Macromedia Flash

Macromedia Flash is one of the most exciting technologies on the Web. It allows developers to add animation and sound to Web pages easily and inexpensively. One of the biggest advantages in using Flash is that the user does not have to wait for a large download of new content. Flash content is compact.

Flash enables Web sites to animate with striking visual effects that often require a small amount of data, often a few dozen kilobytes (KB) or less, adding only a few seconds to the download time for a Web page. (A typical home computer user or set-top box viewer receives data at a rate of about 2-3 Kbps.) In cases where Flash content replaces existing graphics, there may be no net impact on download times.

We support the following releases:

Macromedia Flash 1.0
Macromedia Flash 2.0
Macromedia Flash 3.0
Macromedia Flash 4.0

We do not support Flash 5 yet.

We support the use of Flash as a tool for creating Web sites that work well on both personal computers and our systems. The fast downloads for animated content made possible by Flash are a natural fit for our audience. The latest version of our receiver streams Flash animations.

As with any other graphic used in content for our platform, pay special attention to testing the look and feel of the end result on a television-it could look very different than on the development PC.

Please visit the Macromedia Web site for details on creating Flash animations and incorporating them into a Web page.

Whether on personal computers or set-top boxes, a little goes a long way. A small Flash animation downloads quickly and starts working before the user is even aware of it. Larger animations and sound take longer to download, irritating the user. The smaller the size of your Flash content, the more likely it is to have a positive impact on the user.

This "less is more" design guideline for Flash content is especially important when developing Flash content for use on our platform. The best way to create Flash content that works on a set-top box is to follow a strict plan of creating, testing, and revising your content:

Create: Start by creating a very small Flash animation with no sound for use on the MSN TV service. Any animation that produces a visible result is acceptable for this initial stage.
Test: Host your animation on a Web site and access it via our service. (If you need to support Classic systems, test on Classic if possible.) Test the animation's functionality and appearance.
Revise: Once your simple animation is working, revise it. Gradually add size, complexity, and even sound to your animation, testing repeatedly, until you reach your design goal.

Once you have your Flash content working well on our platform, you are ready for final testing. Put the content in the actual Web page, and test the page and its Flash content on our system. Make sure you have eliminated any problems, then deploy the "Flashed" Web page.