RichFLV now with mp3 import!

Finally i`ve a version ready with mp3 import. You can now select your favorite mp3 and swap the sound of the flv file with this mp3.
This is not the only big update. Maybe the most important thing are the performance improvements. I completely rewrote my flv classes so that it takes up much less memory and time to process flvs. Now it`s possible to analyze and modify even bigger files. For example with the old version a flv file with 150mb would eat up about 1.5Gb!!! of memory now it takes about 150mb. The only downside is that the export time has been increased slightly but not much. There is still more to find concerning performance but i think this update is quite significant and finaly makes RichFlv a really useful app.
Because i had to rewrite all classes it could be that there are some issues that i haven`t found yet. I`m absolutely busy at the moment and have no time to really test things so please get back to me with your findings and comments.

Here is a run down of how to do an mp3 import:

Choose Import>Mp3 and select an mp3 file.

mp3import.jpg

A new Timeline for the sound file will open up. The blue bar represents the flv file. You can drag the bar to alter the timestamp of the mp3.
mp3_timeline.jpg

If you want to export your flv with the new mp3 sound click the “Use Mp3 as soundtrack” checkbox. Otherwise the flv will be exported with it`s original sound.
Than just export the flv like before (Export>>FLV). You can now also decide if you want to keep the original sound were your new mp3 is not playing.
mp3controls.gif

I hope this release is useful for some of you. I have so much more things to add in the future but have to make small steps because i only find time for this late at night 😉
But all your comments, ideas and bug reports are very much welcome (benz (at) richapps.de).

Download the new version here: RichFLV.air

(You`ll need the AIR runtime. If the file downloads as a zip file just rename it`s extension to air)

Swap Sound Tags in FLV files

I`m so excited that i have to tell this although i can not show the actual implementation yet.
Today i completed my mp3 library so that it`s now able to load an mp3, analyse the headers and frames and than convert them to FLV Sound Tags.
In the RichFLV Import tab there is now a new menu item that allows to import an mp3. In this way you can than recompose the flv with an mp3 of your choice.
So for the next update you can expect this features:

– recompose flvs with mp3
– export silent flvs (sound extracted)
– export flvs with sound only (don`t know if it`s useful but it works ;-))

I will also fix some bugs related to framerate issues (currently it always assumes the files are 25/s). And the swf export will work with sound.

While working on the mp3 stuff i found one interesting thing. If the Video tags have time stamps that would suggest a frame rate of 25 but the sound tags are placed in a slower pace the flv will always align with the sound tags. So no matter what the framerate is the sound makes the beat.

The update may take some time as i have the flu right now and can only concentrate for max 1 hour a day.

Editing Mp3s with Apollo

This is just a quick sample app that allows you to cut an mp3 file and get some information about it.
It`s all implemented using the ByteArray class and allows to read the frames and their headers from an mp3 file.
With this information it`s possible to cut the mp3 and create a new one. It would even be possible to merge several mp3 files into one long file.
I`m experimenting with this because i want to enable RichFLV to change the sound and add new mp3 sound tracks to the flv.
richMp3.jpg
You can download my prove of concept Mp3 tool here. (You`ll need the alpha Apollo Runtime)

RichFLV – Apollo app updated

This is the biggest update to RichFLV since it`s release.

Download RichFLV (Rename extension to .air if it downloads as a zip file)
Download Apollo Runtime (Alpha Version)

Here is a brief description what has been changed.

Performance:
The biggest improvement is the performance boost. This version should analyse flvs up to 10 times faster than the old version.
I was able to analyse a 140Mb file also i would not recommend this but files up to 80 Mb should be ok.
The biggest problem currently is the memory consumption. With the 140Mb file my RAM could easily eat up 1GB. I will look into that for a next update.
One thing i will also invastigate is to change the analysis of the flv when it`s loaded. Maybe it would make more sense to do the major part of the analysis when the file is saved.
This will keep memory usage low while working on the file and the import would be much faster but than it will take longer to save changes.

Progress Information:
I finally found a way to add a progress bar while importing a flv file. I was motivated to do this by the book “The Laws Of Simplicity” by John Maeda.
I can really recommend this book! The progress information is given in two chunks. First it shows how much of the file has been read and than it shows you how much of the flv has been analysed.
While analysing the flv it will also output how many tags of the different kinds (Video, Sound, Metadata) it has found.
Progress

New Improved Timeline:

The timeline is now more compact and easier to handle (i hope!?). I`ve build custom components for the sliders because i was not happy with the Slider component.
The keyframe and cutter handling should be much more precise now.

Timeline

Export Still Image As Jpeg:
I`ve added the ability to export still images from the video player. They will be saved as jpeg files at the moment. Later i will add different formats (PNG,BMP).
In the options menu you have the ability to change the quality settings for the jpegs.

jpegExport.jpg

Improved Layout Handling:

You can now hide the info panel and the timeline panel and get different views of the editor.
layout.jpg

More Options

I`ve included an option to set the aspect ration handling of the video and one for creating new cuepoints at the current timestamp of the video.
options.jpg

Chrome changed
I have changed the chrome settings from a custom chrome with transparency to the standard chrome because of performance issues.
Espacially when you had the application in fullscreen mode the app became quite sluggish. Now with the standard chrome it behaves much better.
I haven`t noticed a big performance hit with transparency in other apps i`ve build with apollo but when it comes to video this definetely has a huge impact.
Will see if that improves i the upcoming beta of apollo.

Please give comments if you like the changes, have suggestions or bug reports.

Download RichFLV (Rename extension to .air if it downloads as a zip file)
Download Apollo Runtime (Alpha Version)