Streaming Video with Webamp Player

I'm about to test streaming video using Webamp Player. Perhaps you can help me by giving feedback regarding how fast or slow this 15-second video appears on your computers.

First of all, I like Webamp Player because it has a "narrow" (240 pixels wide) flash player. The flash players of Wildform, for example, are quite wide for my taste.

On the other hand, Webamplayer requires that your videos are in FLV format. Other video players like Wildform Flix Pro or WimpyPlayer can stream SWF video.

Wildform Flix Pro's players, however are too wide for me (for example: Blowing Out Candles Video) and some people have complained that a macromedia script is running too slowly.

WimpyPlayer requires a PHP file, which means you can't completely embed flash video in an ebook. Has anyone figured out how to make a PHP file work inside an ebook?

(It's better to deliver video as a downloadable file, because there are only a few broadband users. People might turn away from video delivered online because it just takes too long. Videos which download quickly are usually of poor quality.)

Summary: Pros and Cons

For me, here are the advantages (+) and disadvantages (-) of Webamp Player:

(+) Nice flash players; not too wide.
(+) Does not need a PHP file, so you can place it inside a downloadable ebook.
(+) Can stream multiple videos (via a playlist)
(-) Has to be in FLV format; can't work with SWF files.

[Yes, there is a free program that can convert your videos in FLV format, but it crashes on my Windows98 machine. So I use Wildform's Flix Pro to convert the video into FLV format, and then use Webamp Player to make use of classy-looking player. Hmmm... can Wildform work with Webamp's players?]

Anyway, here's a sample 15-seconder test with Webamp Player. Click on the play button and please share with me your thoughts regarding streaming audio/video on the web.

Webamp Player - http://www.webamplayer.com

Can you see the video player above? If you click on the PLAY button, how long does it take before the video plays? Please let me know. Thanks!
[ First posted on 04/13/2005 by Manuel Viloria ]