Question

My project has a main loader that load all the assets for the project. I need to load a bit of my video with it.

The video has 16mb, i want to load 3mb to use after the main loader is completed.

I’ve tried to open a new connection using Netconnection/Netstream to load 3mb and close the connection, but when the project starts and the video is played, a new connection is opened loading it from beginning.

I’m trying to find a way that i can use those 3mb already loaded. Doing this way, the user don’t need to wait a main loader and a secondary loader (buffertime).

That’s my code, sorry guys.

var loader:Loader = new Loader();

var nc:NetConnection = new NetConnection();
var ns:NetStream = new NetStream(nc);

var client:Object = new Object();

var swfRatio:Number;
var videoRatio:Number;

function init():void
{
    nc.connect(null);

    client.onCuePoint = cuePointHandler;
    client.onMetaData = metaDataHandler;

    ns.client = client;

    loader.contentLoaderInfo.addEventListener(ProgressEvent.PROGRESS, progressLoader);
    addEventListener(Event.ENTER_FRAME, progressTotal);

    loader.load(new URLRequest("swf/main.swf"));
    ns.play("f4v/main_movie.f4v");
    ns.pause();
}

function progressLoader(event:ProgressEvent):void
{               
    swfRatio = (event.bytesLoaded / event.bytesTotal);
}

function progressTotal():void
{
    //Here i get the amount that i want to preload from my video, in this case i want 3mb or 3072000 bytes
    videoRatio = (ns.bytesLoaded / 3072000);

    //This is a variable that i use to fill my loader asset and verify if my content its totaly loaded.
    var frameValue:int = ((videoRatio + swfRatio) / 2) * 100;

    if (frameValue >= 100)
    {
        removeEventListener(Event.ENTER_FRAME, progressTotal);
        // Here i close my connection, i suppose that i need to use the same connection in my player.
        ns.close();
        ns = null;
        nc.close();
        nc = null;
        loaderComplete();
    }
}

function loaderComplete():void
{
    removeChild(assetLoader);
    //Here i add my player to the stage, i want to use the preloaded video with him.
    addChild(loader.content);
}

function cuePointHandler(infoObject:Object):void {
    trace(infoObject.name);
}

function metaDataHandler(infoObject:Object):void {
    trace("metaData");
}

Then in my player that i’ve just loaded and added to the stage i’m using OSMF to help me with controls.

To test the “preloaded video” i’m doing this:

private var mediaPlayer:MediaPlayerSprite;

private function _init(e:Event):void
{
    this.removeEventListener(Event.ADDED_TO_STAGE, _init);

    mediaPlayer = new MediaPlayerSprite();
    addChild(mediaPlayer);  
    //And here OSMF start to load the entire main_movie.f4v again.
    mediaPlayer.resource = new URLResource("f4v/main_movie.f4v");   
}

Answer 1

It looks like your strategy would work if you let the video download completely. I’m assuming if the video downloaded completely, the browser may cache it and make it available to the next NetStream that comes along.

Your strategy looks OK otherwise. What you are doing (playing, then pausing the video immediately) is the way to start buffering the video. But since there are two NetStream‘s being used (one by the main loader, the other by the OSMF player) this won’t work.

Perhaps you can devise a scheme where you pass the NetStream from the main loader into the loaded SWF (main.swf). So that it can use the data it’s already downloaded. Just a thought, I’ve never tried this.

Another idea would be to get the OSMF player in your main.swf to do the buffering. That would mean the buffering would start happening only after main.swf is loaded (which may be too late).