Recording Decent Quality Video and Audio With Flash and Red5

This was written in June 2011, but it is a technique I have used since March 2010 when I had to deliver my first exhibit that did high quality video recording in Flash. Right now we're on the brink of a new h.264 encoder in the Flash Player (version 11); but until that time, you'll be stuck using the techniques I'm going to explain below if you want to record anything worthwhile in Flash. The challenge we have here is that the encoders in the Flash player (version 10) are pretty old and don't work too well compared to todays video quality standards.

UPDATE 9/2013: A combined stream example has been posted for recording with Red5 1.0.2 SNAPSHOT or FMS 4.5; Recording Combined Audio and Video Streams With Flash and Red5 1.0.2 SNAPSHOT or FMS. You may want to check that much shorter article and example prior to digging into this detailed, and lengthy article.

The only way I know how to record video is to use a flash capable media server. As of June, 2011 there isn't any way to record video without a media server in the Flash Player, Adobe AIR, or Flex. UPDATE 7/22/2011: I was wrong, it looks like zeropointnine.com has worked on a bitmap frames to flv writer. Anyway, in my case I have always used Red5 as the server, but have experimented with Flash Media Server. This primarily covers my experiences using Red5.

The general procedure of recording involves recognizing certain less documented functionality in the Flash Player to work around how the player sends data to the server within the Netstream classes. In order to prevent random loss of video frames, you separate audio and video into two completely different Netconnections and Netstreams then combine them again on the server once recording is completed.

In this tutorial I'll first introduce you to a Flash programming method that will take care of 80% of the work in a Flash application. If you're really hardcore and need a final file that combines high quality video and audio you can continue on to the section covering the server-side compliment to the recording application.

Recording Status In Red5 Versions
.8 Final is capable of recording.
.9 Entire releases have completely broken recording.
1.0 SVN as of May 2011 had working recording.

Audio/Video Sync Warning

Before you invest a lot of time in this technique I want to warn that there are going to be some intermittent issues with audio/video sync. There are a few ways to deal with this inside the ffmpeg commands that I will discuss further down in the server-side application.

The first option, but one that doesn't work 100% of the time is to attempt to use the ffmpeg async command.

Danny Kopping let me know that the second option is to use the itsoffset parameter in order to offset the audio stream. He mentioned he has had luck offsetting the audio by .75 seconds.

Another Possibility In the Red5 1.0 + Configuration

Thanks to hdfr's helpful article on recording in 1.0 there is another option to try out with mixed results in 1.0 +. In the conf/red5-common.xml file,there is a queueThreshold property that can be modified. Per the hdfvr article, if doing high resolution recording, set the value high to something like:

Prerequisites

1. You have to know how to program a Flash client application. You can program this using the Flex SDK, or one of the Flash CS versions. My example was made using FlashDevelop with the free Flex SDK. If you don't understand what I'm asking here, please see the terminology section in my tutorial on Open Source Flash Programming.

2. You'll need to be able to setup and run Red5 or a media server like Flash Media Server or Wowza.

3. You're going to have to have some decent technical skills. These technologies aren't easy to understand and may take some patience to get going.

4. If you get lost here, you should probably check out my other two tutorials on open source flash programming and setting up a red5 development environment.

In order to do decent recording, 80% of the programming is done in your Flash based client application. There are behaviors of the Flash player we need to understand before trying to record anything. In the case of Red5, the other 20% is handled in your server-side application.

The Flash Client Application

Understanding Flash Player 9 and 10 Behavior

1. Flash player puts priority on Audio transport to the media server. If your application experiences any bandwidth issues, video frames will be thrown out at the client, so you'll experience jumpy recorded video. (There is a way to deal with this, but it doesn't work 100% of the time).

2. Despite the network capabilities, there is a ceiling on the publish quality of video that can be achieved when recording using Flash Player. If you go past a certain point, the buffer will grow so large, people using your application would have to wait a half hour or longer for it to finish recording.

3. The Flash player's encoders are not controllable. You're going to see the player increase buffer size substantially when recording bright scenes, and video with lots of motion.

4. Different camera models will play a drastic role in the amount of data that the Flash player attempts to send to the media server.

5. There is no way to control the rate at which Flash Player sends data to the media server; which is extremely frustrating from a programming standpoint.

What is buffer length?

Ok, so I mentioned buffer length. What is that? When recording, buffer length is the representation of how much data is stored in your local Flash Player that still needs to be sent over the wire to the media server. Unless the buffer length runs out when you are done recording, all the data has not made it to the media server and you'll experience broken recordings. There isn't any way to get the actual data amount that needs to be sent.

NetConnection and NetSteram

The two primary classes you're dealing with when recording audio or video in Flash are the Netconnection and Netstream classes. Netconnection is used to establish a connection to the media server, and all of the more complex publish and record operations are done using the Netstream.

So from a programming standpoint this is the general procedure I use for ensuring some decent quality recordings. (Still not what I would consider high quality in 2011, but it's as good as you can get).

1. Create two Netstreams, one for video and one for audio in order to get around Flash Player dropping any video.

2. Determine the quality setting ceiling of the particular camera you're dealing with (seems to be mid 80's for many cameras) and publish based on that setting.

3. When done recording, setup timers to monitor the netstream's bufferLength. Do not close the netstreams, attach a null microphone and camera and wait for the bufferLength to reach 0.

4. Finally use Netstream's close method once the bufferLength has reached zero.

If you separate the recording into two netstreams you now have two independent flv files. One that has video only and one that has audio only. At this point I have my server-side red5 application use ffmpeg to merge the flv audio and flv video files into one final file.

Now that you are aware of the overview of the process, lets take a look at the client-side Flash Player code for the application above, then the server-side Red5 code.

