Media Server Components
The Flash Media Server is composed of three development elements: the Media Server Software itself, the Flash 8 authoring software, and the latest Flash Player.
To write Flash Media Server applications, you’ll need all three. To write applications that capture audio or video, you’ll also need to install a microphone or camera.
Additionally, if your application requires server-side scripts for your Flash Media Server applications, you’ll need a UTF-8 JavaScript editor, such as the Script window in Flash Professional.
- Flash Player: Make sure that you are using the latest version of free Flash Player. You can download Flash Player from the Adobe website.
- Camera and microphone: To install a camera or microphone, follow the instructions that accompany your device. For a list of cameras that are known to be compatible with Flash Media Server, see the documentation on camera compatibility on the Adobe website. Cameras that aren’t on that list might be compatible with Flash Media Server but haven’t been tested by Adobe.
Most cameras contain a built-in microphone, but for best results use a separate microphone or a microphone-headset combination.
After you install your devices, you can specify the default camera or microphone by right-clicking (Windows) or Control-clicking (Macintosh) while any Flash application is playing. Then select Settings from the context menu, click the Microphone or Camera panel, and select your preferred device from the pop-up menu (see Figure 2).
Figure 2 The Flash Player Settings dialog box for selecting microphone options and record volume.
Using a JavaScript Editor
You can use any text editor to write server-side ActionScript code, which you’ll store in files with an extension of .asc or .js. You might prefer to use software specifically designed for writing web-based applications, such as Flash Professional or Dreamweaver. To create an .asc file in Flash, choose New > ActionScript Communication File.
To include non-ASCII text in your server-side scripts, such as double-byte characters used in Asian languages, you must use an editor that supports UTF-8 encoding. Flash Media Server requires UTF-8-encoded ASC files to pass double-byte characters from one client to another. For more information, see Writing double-byte applications.