What is FLV?

FLV (Flash Video) is a proprietary file format used to deliver video over the Internet using Adobe Flash Player (formerly known as Macromedia Flash Player) version 6, 7, 8, or 9. FLV content may also be embedded within SWF files. Notable users of the FLV format include YouTube, Google Video, Reuters.com, Yahoo! Video and MySpace.

Commonly FLV files contain video bit streams which are a variant of the H.263 video standard, under the name of Sorenson Spark. Flash Player 8 and newer revisions support the playback of On2 TrueMotion VP6 video bit streams. On2 VP6 can provide a higher visual quality than Sorenson Spark, especially when using lower bit rates. On the other hand it is computationally more complex and therefore will not run as well on certain older system configurations.

Why do I need FLV Player?

Although you may enjoy Flash Video on web page, you can't play the downloaded flv files directly by Windows Media Player or other common players. The installation of the Flash Player or Macromedia Flash development tool also does not install any player associated with FLV files. After installed Sothink FLV Player, you can open flv files directly by double-click the icon, as simply as open wma, rm, mov files in Windows Media Player, Real Player or QuickTime, etc.