Client Side Code (Actionscript 3)

package com.technogumbo
{
    import flash.display.Sprite;
    import flash.events.Event;
    import flash.events.MouseEvent;
    import flash.events.NetStatusEvent;
    import flash.events.StatusEvent;
    import flash.events.TimerEvent;
    import flash.utils.Timer;
    
    import flash.media.Camera;
    import flash.media.Microphone;
    import flash.media.Video;
    import flash.net.NetConnection;
    import flash.net.NetStream;
    import flash.text.TextFieldAutoSize;
    
    // These imports come from the swc. They are not nativeley available to applications
    // built outside the Flash CS versions.
    import fl.controls.Button;
    import fl.controls.TextInput;
    import fl.controls.Label;
    import fl.controls.ComboBox;
    import fl.controls.CheckBox;
    import fl.data.DataProvider;
    
    /**
     * ...
     * @author Charles
     * 
     * This sample was created in July 2011 using
     * SVN version of Red5 RC1/RC2. Don't criticize me on doing this all in one file.
     * I did this on purpose. I've seen too many OO heavy examples that will really lose beginners.
     * 
     * The H.264 encoders in Flash Player 11 may have a great effect on the items I describe below
     * I would assume they are going to utilize the same behavior.  Think about the tough task of
     * encoding video in real time? H.264 implementations are pretty CPU intensive so it may
     * effect the buffers even more.  In any case, this is how to do it before Flash Player 11.
     * 
     * Be aware that recording performance and behavior varries greatly
     * depending on what version of Red5 you're using.
     * 
     * In RC1 - there is a configuration property in
     * conf/red5-common.xml called queueThreshold
     * By default this is 33, but according to AVChat and hdfvr, you should set this very high,
     * like 3600
     * http://avchathq.com/blog/recording-high-quality-flash-video-over-slow-internet-connections-part-3/
     * http://hdfvr.com/documentation#11
     * 
     * 
     * Also, if you include audio and video in the same NetStream, it will almost ALWAYS mess up the video
     * or cause the video to drop frames because Flash player gives the audio transport priority and drops
     * video frames.  In order to get around this, we record audio and video separateley, then play them
     * back separeteley as well.  This causes slight audio out of sync issues some times, but its better than
     * the trash quality video you normally get.
     * 
     * Also, be aware that at time of authoring, there is no way that I am aware of to record video in Flash/AIR/Flex without using
     * a media server.
     */
    public class Main extends Sprite 
    {
        private var activeCamera:Camera;
        private var activeMic:Microphone;
        private var activeConnection:NetConnection;
        private var activeStream:NetStream;
        private var audioOnlyStream:NetStream;
        
        private var onScreenVideo:Video;
        private var audioPlaybackVideo:Video;
        
        private var camAllowed:Boolean = false;
        private var micAllowed:Boolean = false;
        private var recordingHalted:Boolean = false;
        private var currentlyRecordedFileName:String = "";
        
        private var bufferCheckTimer:Timer;
        
        // UI Purposes - These Controls come from the swc
        private var btnRecord:Button;
        private var btnPlay:Button;
        private var btnStartMerge:Button;
        
        private var cbMicHz:ComboBox;
        private var lblMic:Label;
        
        private var lblVidPlaceholder:Label;
        private var lblVidResolution:Label;
        
        private var lblCamWidth:Label;
        private var txtCamWidth:TextInput;
        
        private var lblCamHeight:Label;
        private var txtCamHeight:TextInput;
        
        private var lblCamFPS:Label;
        private var txtCamFPS:TextInput;
        
        private var lblCamBandwidth:Label;
        private var txtCamBandwidth:TextInput;
        
        private var lblCamQuality:Label;
        private var txtCamQuality:TextInput;
        
        private var lblVideoBuffer:Label;
        private var lblAudioBuffer:Label;
        
        private var lblMediaSvr:Label;
        private var txtMediaSvrAdd:TextInput;
        private var btnMediaSrvr:Button;
        private var lblBufferSize:Label;
        
        private var lblNetStreamBuff:Label;
        private var txtNetStreamBuff:TextInput;
        
        private var lblNetStreamBehavior:Label;
        private var cbNetStreamBehavior:CheckBox;
        
        private var lblStatus:Label;
        
        public function Main():void 
        {
            if (stage) init();
            else addEventListener(Event.ADDED_TO_STAGE, init);
        }
        
        private function init(e:Event = null):void 
        {
            removeEventListener(Event.ADDED_TO_STAGE, init);
            // entry point
            
            // Setup the UI
            setupUI();
        }
        
        /**
         * Sets up the UI.
         * Don't get lost in here. The important parts of the example are definatley not this.
        **/
        private function setupUI():void {
            
            onScreenVideo = new Video(320, 240);
            onScreenVideo.smoothing = true;
            onScreenVideo.x = 10;
            onScreenVideo.y = 10;
            
            // We smash the audio only video behind the real video that contains..well video. Audio video is only used for
            // playing back audio.
            
            // Make sure to set the video to the same size as your camera!
            // NAH - making it smaller and it will just get crushed
            audioPlaybackVideo = new Video(320, 240);
            audioPlaybackVideo.x = 10;
            audioPlaybackVideo.y = 10;
            
            addChild(audioPlaybackVideo); // -- This is directly behind the onScreenVideo so its not visible
            addChild(onScreenVideo);
            
            lblVidPlaceholder = new Label();
            lblVidPlaceholder.text = "Once You Record Video Wideo Will Be Displayed Here";
            lblVidPlaceholder.width = 200;
            lblVidPlaceholder.height = 100;
            lblVidPlaceholder.wordWrap = true;
            lblVidPlaceholder.x = 10;
            lblVidPlaceholder.y = 100;
            addChild(lblVidPlaceholder);
            
            lblMediaSvr = new Label();
            lblMediaSvr.text = "Media Server Application URI:";
            lblMediaSvr.width = 200;
            lblMediaSvr.x = 340;
            lblMediaSvr.y = 10;
            addChild(lblMediaSvr);
            
            txtMediaSvrAdd = new TextInput();
            txtMediaSvrAdd.text = "rtmp://localhost/vod";
            txtMediaSvrAdd.x = 340;
            txtMediaSvrAdd.y = 30;
            txtMediaSvrAdd.width = 160;
            addChild(txtMediaSvrAdd);
            
            btnMediaSrvr = new Button();
            btnMediaSrvr.label = "Connect";
            btnMediaSrvr.addEventListener(MouseEvent.CLICK, handleMedSrvrBtn, false, 0, true);
            btnMediaSrvr.x = 520;
            btnMediaSrvr.y = 30;
            addChild(btnMediaSrvr);
            
            lblVidResolution = new Label();
            lblVidResolution.text = "Settings Take Effect When You Connect to the Media Server In This Example. Disconnect then Re-connect to Change Camera and Microphone Settings.";
            lblVidResolution.wordWrap = true;
            lblVidResolution.width = 300;
            lblVidResolution.height = 200;
            //lblVidResolution.autoSize = TextFieldAutoSize.LEFT;
            lblVidResolution.x = 340;
            lblVidResolution.y = 60;
            addChild(lblVidResolution);
            
