Using the Flash encoder
 

I was told that I should try and avoid using the flash files. (.flv) and instead I should go with WMV or MP4.

Can someone tell me how I can use the Flash encoder and have it produce the other file types?

....or is it an impossible option?

It all depends what you're using it for. Flash video is very efficient and is easy to transmit over the internet. I wouldn't use it to show a client their project. But if they wanted something delivered to the web, flash would be a good way to do it.

MP4 is a good one too. It can be used for small files to put on web pages and it is scalable enough to burn Blu-Ray discs with.

What version of Premiere are you using? I'll do my best to point you in the right direction with regards to encoding media.

Exporting via the Adobe Media Encoder, within Premiere, is the way to get the other various file types.

The Flash Encoder is limited to flv and swf.

I just ordered Pemire today and am now using the 30 day trial version.
I have yet to get into the editing but really trying to learn the different techniques to get a good video to a website.

Currently I have sports site and am trying to host a basketball game that I taped over the winter. I am expecting about 2K viewing's of it. I have about 60 mins of un-edited footage that I want to show. I want it to maintain very good quality. At the time of shooting I never thought it would be going to the web so I shot it in 60i. I don't care much for the deinterlaced results. (But I am learning).

I thought that flash was the best route to go but I had read that the .flv was not the best file to use and maintain quality.

There are higher quality formats out there, yes. If everyone had Gigabit connections to the net you could easily publish uncompressed files. But the average broadband customer in the US has a 1.5 - 2.0 Mbps connection.

When you have your program complete, do some test exports in various formats to see which one best suits your program.

Nothing is wrong with FLV for online video. You can deliver some good content with it. The other thing is Flash now supports MP4 so if you cant live without it, you can still deliver it via flash. It does require the latest flash software but it does look good. I have a sample here

As others have said the actual flash encoder is just for flash and SWF. If you want the others in Premiere goto File Export -> Adobe Media Encoder

and play from there. There are thousands of settings so start playing and make use of the export work area so you can set a small test area so you are not rendering for hours :)

I has been a long weekend for me...I am now trying to get into this stuff.

Your example above looks great and I realy want to deliver great quality. Maybe not the best footage ever taken, but I want to assure the web delivery gets the most possible out of it.

That movie preview looked great. Do I have the H.264 codec in Adobe or do I need to go get some files?

Premiere can encode to h264 so you are set there. The only downside is what was listed on my page, it requires the latest flash which more and more people are getting. The player I use has a fall back option meaning if they do not support h264, it will play an FLV. Premiere CS3 can export to On2VP6 FLV which is very close to h264 in quality but pretty much everyone can play that now.

Josh,
Can I treat the .mp4 the same as a .flv file? In terms of deployment to the web?

Indeed and it can do one better, Not only can it be your "streaming file" assuming your encoder is setup to make it properly it can also be the same file people download to watch on their ipod without having to convert it.

Josh,
Thanks for the help.
Do you know if the website coding can be the same? I know this is not a web site development forum and I may need to move this question to one. But I thought you may know if the html code has to be different to tell it that the target file is .mp4 rather than the .flv

If the player you are using has been updated then all you have to do is point it at the .mp4. I use the JW FLV player and all I have to do is point the file variable to whatever.flv or whatever.mp4. and either will play fine. The trick with MP4 is to make sure that you encode it for streaming. Sorenson Squeeze calls it hinted streaming. This allows the person to start play back instantly. If you don't they have to download the whole video and then play which is no fun. Hopefully I am understanding your question correctly :)

Just to make sure. (but I think we are on the same page)

Here is the code I would use in my page to call the video. This is created with the insert command in Dreamweaver. (Which is my 2nd html editor behind ASP.NET Visual Web Developer 2005)

However, in Dreamweaver I can not use the Wizzard to point to a .mp4 file. This file name is Reds_vs_Angels_5-18-08 and it does not have the .flv extention but I guess the file type is understood to be .flv

The original way around this type of problem was to simply change the .mp4 to flv on the file. Also, have you tried to give the file an extension and see if that works?

I would have imagined that Adobe would have updated their Dreamweaver to use the new feature but it might take them a little while.

So I dont need to consider chaning the player?
I will try to change the extention.