• Getting Started
• Acquiring your video source
• Importing your video
• Preparing your video
• Encoding your video
• Playing your encoded files
• Issues to consider

The Video and Audio requirements are as follows:

• Free Flash Player: http://www.adobe.com
• Free QuickTime Player (you must use the complete "recommended" install mode): http://www.quicktime.com
• Free Windows Media Player : http://windowsmedia.com/download/download.asp
• Direct X 8 or later: Download from Microsoft's site.

Flair converts imported video and audio files into different types of Flash files:

• VP6 SWF: The VP6 SWF output offers the best video quality, which is identical to the VP6 FLV output, except it uses the SWF format. It plays in the Flash 8 player and higher. VP6 SWF files generated by Flair will be placed directly onto the Flair  timeline. Use this format for encoding shorter videos (under 9 minutes).
• VP6 FLV : The VP6 FLV output offers the best video quality which is identical to the VP6 SWF output, except it uses the FLV format. It plays in the Flash 8 player and higher. VP6 FLV files generated by Flair  will cause a placeholder SWF file to be placed directly onto the Flair  timeline because FLV files must be loaded into a SWF file in order to play them. Use this format for encoding longer videos (over 9 minutes) and video for CD distribution.
• MX FLV : The MX FLV output offers good video quality (with both 1-pass and 2-pass VBR - 2 pass is better) which is identical to the MX SWF output, except it uses the FLV format. It plays in the Flash 7 player and higher. MX FLV files generated by Flair  will cause a placeholder SWF file to be placed directly onto the Flair  timeline because FLV files must be loaded into a SWF file in order to play them. Use this format for encoding longer videos (over 9 minutes) and only when player distribution is a factor (i.e., the Flash 7 player has a wider player distribution).
• MX SWF: The MX SWF output offers good video quality (with both 1-pass and 2-pass VBR - 2 pass is better) which is identical to the MX FLV output, except it uses the SWF format. It plays in the Flash 6 player and higher. MX SWF files generated by Flair  will be placed directly onto the Flair  timeline. Use this format for encoding shorter videos (under 9 minutes) and only when player distribution is a factor (i.e., the Flash 6 player has a wider player distribution).
• Image Sequence SWF Video: The Image Sequence SWF video plays in any Flash player version 3 and higher (note: mp3 audio requires at least the Flash 4 player). While the VP6, MX and MX SWF and FLV video output is much better quality, you may want to use the Image Sequence SWF video for certain applications - such as mobile devices, etc. that require an earlier Flash player. Use this format for encoding shorter videos (under 5 minutes) and only when player version is the most important factor.
• Vector SWF Video: Flair  can turn standard video into a vector based animation which is a special effect. Flair   can output four different types of vector video from the same source: color, gray scale, two color (any two colors) and outline (also with any two colors). Flair vector video plays in any Flash player version 3 and higher. Use this for special effects.

Show Real Time Frame Image

When you right-click on a video on the Flair timeline, you will have the option to "Show real time frame image." This setting defaults to being on. Using this option, you can preview your project frame by frame by stepping through the timeline. However, when you are working with very large files this can slow down the preview process (depending on your computer specifications). So if you are working with very large files you may wish to turn this option off (selecting this option and unchecking it). Once you have disabled this option you will no longer be able to view the actual frame preview of your object until you re-enable it.

For FLV files, this option allows you to view the selected frame in Edit mode by seeking to the nearest keyframe. (Because of the way FLV files are made, it is not possible to jump to display a specific frame instantaneously. The program must first seek to the nearest keyframe. So using this option with FLV files will result in a short segment of the video playing when you click on a frame in Edit mode.) When you preview an FLV file, it must always play from the first frame because it is being loaded at play time (that is the way FLV files work).

Flair encodes the following video and audio formats into Flash.