        
            lblCamWidth = new Label();
            lblCamWidth.text = "Width:";
            lblCamWidth.x = 340;
            lblCamWidth.y = 120;
            addChild(lblCamWidth);
            
            txtCamWidth = new TextInput();
            txtCamWidth.width = 35;
            txtCamWidth.height = 20;
            txtCamWidth.x = 375;
            txtCamWidth.y = 120;
            txtCamWidth.text = "640";
            addChild(txtCamWidth);
            
            lblCamHeight = new Label();
            lblCamHeight.text = "Height:";
            lblCamHeight.y = 120;
            lblCamHeight.x = 435;
            addChild(lblCamHeight);
            
            txtCamHeight = new TextInput();
            txtCamHeight.width = 35;
            txtCamHeight.height = 20;
            txtCamHeight.y = 120;
            txtCamHeight.x = 470;
            txtCamHeight.text = "480";
            addChild(txtCamHeight);
            
            lblCamFPS = new Label();
            lblCamFPS.text = "FPS:";
            lblCamFPS.y = 120;
            lblCamFPS.x = 525;
            addChild(lblCamFPS);
            
            txtCamFPS = new TextInput();
            txtCamFPS.width = 35;
            txtCamFPS.height = 20;
            txtCamFPS.x = 550;
            txtCamFPS.y = 120;
            txtCamFPS.text = "29.97";
            addChild(txtCamFPS);
            
            lblCamBandwidth = new Label();
            lblCamBandwidth.text = "Bandwidth:";
            lblCamBandwidth.x = 340;
            lblCamBandwidth.y = 150;
            lblCamBandwidth.width = 60;
            addChild( lblCamBandwidth );
            
            txtCamBandwidth = new TextInput();
            txtCamBandwidth.width = 30;
            txtCamBandwidth.height = 20;
            txtCamBandwidth.y = 150;
            txtCamBandwidth.x = 400;
            txtCamBandwidth.text = "0";
            addChild( txtCamBandwidth );
            
            lblCamQuality = new Label();
            lblCamQuality.text = "Quality:";
            lblCamQuality.x = 435;
            lblCamQuality.y = 150;
            lblCamQuality.width = 65;
            addChild( lblCamQuality );
            
            txtCamQuality = new TextInput();
            txtCamQuality.width = 30;
            txtCamQuality.height = 20;
            txtCamQuality.y = 150;
            txtCamQuality.x = 470;
            txtCamQuality.text = "85";
            addChild( txtCamQuality );
            
            lblMic = new Label();
            lblMic.text = "Microphone Record Rate";
            lblMic.width = 150;
            lblMic.x = 340;
            lblMic.y = 180;
            addChild(lblMic);
            
            var sampleRates:Array = [ 
            {label:"44kHz", data:"44"}, 
            {label:"22kHz", data:"22"}, 
            {label:"11kHz", data:"11" },
            {label:"8kHz", data:"8"}, 
            {label:"5kHz", data:"5"}
            ]; 
            
            cbMicHz = new ComboBox();
            cbMicHz.dropdownWidth = 100;
            cbMicHz.move(340, 200);
            cbMicHz.dataProvider = new DataProvider(sampleRates);
            addChild(cbMicHz);
        
            lblNetStreamBuff = new Label();
            lblNetStreamBuff.text = "Netstream Buffer Time During Recording (Automatically Set to 1 For Playback)";
            lblNetStreamBuff.x = 340;
            lblNetStreamBuff.y = 240;
            lblNetStreamBuff.width = 200;
            lblNetStreamBuff.height = 60;
            lblNetStreamBuff.wordWrap = true;
            addChild( lblNetStreamBuff );
            
            txtNetStreamBuff = new TextInput();
            txtNetStreamBuff.text = "60";
            txtNetStreamBuff.height = 20;
            txtNetStreamBuff.width = 30;
            txtNetStreamBuff.x = 340;
            txtNetStreamBuff.y = 280;
            addChild( txtNetStreamBuff );
            
            lblNetStreamBehavior = new Label();
            lblNetStreamBehavior.text = "Netstream Waits For Buffer To Empty Before Calling close?";
            lblNetStreamBehavior.width = 200;
            lblNetStreamBehavior.height = 60;
            lblNetStreamBehavior.wordWrap = true;
            lblNetStreamBehavior.x = 340;
            lblNetStreamBehavior.y = 320;
            addChild( lblNetStreamBehavior );
            
            cbNetStreamBehavior = new CheckBox();
            cbNetStreamBehavior.x = 340;
            cbNetStreamBehavior.y = 360;
            cbNetStreamBehavior.selected = true;
            cbNetStreamBehavior.label = "";
            addChild( cbNetStreamBehavior );
            
            // -- Left side UI
            btnRecord = new Button();
            btnRecord.label = "Record";
            btnRecord.addEventListener(MouseEvent.CLICK, handleRecordStartStop, false, 0, true);
            btnRecord.x = 10;
            btnRecord.y = 290;
            addChild(btnRecord);
            btnRecord.enabled = false;
            
            btnPlay = new Button();
            btnPlay.label = "Play Recording";
            btnPlay.addEventListener(MouseEvent.CLICK, handlePlaybackClick, false, 0, true);
            btnPlay.x = 200;
            btnPlay.y = 290;
            addChild(btnPlay);
            btnPlay.enabled = false;
            
            btnStartMerge = new Button();
            btnStartMerge.label = "Start Merge";
            btnStartMerge.addEventListener(MouseEvent.CLICK, handleMediaServerMergeCall, false, 0, true);
            btnStartMerge.x = 10;
            btnStartMerge.y = 320;
            addChild( btnStartMerge );
            btnStartMerge.enabled = false;
            
            lblVideoBuffer = new Label();
            lblVideoBuffer.text = "Video Stream Buffer: 0";
            lblVideoBuffer.x = 10;
            lblVideoBuffer.y = 250;
            lblVideoBuffer.width = 320;
            addChild(lblVideoBuffer);
            
            lblAudioBuffer = new Label();
            lblAudioBuffer.text = "Audio Stream Buffer: 0";
            lblAudioBuffer.x = 10;
            lblAudioBuffer.y = 270;
            lblAudioBuffer.width = 320;
            addChild(lblAudioBuffer);
            
            lblStatus = new Label();
            lblStatus.x = 10;
            lblStatus.y = 360;
            lblStatus.width = 320;
            lblStatus.height = 120;
            lblStatus.wordWrap = true;
            setStatus("Setting up UI:");
            addChild(lblStatus);
            
