RE: FLASH: acceptable file size?

[Marc Hoffman, Poison Dart Frog Media]

At 05:49 PM 11/23/99 , you wrote:


>How does one optimize the way it plays?



Use symbols for anything that is used more than once.

Use Bandwidth profiler during Test Movie and check off "Generate Size 

Report" during movie export. Study these to see where bottlenecks occur and 

to identify objects that are bloating file size. Use only as much graphic 

detail as the user can appreciate. Limit tweening to just a portion of the 

screen at once. Limit use of gradients and alpha, especially in tweened 

objects. Experiment with sound compression to find the lowest acceptable 

quality (this is tested from the sound object in the library). Keep frame 

rate as low as acceptable. There are some other optimization tricks -- 

FlashCentral has a good section of articles and links on this.


The basic concept, however, is that an internet connection can only stream 

so much content per second. Your goal is to build a movie that preloads 

just a few seconds of content and then runs off the stream rate of your 

poorest-equipped user, Most of us figure a 28 baud modem is common enough 

to use as the lowest rate to satisfy.  Bandwidth profiler will help you 

test streaming conditions for any speed connection that you select. Also 

use math to figure 2-3 kilobytes of data can be streamed per second at 28 

baud (it would be higher but one must allow for Internet traffic conditions).





Marc Hoffman

marcdartfrogmedia [dot] com (mailto:marcdartfrogmedia [dot] com)

.

My Flash Portfolio: <http://www.dartfrogmedia.com/sampler>

(featured in Flash 3 Web Animation, by Ken Milburn)




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