• Video: avi, .dv, .mov/.qt, .mpeg, .mp4, .3gp, .asf, .wmv
• Audio: .mp3, .wav, .wma
• Images: .jpg, .gif, .png, .bmp, .psd, .tif, .pic, .tga, .wmf

In order to import media files into Flair , your source video/audio/images need to be located on your computer’s hard drive, or be accessible by your computer.

If your video is on videotape you will have to capture it before encoding. Flair  has a video capture option. For more information on using the video capture see our tutorials on using the Recording Utility.

Once you have selected the video file you want to encode, you may import it by clicking on the Browse button to the right of the Input box in the File tab

Select the file you wish to encode from your hard drive and click open. You will now see the name of your selected file located in the Input box in the file menu.

• Selecting a preset

Before encoding, you may either select a preset, which fills in all of the required encoding information or you can fill in these options manually (but this is recommended only for advanced users.)  By default a preset is already selected.

The minimum settings required for encoding are: input filename and export Video and/or audio (File tab), output video dimensions, video and swf framerates, bitrate and keyframe options, image quality if no bitrate is selected, as well as audio sampling rate and bitrate (all of these are in the vid/aud tab). As mentioned, selecting a preset fills in all required settings.

Flair comes with multiple video presets for the following bandwidths: 56k, 300k, 512k, and 1,000k. Flair  also includes audio only output presets.

As an example, if you want video for a medium broadband connection, then select the “300k Broadband Med Video” preset.

You are now ready to encode your video. To encode, click the encode & Insert button in the file tab.

Once your video is finished encoding it will automatically be inserted into your Flair  project. If you have encoded an FLV file a placeholder SWF file will automatically be inserted into your Flair  project. This placeholder SWF file will load the FLV file (this is required since FLV files must be loaded in order to play - this is part of the FLV format specification).

You may play your output file directly from the media encoder interface using  the "Play" button.

Using the presets in Flair is the easiest way to create video, audio and image files – they enable you to convert your files in three clicks (browse to your source video, select a preset and click encode). But there are a couple of issues you should watch out for.

• FLV vs. SWF: SWF files will be placed directly on the Flair  timeline, while FLV files must be loaded to play. SWF files have a 16,000 frame limit. FLV files have no 16,000 frame limit, so if you are creating long video files, it is strongly recommended that use FLV output. Also, when creating video for CD, you should use FLV video because it performs better.
   
• Source Video Framerate: Flash SWF video has two framerates: 1) a video framerate, which is the number of distinct video frames per second in your video, and 2) a SWF framerate, which is the number of SWF frames in your final Flash video. (This is not an issue with FLV files.) These are not the same thing and you have to keep track of both - and how they relate to each other and to the source video framerate. Flash SWF video is different in this way then standard video which has only a single video framerate. By default your SWF framerate will be the same as your project framerate. The presets in Flair  automatically select video and SWF framerates for your output and are based on the idea that most video is encoded at 30 fps. However, the preset values may not provide the smoothest playback or best audio sync for your output if your source video uses a different framerate. We advise that your video framerate should be a factor of your source video framerate. A factor is a number that divides evenly (without a remainder) into another number. For example 1, 2, 3 and 6 are factors of 6; 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 10, 15, and 30 are factors of 30, and so on. Also the SWF framerate must be equal to, or a multiple of your Flair video framerate. So double check your video and SWF framerates and how they match up with your source video. Your source video framerate is shown in the “Input video properties” section of the Video Audio tab (if this information is available).
  
• Flair Project Framerate: If you are encoding SWF video you should make sure your SWF framerate is the same as your project framerate. This is not an issue with FLV files.
   
• Image dimensions: Make sure the image dimensions (width and height) for your output video use the same aspect ratio (the width of your video divided by the height) as your source video. Many of the presets will cause this to happen automatically by selecting the “Maintain source aspect ratios” option in the Output video dimensions section. Your source video dimensions are shown in the “Input video properties” section of the Video/Audio tab (if this information is available).