            
        }
        
        /**
         * Just a utility function for the UI
         * @param    _OnOff
         */
        private function disableEnableRecordingSettings(_OnOff:Boolean):void {
            if (_OnOff == true) {
                
                txtMediaSvrAdd.enabled = true;
                txtCamWidth.enabled = true;
                txtCamHeight.enabled = true;
                txtCamFPS.enabled = true;
                txtCamBandwidth.enabled = true;
                txtCamQuality.enabled = true;
                cbMicHz.enabled = true;
                txtNetStreamBuff.enabled = true;
                cbNetStreamBehavior.enabled = true;
                
            } else {
                
                txtMediaSvrAdd.enabled = false;
                txtCamWidth.enabled = false;
                txtCamHeight.enabled = false;
                txtCamFPS.enabled = false;
                txtCamBandwidth.enabled = false;
                txtCamQuality.enabled = false;
                cbMicHz.enabled = false;
                txtNetStreamBuff.enabled = false;
                cbNetStreamBehavior.enabled = false;
                
            }
        }
        
        /**
         * Another utility function for the UI. Changes the status text in the lower left
         * @param    _NewStatus
         */
        private function setStatus(_NewStatus:String):void {
            lblStatus.text = "STATUS: " + _NewStatus;
        }
        
        /**
         * Mouse Click Event button handler for connect/Disconnect to the media server
         * (The button in the top left)
         * @param    e
         */
        private function handleMedSrvrBtn(e:MouseEvent):void {
            if (btnMediaSrvr.label == "Connect") {
            
                // Disable UI recording settings
                disableEnableRecordingSettings(false);
                
                setupConnection();
                
                btnMediaSrvr.label = "Disconnect";
            } else {
                
                // Destroy the camera
                destroyBufferCheckTimer();
                // Destroy camera and mic
                destroyCameraAndMic();
                // Destroy any leftover or active streams
                destroyStreams();
                // Destroy the original connection
                destroyConnection();
                
                // Enable UI recording settings
                disableEnableRecordingSettings(true);
                
                btnRecord.enabled = false;
                btnPlay.enabled = false;
                btnStartMerge.enabled = false;
                
                btnMediaSrvr.label = "Connect";
            }
        }

        /**
         * The mouse click event handler for the recording start/stop button
         * @param    e
         */
        private function handleRecordStartStop(e:MouseEvent):void {
            if (btnRecord.label == "Record") {
                
                recordingHalted = false;
                
                lblVidPlaceholder.visible = false;
                setupStream();
                setupCameraAndMic();
                    
                btnPlay.label = "Play Recording";
                btnPlay.enabled = false;
                btnStartMerge.enabled = false;
                
                btnRecord.label = "Stop";
            } else {
                
                if (activeStream != null) {
                    setStatus("Done recording, waiting for buffers to empty.");
                    
                    activeStream.attachCamera(null);
                    activeStream.attachAudio(null);
                    
                    audioOnlyStream.attachCamera(null);
                    audioOnlyStream.attachAudio(null);
                    
                    recordingHalted = true;
                    
                    // Looks like we aren't waiting for the buffer to empty. Good luck!
                    if (cbNetStreamBehavior.selected == false) {
                        destroyBufferCheckTimer();
                        activeStream.close();
                        audioOnlyStream.close();
                        
                        setStatus("We didn't wait for the buffers to empty and immediateley closed.");
                        // OK - Enable Playback - playback time
                        btnPlay.enabled = true;
                        // Enable calling 
                        btnStartMerge.enabled = true;
                    }
                }
                
                btnRecord.label = "Record";
            }
        }
        
        /**
         * The mouse click handler for the button that allows you to play back a recording.
         * @param    e
         */
        private function handlePlaybackClick(e:MouseEvent):void {
            if (btnPlay.label == "Play Recording") {
                
                doRecordingPlayback();
                
                btnPlay.label = "Stop";
            } else {
                
                stopRecordingPlayback();
                
                btnPlay.label = "Play Recording";
            }
        }
        
        /**
         * Mouse event click handler. This will attempt to do a netconnection.call to 
         * call a function on the media server. This was intended for use with the
         * recording_merger server-side application included in the same tutorial as this application.
         * 
         * Im ignoring a responder here because the server-side function is void and returns nothing.
         * In the recording_merger application it actually invokes a call back on this application that
         * has nothing to do with a responder.
         * 
         * In the red5 server side application, I'm attempting to call a public function here.
         * @param    e
         */
        private function handleMediaServerMergeCall(e:MouseEvent):void {
            if (activeConnection != null) {
                activeConnection.call( "initiateTranscoder", null, currentlyRecordedFileName );
            }
        }
        
        /**
         * This function is envoked by the media server when transcoding completes..if using the 
         * recording_merger application.
         * 
         * @param    _FullFilePath
         */
        public function transcodingCallback(_FullFilePath:String):void {
            setStatus("transcodingCallback Final Video at: " + _FullFilePath);
        }
        
        /**
         * Sets up the Netconnection to the media server
         */
        private function setupConnection():void {
            if(activeConnection == null) {
                activeConnection = new NetConnection();
                // Setting the client to this so when the server attempts to call functions on the client
                // it will go to this class.
                activeConnection.client = this;
                activeConnection.addEventListener(NetStatusEvent.NET_STATUS, handleConnectionStatus, false, 0, true);
                activeConnection.connect( txtMediaSvrAdd.text );
                setStatus("Connecting to: " + txtMediaSvrAdd.text );
            } else {
                destroyConnection(true);
            }
        }
        
        /**
         * A utility function for destroying the active netconnection object.
         * 
         * Please ignore the optionalCallback items, they are just a methodology I use
         * @param    _OptionalCallback
         */
        private function destroyConnection(_OptionalCallback:Boolean = false):void {
            if (activeConnection != null) {
                
                activeConnection.close();
                activeConnection.removeEventListener(NetStatusEvent.NET_STATUS, handleConnectionStatus);
                activeConnection = null;
                
                if (_OptionalCallback == true) {
                    setupConnection();
                }
            }
        }
        
