Flash Media Server 3. 5 allows users to pause live streams and continue playing from where they paused. Users can seek anywhere in the stream. Developers can create experiences that support instant replay or catch-up services. You can use edge caching to scale DVR functionality or to deploy on Content Developer Network.

Content managers can enable this feature on any number of streams on a server. You can make the entire live event available, or only a section of the event. Either way, the video cache is on the server so content is protected. DVR enabled streams support dynamic streaming.

Developers can inject cue points in the live video to trigger dynamic advertising. For example, when a user passes a cue point, the advertising appears. Developers also can create interfaces that disable seeking during advertisements.

DVR functionality is supported in Flash Player 6 and later.

Flash Media Server can receive commands to switch between versions of a single content stream that are encoded at multiple bit rates. This feature lets your media application adapt to changing network conditions. It lets your application adapt to clients with different capabilities, such as mobile devices with lower processing power and smaller screens. You can use this feature to switch between live video encoded with multiple bit rates using Flash® Media Live Encoder 3.0. You can also use dynamic streaming to swap content in a playlist upon events that you specify.

Dynamic streaming works with both FLV files and MP4/F4V files. No special encoding is required. Dynamic streaming is supported in Flash Player 10 and later.

All editions of Flash Media Server 3.5 include Apache HTTP Server. This feature lets you deliver client SWF files, container HTML files, and all media assets from the same server. For media assets, you can use Flash Media Server to stream media using RTMP. If streaming over RTMP fails, you can fall back to delivering content over HTTP on the same server.

You can develop a custom File plug‑in to retrieve SWF files that are stored in external content repositories or on another server in a cluster. By retrieving SWF files with the File plug‑in, the server can verify SWF files without requiring copies of the SWF files on the server computer. This feature helps reduce the load on your network.

When a client connects to Flash Media Server, the server tracks statistical data about the client. This statistical data includes bytes in, bytes out, and so on. In Flash Media Server 3.5, the Authorization plug‑in can retrieve client statistical data from the server repeatedly without affecting server performance. This feature lets you create a custom monitoring solution in the C++ application layer.

With new APIs in the Access plug‑in, you can develop a plug‑in that dynamically assigns an application to a core process. Use this feature to balance a load across core processes based on real-time performance metrics. You can also use this feature to provide a higher quality of service (QoS) to certain customers.

You can deliver Adobe Extensible Metadata Platform (XMP) metadata embedded video streaming through Flash Media Server to Flash Player. XMP metadata is a system that communicates critical media information from the point where the media is created to the point where media is viewed. In addition, speech-to-text metadata embedded within files and encoded from Adobe encoding tools such as Flash Media Live Encoder can be delivered. AMF0 and AMF3 connections are supported. XMP metadata can be internal information about the file or information for end users.

For example, you could create a trailer in Adobe® Premiere® CS4 and transfer the metadata to the FLV file. When users view the file, they can use Flash Player 10 search to look for metadata and jump to a specific location in the file. For detailed information about XMP, see www.adobe.com/go/learn_fms_xmp_en.

Flash Media Server can record video in MP4/F4V format. Live video and audio streams containing codecs supported by Flash Media Server can be recorded on the server. You can capture audio and video with Flash Player, Flash Media Live Encoder, a partner solution, or a live stream containing pre-recorded assets. Recording can be started from a client or server API. You can also access record start and stop events in the Authorization plug-in.

Flash Media Server supports the Speex codec when the client application runs in Flash Player 10 or later. For example, a publisher running an application in Flash Player 10 can publish an audio stream encoded using Speex to the server. If a subscriber using an earlier version of the player subscribes to the stream, the subscriber cannot play the audio stream. The subscriber must use Flash Player 10 or later to hear the Speex audio.

The Flash Media Server Start Screen provides a comprehensive interface to Flash Media Server administration tools, resources, documentation, samples, supports, and community links. The Start Screen also lets you test dynamic streaming, progressive download, the vod service, and the live service with an interactive video player embedded in the page. You can easily embed this video player into your own applications.

To launch the Start Screen, choose Start > All Programs > Adobe > Flash Media Server 3.5 > Flash Media Server Start Screen. If you installed Apache HTTP server with Flash Media Server, enter http://localhost in a browser.

Flash Media Server 3.5 supports Windows Server 2008 (all editions) and Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.2.