Re: FLASH: Slideshows: SMIL v. Flash

[Hal Medrano]

>Flashers,

>

>I have a client for whom we will be taking several live presentations, (some

>with slides, some with PowerPoint presentations) to the web either via simple

>SMIL presentations or Flash. The client is requesting nothing more than still

>graphics, an audio stream (voice-over of the presentation), an indexing links

>to about 6 different points in each lecture.

>

>The client has had another contractor do some trials in SMIL - it seemed

>there were some cross platform issues with the indexing, but I haven't had

>the opportunity to see what kind of browser sniffing they were doing, etc.

>

>I Like SMIL, I like Flash. The beauty of SMIL in this case is that some of

>the presentations could be automagically converted via RealSlideshow. While

>production time is a small issue, the greater issue is quality of final

>product.

>

>Given that the lengths of these shows would be about 20 minutes, do you think

>streaming the audio from Flash may be a better, and safer cross platform

>option for slideshows than SMIL?

>

>Thoughts appreciated,

>Stace

>


Hi Stace,


I was very excited about SMIL when it first came out, and did some test

pieces to get my feet wet. Unfortunately, I haven't had the chance to use

it professinally.  Most everything you can do in SMIL, you can also do with

Flash, and I find the ubiquity and stability of the Flash plugin (vs

RealPlayer) to be the difference.  With Flash's new MP3 audio compression,

I don't think RealPlayer even has the edge in audio quality either

(historically, it's greatest strength).  RealPlayer's frequent buffering

halts (no matter how you set it) vs. Flash's ability to preload and then

stream smoothly is another plus.  While I'm a fan of both technologies, I

would lean toward Flash for what you want to do.


Just my dos centavos, if you're interested.


Hal


Hal Medrano

New Media Group

U S WEST Creative Services


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