        /**
         * The NetConnections netstatus event handler.  This will fire when a connection is closed
         * or if you successfully connect to a media server.
         * @param    e
         */
        private function handleConnectionStatus(e:NetStatusEvent):void {
            trace("handleConnectionStatus - " + e.info.code );
            switch(e.info.code) {
                case 'NetConnection.Connect.Success':
                    setStatus("Successfully connected to: " + txtMediaSvrAdd.text );
                    btnRecord.enabled = true;
                    
                break;
                case 'NetConnection.Connect.Closed':
                    setStatus("Netconnection Closed to: " + txtMediaSvrAdd.text );
                break;
            }
        }
        
        /**
         * This function begins setup on the audio and video netstream which are part of the
         * core of recording and playback when dealing with a media server.
         */
        private function setupStream():void {
            if (activeStream == null) {
                activeStream = new NetStream(activeConnection);
                audioOnlyStream = new NetStream(activeConnection);
                
                // Set the client object so the netstreams can call onMetaData when we do playback
                activeStream.client = this;
                audioOnlyStream.client = this;
                
                activeStream.addEventListener(NetStatusEvent.NET_STATUS, handleStreamStatus, false, 0, true);
                audioOnlyStream.addEventListener(NetStatusEvent.NET_STATUS, handleAudioOnlyStreamStatus, false, 0, true);
                // Set the buffer time real high so the player doesnt just start dropping frames all over the place
                // to preserve the tiny default .1 buffer
                // http://livedocs.adobe.com/flash/9.0/ActionScriptLangRefV3/flash/net/NetStream.html#bufferTime
                activeStream.bufferTime = Number( txtNetStreamBuff.text );
                audioOnlyStream.bufferTime = Number( txtNetStreamBuff.text );
            } else {
                destroyStreams(true);
            }
        }
        
        /**
         * Just a function for cleaning up any of the Netstreams as completley as possible.
         * Again, ignore the optional callback stuff. Its just a methodology I use in OO programming.
         * @param    _OptionalCallback
         */
        private function destroyStreams(_OptionalCallback:Boolean = false):void {
            if (activeStream != null) {
                
                if(onScreenVideo != null) {
                    onScreenVideo.attachNetStream(null);
                }
                if(audioPlaybackVideo != null) {
                    audioPlaybackVideo.attachNetStream(null);
                }
            
                activeStream.attachCamera(null);
                activeStream.attachAudio(null);
                
                audioOnlyStream.attachCamera(null);
                audioOnlyStream.attachAudio(null);
                    
                activeStream.close();
                audioOnlyStream.close();
                
                activeStream.removeEventListener(NetStatusEvent.NET_STATUS, handleStreamStatus);
                audioOnlyStream.removeEventListener(NetStatusEvent.NET_STATUS, handleAudioOnlyStreamStatus);
                
                activeStream = null;
                audioOnlyStream = null;
                
                if (_OptionalCallback == true) {
                    setupStream();
                }
            }
        }
    
        // When streaming video or doing playback using netstream you always have to setup onMetaData
        // so this is used for both AUDIO and VIDEO
        // Where we set the netstream's client to this, it allows the netstream to automatically call this function
        public function onMetaData(info:Object):void {
            trace("playback called onMetaData");
            setStatus("Playback of recording called onMetaData");
        }
        
        // Also a callback needed when streaming video back
        // http://livedocs.adobe.com/flash/9.0/ActionScriptLangRefV3/flash/net/NetStream.html#event:onPlayStatus
        public function onPlayStatus(info:Object):void {
            trace("playback called onPlayStatus");
            setStatus("Playback of recording called onPlayStatus");
        }
        
        /**
         * Handles NetStatus events on the video NetStream
         * We dont particularly do anything here, but these are real helpful
         * if making a full video player.
         * @param    e
         */
        private function handleStreamStatus(e:NetStatusEvent):void {
            switch(e.info.code) {
                case 'NetStream.Buffer.Empty':
                    setStatus("Video Netstream Buffer Empty");
                break;
                case 'NetStream.Buffer.Full':
                    setStatus("Video Netstream Buffer Full");
                break;
                case 'NetStream.Buffer.Flush':
                    setStatus("Video Netstream Buffer Flushed!!!!");
                break;
            }
        }
        
        /**
         * Handles NetStatus events on the audio NetStream
         * We dont particularly do anything here, but these are real helpful
         * if making a full video player.
         * @param    e
         */
        private function handleAudioOnlyStreamStatus(e:NetStatusEvent):void {
            switch(e.info.code) {
                case 'NetStream.Buffer.Empty':
                    setStatus("Audio Netstream Buffer Empty");
                break;
                case 'NetStream.Buffer.Full':
                    setStatus("Audio Netstream Buffer Full");
                break;
                case 'NetStream.Buffer.Flush':
                    setStatus("Audio Netstream Buffer Flushed!!!");
                break;
            }
        }
        
        /**
         * Prepares the camera and microphone based on the parameters in the UI.
         */
        private function setupCameraAndMic():void {
            if (activeCamera == null) {
                // Gets the default camera on the system - you can pass "0", "1", etc to manually select devices
                activeCamera = Camera.getCamera();
                activeCamera.addEventListener(StatusEvent.STATUS, handleCameraStatus, false, 0, true);
                // 320x240 at 20fps
                activeCamera.setMode( int( txtCamWidth.text ) , int( txtCamHeight.text ) , Number( txtCamFPS.text ) );
                // Youll probably have to set quality lower depending on your webcam.  All webcams transmit different
                // ammounts of data. Theyll get the buffer so high it's impractical for users to wait that long!
                activeCamera.setQuality( int( txtCamBandwidth.text ) , int( txtCamQuality.text ) );
                
                activeMic = Microphone.getMicrophone();
                activeMic.addEventListener(StatusEvent.STATUS, handleMicrophoneStatus, false, 0, true);
                // Rate in khz
                // http://livedocs.adobe.com/flash/9.0/ActionScriptLangRefV3/flash/media/Microphone.html#rate
                activeMic.rate = int( cbMicHz.selectedItem.data  );
                activeMic.gain = 50;
                // Audio wont transmit all the time causing breaks in recorded audio stream screwing up the
                // flv.  Make sure even if its silence while recording the mic is always sending data
                activeMic.setSilenceLevel(0);
                
                
                onScreenVideo.attachCamera(activeCamera);
                if (activeStream != null) {
                    activeStream.attachCamera(activeCamera);
                }
                if (audioOnlyStream != null) {
                    audioOnlyStream.attachAudio(activeMic);
                }
                
                // Wait for the security settings - If we have already approved these - the fun little dialog wont ever show up again,
                // and the events on camera and mic wont fire, so just check initially.
                setStatus("Waiting for camera and microphone security settings.");
                
