaver 8, Fireworks 8, Contribute 3 and FlashPaper 2 for $999 ($399 upgrade from any version of any of the programs). On2 is releasing its own Flash Video tool, Flix Pro for Flash Player 8 ($249), with editing, cropping and video-posting tools. Flash 8 and Flix Pro ship this month.