STEP 10 smart preloads and TESTING THE STREAM

While designing, I need to periodically check the pipeline. To do this I will employ the bandwidth profiler. We have gone over this already in Chapter 3, "20k Advertisement," but it's crucial for this file and any other file that incorporates streaming audio, so let's quickly revisit the process:

1. Choose Control > Test Movie.

   Flash generates a .swf file and plays it within the authoring environment. Choose View > 100% to view your movie at 100%.

2. Press Enter / Return to stop the movie.

3. If necessary, select a new modem setting from the Control menu.

4. Select Control > Rewind to make sure you're at the start of your movie.

5. Choose View > Bandwidth Profiler or use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl-B / Cmd-B.

   Flash draws a bar graph depicting the streaming assets. Elements that appear above the red line indicate a problem, where the assets weigh more (the file is bigger) than the streaming can comfortably support.

6. Select Control > Show Streaming or use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl-Enter / Cmd-Return).

As the movie plays, the green indicator bar shows the state of the streaming, whereas the playhead indicates which frame is being played . Ideally, you want the streaming indicator to be just ahead of the playhead at all times while invoking the shortest preload time possible. Avoid situations where the playhead catches up to the stream and must wait for more material to load, as shown in figure 07:19.

Figure 07:19.