At Dreamsocket we have been getting inquiries on whether will we allow upgrading of products. Simple answer yes! We will allow upgrading of the Dreamsocket Media Framework from compiled seat to source seat, source seat to source site, or compiled seat to source site. The cost to upgrade will be the difference in price along with a small amount to cover our costs for the additional transaction. Currently the site does not allow upgrading, but we are working to add support for this into our store front. Until then, customers who buy and choose to upgrade will be able to do this all digitally by emailing support and then making the transaction through PayPal. We will then manually update their accounts.

We really don’t want you to fill that you are stuck with the version you buy. Obviously, people’s needs change! We have had our own personal frustrations of emailing companies to inquire about upgrading, only to be told that it wasn’t possible. So don’t hesitate, go grab the Dreamsocket Media Framework and let us see what you can do with it!

SEO (search engine optimization) refers to the tailoring of web based content so that search engines like Google can traverse it and index it more efficiently. Flash content on the web has typically been difficult to index. However, if you understand the underlying methodologies of SEO indexing, you can understand how to index your Flash content.

Whether you are indexing just a site or a specific application, SEO is important because it let’s people find your content. At Dreamsocket, we have advised clients with some of the highest trafficked Flash content in the world on how to accomplish this. And though we found write ups on specific techniques, we figured that a more comprehensive break down of the subject and techniques was needed. To address this, we have published an article and example files on our site that break down different techniques that we have used or seen over the years. In the article we compare and contrast the techniques by showing their benefits and drawbacks, as well as how to accomplish them.

Check and comment on the article when you get a chance. The more information on this subject the better!

I am pleased to announce the release of the Dreamsocket Media Framework for the Adobe Flash Player. The framework consist of a suite of native components and source code for Flash and Flex written in both Actionscript 2 and 3. That equates to 3 code bases, 3 suites of components, all wrapped into 1 product.

FLEXIBILITY

The framework has been built with flexibility in mind. So whether you need a robust low level video stream object, or you would like to use a drag and drop component, there is something for you. It is a enterprise level code library. You can build video players, image galleries, mp3 players, and more. Why is this type of framework important? Previously, building enterprise video players and media applications hasn’t been a straight forward process. The existing components are difficult to extend, the Flash APIs aren’t simple to use, the Flash player doesn’t always work correctly and quite simply an enterprise framework or toolkit for developers to create these type of applications didn’t exist.

ENTERPRISE-BATTLE TESTED

Since 2003, Dreamsocket has grown a business by fulfilling this niche. We have built an enterprise media framework that companies including Disney, Cartoon Network, TBS, PGA, NASCAR, Super Deluxe, and others use at the core of their custom video players. We have had to deal with so many CDNs, advertising vendors, backend services, and requirements, that sometimes it made our heads spin. Yet, at the same time, it has given us unparalleled experience. Our knowledge base on building video players has grown tremendously over the past 6 years. We know all the quirks, needs and elements that go into building enterprise media applications. Creating playbacks that work, ad engines, closed captioning and more our framework has been solidified over time.

IMPROVED FROM EXPERIENCE

Despite our confidence in adding to and refactoring our existing code base, we made a bold decision to refactor from the ground up seven months ago. Our goal was simple: To create the best framework for building enterprise media applications. Not only were we looking to simplify our own work tasks and address the emerging changes in the video landscape, but we also wanted to enable others to do what we do. It just seemed like a natural progression and the right thing to do.

To start this project, we went back and researched all of the dominant media technologies over the past nine years. We did this in hopes of finding common threads in all of them and pulling out the superior elements from of some of them.