                // -- Will just proceede to publish recording if we already have passed security settings
                finishCamAndMicSetup();
            } else {
                destroyCameraAndMic(true);
            }
        }
        
        /**
         * A utility function for completley cleaning up the camrea and microphone
         * @param    _OptionalCallback
         */
        private function destroyCameraAndMic(_OptionalCallback:Boolean = false):void {
            if (activeCamera != null) {
                
                if ( onScreenVideo != null) {
                    onScreenVideo.attachCamera(null);
                }
                
                if (activeStream != null) {
                    activeStream.attachCamera(null);
                }
                
                if (audioOnlyStream != null) {
                    audioOnlyStream.attachAudio(null);
                }
                
                activeCamera.removeEventListener(StatusEvent.STATUS, handleCameraStatus);
                activeCamera = null;
                
                activeMic.removeEventListener(StatusEvent.STATUS, handleMicrophoneStatus);
                activeMic = null;
                
                // Just in case - will do nothing if already destroyed
                destroyBufferCheckTimer();
                
                if (_OptionalCallback == true) {
                    setupCameraAndMic();
                }
            }
        }
        
        /**
         * We have to wait to actually start recording due to the Flash Player security
         * dialog. So this method is called only after we have the OK on security settings.
         */
        private function finishCamAndMicSetup():void {
            if (camAllowed == true && micAllowed == true) {
                if (activeStream != null) {
                    
                    setStatus("Recording....");
                                    
                    // This will start recording - the name we specify here is the name of the final file
                    // on the server.
                    // I'll use the data functionality to generate unique names
                    var tempDate:Date = new Date();
                    var uniqueFileName:String = "RecordTest_" + String(tempDate.getMinutes()) + String(tempDate.getMilliseconds());
                    
                    currentlyRecordedFileName = uniqueFileName;
                    
                    // OK lets start recording - look in the "streams" directory inside of red5
                    // inside of the app we connected to in the NetConnection
                    activeStream.publish(uniqueFileName + "_Video", "record");
                    audioOnlyStream.publish(uniqueFileName + "_Audio", "record");
                    
                    createBufferCheckTimer();
                }
            }
        }
        
        /**
         * Utility function for creating the timer that checks the netstreams buffer.
         * This timer executes every 100 milliseconds, or 10 times a second because 1000ms = 1 second
         */
        private function createBufferCheckTimer():void {
            if (bufferCheckTimer == null) {
                    bufferCheckTimer = new Timer(100);
                    bufferCheckTimer.addEventListener(TimerEvent.TIMER, handleBufferCheck, false, 0, true);
                    bufferCheckTimer.start();
            } else {
                destroyBufferCheckTimer(true);
            }
        }
        
        /**
         * Utility function for destroying the buffer check timer.
         * @param    _OptionalCallback
         */
        private function destroyBufferCheckTimer(_OptionalCallback:Boolean = false):void {
            if (bufferCheckTimer != null) {
                    bufferCheckTimer.stop();
                    bufferCheckTimer.removeEventListener(TimerEvent.TIMER, handleBufferCheck);
                    bufferCheckTimer = null;
                    
                    if (_OptionalCallback == true) {
                        createBufferCheckTimer();
                    }
            }
        }
        
        /**
         * Whenever the timer runs, this function is called, so its called 10 times a second
         * to check the state of the buffers when recording.
         * @param    e
         */
        private function handleBufferCheck(e:TimerEvent):void {
            if (activeStream != null) {
                
                if (lblAudioBuffer != null) {
                    lblAudioBuffer.text = "Audio Stream Buffer: " + String( audioOnlyStream.bufferLength );
                }

                if (lblVideoBuffer != null) {
                    lblVideoBuffer.text = "Video Stream Buffer: " + String( activeStream.bufferLength );
                }
                
                if (recordingHalted == true) {
                    if ( (activeStream.bufferLength == 0) && (audioOnlyStream.bufferLength == 0) ) {
                        activeStream.close();
                        audioOnlyStream.close();
                        
                        bufferCheckTimer.stop();
                        bufferCheckTimer.removeEventListener(TimerEvent.TIMER, handleBufferCheck);
                        bufferCheckTimer = null;
                        
                        setStatus("Buffers Empty. Press 'Play Recording' to start playback.");
                        // OK - Enable Playback - playback time
                        btnPlay.enabled = true;
                        btnStartMerge.enabled = true;
                    }
                }
            }
            
            if (bufferCheckTimer != null) {
                bufferCheckTimer.reset();
                bufferCheckTimer.start();
            }
        }
        
        /**
         * The flash player security dialog will prompt users for camera access when we request the camera
         * use this event to figure out if they allowed it or not.
         * http://livedocs.adobe.com/flash/9.0/ActionScriptLangRefV3/flash/media/Camera.html#getCamera%28%29
         * @param    e
         */
        private function handleCameraStatus(e:StatusEvent):void {
            trace("handleCameraStatus - " + e.code);
            switch(e.code) {
                case 'Camera.muted':
                    // Show a message
                    setStatus("Camera muted - unable to continue");
                break;
                case 'Camera.Unmuted':
                    camAllowed = true;
                    finishCamAndMicSetup();
                break;
            }
        }
        
        /**
         * The flash player security dialog will prompt users for microphone access when we request the camera
         * use this event to figure out if they allowed it or not.
         * http://livedocs.adobe.com/flash/9.0/ActionScriptLangRefV3/flash/media/Camera.html#getCamera%28%29
         * @param    e
         */
        private function handleMicrophoneStatus(e:StatusEvent):void {
            trace("handleMicrophoneStatus - " + e.code);
            switch(e.code) {
                case 'Microphone.Muted':
                    // Show a message
                    setStatus("Microphone muted - unable to continue");
                break;
                case 'Microphone.Unmuted':
                    micAllowed = true;
                    finishCamAndMicSetup();
                break;
            }
        }
        
        /**
         * When playing back video/audio, we can use the same Netstreams we used to record
         * as well as the same video.
         * 
         * Take special note of the bufferTime change here.  If I left it at 60 or whatever was set
         * in the UI, the netstreams try and download that much time of video/audio before starting
         * playback.
         * 
         * I think the default value on netstreams of .1 sec is really intended for playback because
         * so many people do playback vs video recording.
         */
        private function doRecordingPlayback():void {
            setStatus("Starting simultanious playback of recording audio and video");
            
            onScreenVideo.attachCamera(null);
            onScreenVideo.attachNetStream(activeStream);
            audioPlaybackVideo.attachNetStream(audioOnlyStream);
            
