Customer Rating:  
Summary: Good info... lots of errors
Comment: I have two complaints about this book. First, the example code is riddled with errors. Sometimes, there are contradictions from page to page. I checked the errata for the book and there were few corrections. If you're not an experienced action script programmer, good luck.
One thing that might help is if the author explained the concepts behind what the code is doing. These general concepts, however, are glossed over in lieu of practical examples. If you want to learn how to get different results from what the author does, you are left to infer how the code works from the examples and must consult other sources. And since the code is flawed to begin with, this is difficult.
On the other hand, this is the only book I know of that covers these topics. Maybe it will be improved with another edition.
Customer Rating:
Summary: The Missing Link (for Flash Vidheads)
Comment: This book is a much-needed resource and road map to creating all kinds of Flash video for the web. Authors Larson and Constantini begin with a chapter on project archaeology and conclude with a chapter on live video. In between, they cover all the nooks and crannies from encoding, the big picture of Object Oriented Programming, dynamic playlists.....in others words: Flash Video from soup to nuts. Coming from a traditional non-web video background in editing and graphics, this book is quite simply the book I'd been hoping would appear once I began to dabble in Flash development. Up to this point, most Flash books usually have a standard chapter or two about video. This book is the whole enchilada and delivers a fantastic "forest for the trees" perspective on planning, creating and deploying Flash video websites. The text is very well-articulated on subject matter that is quite complex. Whether you're an advanced specialist ready to dip right into the Action Script and get your own Flash video ball rolling or you need a quick primer in order to talk the talk with a Flash colleague, this book is your pixel-perfect friend. From a technical standpoint, there is a lot here, but one can browse very easily for quick solutions. From a creative standpoint, there are many inspiring examples and recipes to apply everything from a simple YouTube interface to a more ambitious video wall a la Nam Jun Paik to a website. Ultimately, I enjoyed the book mostly in how it challenged me to approach Flash video as its own art and craft, however new. From cue points to video skins to custom players; the sky's the limit. Let this book be your breath of fresh FLV air.
Customer Rating:
Summary: And now I know the why
Comment: A lot of books focus on telling you what to do. This is great as it enables you to get the job done.
Far too often people who write technical manuals think that is all the learner requires in order to retain knowledge.
Thank goodness this book doesn't stop there. It tells you WHY things should be done this way in addition to the HOW. I've found this process much more reliable as a means to transmit information in a sticky format.
I've been working with Flash video for years and have found through trial and error how to get videos to work properly.
This book finally explains in plain english things like keyframes, interlacing for web, exactly how the new CODEC works.
Ultimately, every new thing this book taught me was set in cement by the logical explanation of the why.
Customer Rating:
Summary: This is a must
Comment: Very good book that covers all from the beginig to the deploying to better deploy your video content. I am pleased to have gotten this book
Customer Rating:
Summary: Gives you just what you need to know (and perhaps a bit more)
Comment: As promised, this book offers a lot of food of thought, and provides an excellent framework for creating a professional-quality online video player.
The authors offer a strong argument against using the stock FLVPlayback components of CS3, and if you adopt their methodology (even if you skip Chapter 5 at first), you'll get plenty out of this book. You're sure to find some useful information, even if you don't drink all the design-pattern Kool-Aid.
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