We examined the APIs for Silverlight, Windows Media, QuickTime, Real Player, Android, Flash, HTML 5 Video, VLC, and Move. In addition, we reinvestigated the specifications around subtitles (Timed Text, SRT, RealText, SMI, QText, 3gpp Time Text), playlists (SMIL, XSPF, MediaRSS, ASX, ATOM), and ads (VAST). Needless to say, we did a lot of reading and thinking, and it more than paid off, because it allowed us to see things from different perceptions and deliver an API that is extremely easy to use. Now, you simply code to an API without worrying about content type (FLV, JPEG, MP3, etc) or content delivery (live, DVR, progressive, range request, and ondemand streaming) in your application logic.

Though we were looking at everything from a high level, we also dug our heels into the details. We listed every issue that we’ve encountered over the years, and sought to fix them all. From writing our own sound buffering algorithms to time syncing seeks for ondemand streams, you now have a media API that behaves how you expect it should.

Last but not least, we focused on creating a common framework across platforms. It was obvious to us, that people choose to develop Flash applications in many different ways. So we mirrored all of our development efforts in both Actionscript 2 and 3, as well as Flash and Flex. As much as we could, we made every API exactly the same. We even went as far as rewriting AS2 to mimic AS3. Yes, there is an AS3 style event framework in AS2, along with AS3 emulated native objects like NetStream. No matter what your programming environment affinity for the Flash player is, we have you covered.

THE RESULTS AND THE FUTURE

All said and done and seven exhausting months later, our new release is here. With years of battle testing our code base, we now present a remodeled version that stands on solid ground and looks to the future. With the primary focus on the base level architecture and playbacks, we have laid an extremely solid foundation for everything moving forward. In the months to come, the framework will grow to include all of the elements that we have developed over the years. It is an unbelievable offering, and we can’t wait to start using it ourselves.

So why hesitate? Go and grab the Dreamsocket Media Framework today. We can’t wait to see what you do with it .

Many thanks to class mate and buddy Trevor Vanbeater, of FlyGuy fame, for the awesome icons.

After years without a website, today Dreamsocket is finally launching its online presence. The reason: we have always wanted a platform to give back to the community and launch our ideas from. Of course, we threw in common info about us, our clients and what we are doing for those who want to get to know us. However, our focus was to build a site robust enough to share all of our knowledge, tools and future plans to enable those around us. We accomplished this by creating three comprehensive elements on the site: support, products and a user accounts.

SUPPORT

A lot of our work with clients and the community involves education, where we are trying to explain technologies, concepts or our own tools. This is because when you deal with specialized subjects without a knowledge base around it, you can’t come up with a proper solution. The more specialized a subject is, the harder to move the overall space forward. Our support section aims at creating a point of reference for ourselves, our clients and the community in general to address this. Whether you are building enterprise video applications with integrated ad systems or you want to understand Flash SEO, we want to help.

The support section covers both subject and tool specific information and is broken down into articles, forums, documentation with commenting, a bug tracker, and release notes. Everything is publicly available and will grow significantly over time as we along with the community add to it.

PRODUCTS

In the product section you can expect to find all our commercial and open source tools, frameworks and applications. Here we provide any general information you need to know before making a decision to use a product, including overviews, road maps, featured solutions, software requirements, licensing information and more. If you feel you want to know even more about a product or need a reference on how to use it, there is detailed documentation in our support section for every release.

For those purchasing commercial products, we have an integrated store and user account system. Within this system, purchases can be made with credit card or pay pal and are immediately available in your account for download along with all prior releases. Whether we are putting out open source or commercial products, you are using a professional software site that has the support you need.

USER ACCOUNTS

Since the site has so many user driven features, accounts play a big role. Whether you are using forums or downloading software, every single action you take is covered under a single login. You only need to login once to access any user based task on our site.

THANKS

Everyone involved with creating the site deserve a digital round of applause for all their hard work. Kudos to John Ferguson, who created the initial design during a lot of late night and Saturday sessions. Big thanks to Eric Strohl, who took the art direction, added a bit of twist and carried it out for the entire site. Finally and most importantly, Chad Fuller who programmed everything. The site really is his baby and wouldn’t have happened without him.

CHECK US OUT at http://dreamsocket.com!