            // Attempt to play back the audio and video file simultaniously
            // First, adjust the buffers as this will be BAD for playback
            activeStream.bufferTime = 1;
            audioOnlyStream.bufferTime = 1;
            
            activeStream.play(currentlyRecordedFileName + "_Video");
            audioOnlyStream.play(currentlyRecordedFileName + "_Audio");
        }
        
        /**
         * If for some reason someone stops the playback. I just pause the audio and
         * video stream.  they get destroyed when we record again anyway.
         */
        private function stopRecordingPlayback():void {
            setStatus("Stopping Recording Playback");
            
            if ( activeStream != null) {
                activeStream.pause();
            }
            if ( audioOnlyStream != null) {
                audioOnlyStream.pause();
            }
        }
        
    }
    
}

Download The Client Side Code

Download the swf of the application above (Save-As)

Download a zip of the entire source and FlashDevelop project

You can download the pre-compiled swf and source code. It was made using the free Flex SDK and FlashDevelop. Please note that when compiling it is important to reference the “FlashComponents.swc” file.

Red5 Server Side Code For Merging Audio and Video

Ok, looks like recording playback isn't good enough for you via the media server just in Flash? You want a combined final file! Hold on to your shorts because we're going to blast off on a Java adventure below.

We had to record audio and video to two separate files to prevent the flash player from garbling the video due to it's inherent audio transport priority behavior. If you're always recording and playing back using the media server, then there is no need to create a final merged file with audio and video. You would always just start playback of the audio and video at the same time in your Flash application.

On the server, we need a way to combine the two files into one final file with audio and video. There are other techniques for doing this, but the solution I explain utilizes the popular ffmpeg / libav application. This server-side code launches ffmpeg when recording is finished to merge the two files.

Making your own application in Red5 is pretty tough. It requires a decent understanding of Java technology and Red5. In this example I'm creating my server-side application based on red5 RC1 out of the SVN in July 2011. Before we get into the nuts and bolts of the solution, you can just download my pre-compiled Red5 server application and can drop it into a running instance of Red5. Make sure to read the INSTALLATION.txt file inside the zip archive.

Download the compiled zip archive of the recording_merger server side application

Or, if you're still on our Java adventure you can:

Download the source code for the server-side application which I will describe below.

The real trick when developing a custom server-side application is to insert your custom application as you program it into the red5 build.xml script for Apache Ant, which will let you build and debug your custom application as the entire server is built. If you're just taking my pre-built application above, you can insert it into the dist/webapps directory (or just webapps if you have no dist directory) as of July 2011, and red5 will pickup the app and launch it.

Basically you make your own main class that extends some of the main Red5 core classes. Assuming you have entered your applications information into the Ant build script correctly (build.xml), when you use Apache Ant to run Red5, it will compile your new custom application along with all of Red5. Once you're done debugging your app and have it all built, you can just use the red5 run scripts like red5.bat and red5.sh depending on your platform.

Explanation of Files (Besides core Red5 Application Files)

recording_merger.properties - A configuration file pointing to the absolute system path of ffmpeg and relative path to the deployed applications streams directory. This file should be placed in the root of your red5 directory (along-side build.xml or red5.bat or red5.sh).

Manager.java - This is the entry point for the application. Whenever you do a netconnection.connect to this application in Flash Red5 will execute certain function inside of here like, appConnect and appDisconnect. There is one public method in this file: "initiateTranscoder" which can be called to preform the process of merging two flv files using ffmpeg. This also contains an inner-class that is used to launch the transcoder in a separate thread from Red5, so execution of the server is not halted during transcoding.

UseTranscoderBlocking.java - This handles setup of the command line parameters for ffmpeg and calling of the actual binary to do the transcoding. It blocks until the process finishes and is designed to be run inside a separate thread within Manager.java

ThreadedtranscoderIO.java - The input and output streams of ffmpeg will cause mistchif when run this way if we dont direct them somewhere. This is used inside UseTranscoderBlocking.java when executing ffmpeg.

Server Side Code Files (Java)

Manager.java

package recording_merger;

// Non Standard RED- Classes
import java.io.IOException;

// For logging
import org.slf4j.Logger;
import org.red5.logging.Red5LoggerFactory;

import org.red5.server.adapter.ApplicationAdapter;
import org.red5.server.api.IScope;
import org.red5.server.api.stream.IServerStream;
import org.red5.server.api.stream.IStreamCapableConnection;

// Function calls on clients
import org.red5.server.api.IConnection;
import org.red5.server.api.Red5;
import org.red5.server.api.service.IServiceCapableConnection; 

// Thread stuff
import java.io.*;
import java.lang.Thread;
import java.lang.Throwable;
    
public class Manager extends ApplicationAdapter {
    
    // ********  Global Class Objects *********
       
    // For Red5
    private IScope appScope;

    private IServerStream serverStream;
    
    private static Logger log = Red5LoggerFactory.getLogger(Manager.class, "recording_merger");
    
    public boolean appStart(IScope app) {
        appScope = app;
            /** {@inheritDoc} */

        log.info("recording_merger appStart");
        
        return true;
    }
    
    @Override
    // This gets called whenever a Flash client connects to the server
    //
    public boolean appConnect(IConnection conn, Object[] params) {
        return super.appConnect(conn, params);
    }
    
    @Override
    // This gets called whenever a Flash client disconnects
    //
    //
    public void appDisconnect(IConnection conn) {
    
        if (appScope == conn.getScope() && serverStream != null) {
            //log.info("Closing server stream using appDisconnect");
            serverStream.close();
        }
        
        super.appDisconnect(conn);
    }
    
// Non Red-5 Specific Functions
    
    public void initiateTranscoder(String _RecordedVideoFileName) {
        
        //Create a thread to do the ffmpeg encoding without
        //blocking red5 and preventing its further execution
        //by passing in an instance of our connection we are able
        // to make a callback to the client once the thread finishes!
        IConnection currentConnection = Red5.getConnectionLocal(); 
        Runnable myRunObject = new ExecuteTranscoderWithCallbacks(_RecordedVideoFileName, currentConnection);
        
        Thread actualThread = new Thread(myRunObject);
        actualThread.start();
    }

        class ExecuteTranscoderWithCallbacks implements Runnable {
            
            private String RecordedFileName = "";
            IConnection currentConnection;
            
