Macromedia is today expected to announce a Dreamweaver Flash video extension, part of a Flash Video Kit, designed for web professionals to build and customize Flash content using a series of dialogue boxes and simplified skins.
The Flash Video Kit also includes an edition of Sorensen Media’s Squeeze multimedia creation software, that outputs to Macromedia’s Flash Video format (FLV), a 15-day trial of the VitalStream Inc Flash video streaming service, and a white paper explaining Flash to non-Flash developers.
Mike Downey, Flash technical product manager, said Macromedia is targeting the typical Dreamweaver user by reducing the learning curve associated with Flash, through samples, tutorials, and extensions.
Despite the near-ubiquity of Flash, which present on 90% of desktops, Macromedia believes it is overshadowed by Microsoft Corp’s Windows Media Player and Real Networks Inc’s Real Player.
Non-professional Flash uses had expressed they don’t have [development] resources, Downey said. We are providing more documentation and sample code.
