What is FLV?

FLV or Flash Live Video is a video conversion software that contains a file format which converts and delivers video images over the internet. Flash video can be viewed on YouTube, Facebook, and other streaming websites. To view a video in FLV format, you need an operating system with Adobe Flash Player Version 6 or higher installed. Apple’s iOS devices do not support the Adobe Flash Player plug-in.

The Future of FLV Video Format

FLV file format was the default online video format for YouTube, VEVO, Hulu, Metacafe, and Yahoo! Video, among others. Even BBC Online has made FLV the default choice of uploading videos to their website. Developers have improved the FLV format to F4V or Flash4Video to decrease issues with file formatting.

Flash Video formatting is still prevalent on the internet streaming media players. However, Apple has banned all Flash or FLV files from playing on their iOS mobile devices. This ban is due to the large amount of CPU required to play FLV files. With more open source file formats such as HTML5 becoming available for mobile streaming FLV file formats will be less popular. YouTube has lifted their exclusivity with FLV formatting to include H-264 format. The H-264 format is also iOS and mobile platform media player friendly.

Real World Applications

Besides YouTube and Facebook videos, FLV can be used to enhance an organization’s website. Your webmaster can improve your website presentation with videos. Videos give visitors to your site a more realistic view of your company or organization. An excellent walk-through video can showcase your company and the people who work there. Hearing a voice on the telephone, or seeing a name on an email, does not carry as much weight as seeing the actual person. Invite your customers to your website and give them a tour of your workplace. Customers appreciate that inside look. Better yet, make a few videos that can be rotated every few days, it helps keep your website fresh. Isn’t that what marketing is all about?

Choosing a Flash Player

Adobe is the number one Flash video player due to its popularity, and it is a free download. While Adobe offers the basic playback function, some users may want to do more with their FLV videos, such as download, organize, share or convert the videos to a different format. For these FLV users, there is a multitude of free or shareware FLV players available for download.

How to Watch FLV Videos

Download either Adobe Flash Player or another free FLV player to watch an FLV formatted video. The VLC media player is a free downloadable player and works on Windows PC and Apple devices. Then upload the FLV file, and the player will automatically play the video or media.

For more information on FLV, visit the Flash Animation and Media FAQ section of Flying Cow Design