        ExecuteTranscoderWithCallbacks(String _RecordedFileName, IConnection _clientConn) {
            RecordedFileName = _RecordedFileName;
            currentConnection = _clientConn;
        }
        
        // In threaded java programming, this run will automatically run
        public void run(){
            try{
                UseTranscoderBlocking ffmpegTranscoder = new UseTranscoderBlocking();
            
                // This will block until the encoding is done!
                String returnStatus = "";
                
                returnStatus = ffmpegTranscoder.Start_FFMPEG(RecordedFileName);
                
                // Try and invoke a callback on the client!
                // IConnection currentConnection = Red5.getConnectionLocal(); 
                if (currentConnection instanceof IServiceCapableConnection) { 
                    IServiceCapableConnection sc = (IServiceCapableConnection) currentConnection;
                // Send the entire absolute file system path of the encoded file back to the flash client!
                // Calls a function on the netConnections "client" object called transcodingCallback
                    sc.invoke("transcodingCallback", new Object[]{returnStatus}); 
                } 

            }catch (Exception e){
                e.printStackTrace();
            }//end catch
        }//end run
        
    }//end inner class ExecuteFFMPEGWithCallbacks
}

UseTranscoderBlocking.java

package recording_merger;

import java.io.*;
import java.util.regex.Pattern;
import java.util.regex.Matcher;

// For Red5 Logging
import org.slf4j.Logger;
import org.red5.logging.Red5LoggerFactory;

// We need this for threads - this is for the neat line up in a row processing functionality
import java.lang.Thread; 

// For Loading the .properties configuration file
import java.util.Properties;

public class UseTranscoderBlocking {
    
     // DATAMEMBERS
        // Get the logger going - this allows us to write logs to red5root/log/recording_merger.log
        //
        private static Logger log = Red5LoggerFactory.getLogger(UseTranscoderBlocking.class, "recording_merger");
        
        // CONFIG FILE
        private static Properties configLoader;
        
        private String FFMPEGFULLPATH = "";
        
        // The relative path from the Red5 root to the applications "sreams" directory
        private String RELATIVEVIDPATH = "\\dist\\webapps\\recording_merger\\streams\\";
        
        // For blocking mode of this class, we return the absolute path to the final encoded file
        // which then gets sent back to the flash player client!
        private String FINALFILEPATH = "";
        
        public UseTranscoderBlocking() {

        }
       
       public String Start_FFMPEG(String _BaseFileName) {
           String result = "";
            
                try {
                    // The config .properties file is setup to reside in the root Red5 directory...thats what will resolve here.
                    // Would like to not have it in the red5 root, but if I put it in dist/webapps/..blah blah then thatll probably
                    // change later as red5 progresses.
                    configLoader = new Properties();
                    configLoader.load(new FileInputStream( "recording_merger.properties" ));
                    
                    // Populate all the global vars
                    FFMPEGFULLPATH = configLoader.getProperty("FFMPEGAbsPath");
                    RELATIVEVIDPATH = configLoader.getProperty("StreamsDirRelativePath");

                    // Get rid of the properties
                    configLoader = null;
                    
                    // Run FFMPEG
                    Run_FFMPEG(_BaseFileName);
                    
                } catch (Exception e) {
                    System.out.println("Start_FFMPEG exception-" + e);
                    log.error("Start_FFMPEG-" + e);
                }
                
            result = FINALFILEPATH;
           return result;
       }
       
       private String Build_FFMPEG_Video_Merge_Command(String _RelativePathToVideoFile) {
           String returnString = "";
           
           try {
            // Get the root Red5 Path
            File tmpDir = new File (".");
                
            // Prepare the full path to the video file
            String FullInputVideoPath = tmpDir.getCanonicalPath() + RELATIVEVIDPATH + _RelativePathToVideoFile + "_Video.flv";
            String FullInputAudioPath = tmpDir.getCanonicalPath() + RELATIVEVIDPATH + _RelativePathToVideoFile + "_Audio.flv";
            
            // Prepare the full path to the output video file - from the root of Red5
            String FullOutputVideoPath = tmpDir.getCanonicalPath() + RELATIVEVIDPATH + _RelativePathToVideoFile + "_Merged.flv";

            // Set the final files absolute path
            FINALFILEPATH = FullOutputVideoPath;

           // I am going to manually reconstruct this.  You could include it in the external config file if you wanted
           returnString = FFMPEGFULLPATH + " -y -i " + FullInputVideoPath + " -i " + FullInputAudioPath + " " + FullOutputVideoPath;
           
           } catch (IOException e) {
                System.out.println("UseFFMPEG Build_FFMPEG_Video_Merge_Command-" + e.toString());
                log.error("Build_FFMPEG_Video_Merge_Command-" + e.toString());
           }
           
           return returnString;
       }
       
       private void Run_FFMPEG(String _RecordingNameWoExtension) {
            try {
                // If you're going to run this on OSX or Linux, then there will be some subtlties here that you'll have to deal with.
                Runtime rt = Runtime.getRuntime();
                
                String cmd = Build_FFMPEG_Video_Merge_Command(_RecordingNameWoExtension);
        
                Process pr = rt.exec(cmd);
        
                ThreadedTranscoderIO errorHandler = new ThreadedTranscoderIO(pr.getErrorStream(), "Error Stream");
                 errorHandler.start();
                 ThreadedTranscoderIO inputHandler = new ThreadedTranscoderIO(pr.getInputStream(), "Output Stream");
                 inputHandler.start();
                 
                 try {
                     pr.waitFor();
                 } catch (InterruptedException e) {
                     throw new IOException("UseTranscoderBlocking - Run_FFMPEG - process interrupted " + e);
                 }
                
            } catch(Exception e) {
                System.out.println("UseTranscoderBlocking Run_FFMPEG-" + e.toString());
                log.error("Run_FFMPEG-" + e.toString());
            }
       }
}

I decided not to show the source of ThreadedtranscoderIO.java because it is so trivial. Download the source and you can look at it yourself. I've also removed exhaustive comments on many of the methods to shrink the over-flow of code in this article.

Step Forth Recording Graduate. Congradulations on Making It.

If you can get this client and server-side application working, you're going to be armed with a recording solution that will push the limit of the old encoders inside the Flash Player, and your network connection. I can't wait to check out the H.264 encoder in Flash Player 11! I hope this tutorial has helped de-mystify some of the tricks to recording using Flash and a media server.