HELP !!! Capturing "linked videos" from Flash - I'm Stumped



This is NOT the same as capturing a flash animation, where the entire
thing is contained within the swf file. I have a couple of Flash
capture utilities -and they work fine for games, animations, etc. But
I am talking about a tiny swf file that "references" a video clip
somewhere else on the web and plays it within a window. First, here
is how I capture other types (or NOT capture, depending on the
format). The "last" type is the one I need help with:

1) WMV embedded Files - I use "WMrecorder" ($29) and it works
perfectly. I do not know of a free method.

2) Real Video - I use notepad to look in the "ram" file to find the
link. Then I make a temporary web page with just one line in it -
the link to the rm file, open the web page I created, right-click on
the link and save the file. BUT now most sites use SMIL files instead
of RAM and/or they use Helix servers to host the clips, with all sorts
of protections built-in to prevent you from getting the files.

3) Quicktime - I have never tried to figure out how to save these, so
I can't and don;t know of any utility to do it either. Fortunately
very few sites use Quicktime.

4a) Flash "Embedded Video" - where the entire video is contained
within the swf file - no problem, just use any SWF capture utility
such as Flash Scout (costs money now - but was formerly called Flash
Pilot and was free) or Sothink SWF Catcher

4b) Flash Linked Video - there are tons of these out there and I am
stumped !!! Here is an example - all the video clips on www.break.com
- I love these kinds of clips and there are tons of new sites that
host them. All the flash capture utilities will save the swf file to
your hard drive, but it is nothing more than a tiny 10 to 15k "stub"
file that links to the embedded flash video. But then what? If you
capture the swf file to your hard drive and you have Macromedia's
Flash Player - you can run the swf file and it will open a window and
it will play the video inside the window. But you have not captured
the video to your hard drive. Any ideas?
.



Relevant Pages

  • 2nd Try - How to Capture Flash Linked Videos ??
    ... Flash "Embedded Video" - where the entire video is contained ... within the swf file is no problem, just use any SWF capture utility ... such as Flash Scout (costs money now - but was formerly called Flash ... The flash capture utilities will save the small swf file to ...
    (rec.video.desktop)
  • Re: Capture Video
    ... Cari (MS-MVP) wrote: ... Flash will capture nicely with the Sothink Web Video Downloader using Firefox. ... There are many other utilities which say they'll capture flash, but I haven't found any that work as well as this one. ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.video)
  • Re: Embeded Video
    ... I have been asked to embed a video in one of my web sites. ... What is the best/most accessible format to use? ... If you give only one format choice on a page, modern flash flv/swf ... rate, video codec used, make many styles of players in the swf file ...
    (alt.html)
  • Re: Capture Video
    ... Flash will capture nicely with the Sothink Web Video Downloader using Firefox. ... There are many other utilities which say they'll capture flash, but I haven't found any that work as well as this one. ... If this isn't the correct newsgroup, please direct me to the correct one. ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.video)
  • Re: embed flv video
    ... I tried with a flash thing I found, but it's only working in FF, not IE. ... Get swish video 3. ... video locally or on a website. ... The swf file has nothing to do with content other than video such as ...
    (alt.html)