flash video (FLV)

Flash Video (FLV) is a popular video file format developed by Macromedia and marketed by Adobe, which is increasingly used for video files. The FLV format is a container format whose advantages include easy integration into web pages and the ability to stream high-quality video files over the Internet.

The FLV file format contains video and audio data. For video compression, FLV relies on a variant of the H.263video codec called the Sorenson codec, or On2 VP6, which provides much better picture quality than the Sorenson codec. This advantage is particularly noticeable at low bit rates. However, the Sorensen codec is much more computationally intensive, which can cause problems on older systems. Flash Video's audio compression is MP3, and the FLV format also supports uncompressed audio or Adaptive Delta Pulse CodeModulation( ADPCM).

In a second, optional video stream, pixel transparency can be transmitted in an alpha channel. The header of the FLV file contains the information about the resolution of the display with width and height information, and the duration of the video is also entered.

The FLV files can be played with Adobe's Flash Player over most operating systems. In addition, FLV files can be played with GOM Player, VLC Media Player and Movie Player, MPlayer.