There are two major options.  The first is to buy Flash Professional 8 from Adobe.  This product sells for $699 and includes not only the ability to encode video but also a sophisticated development environment for the entire Flash programming language.  If you need to both create video plus develop Flash applications, then this is the industry standard and best all-around option.  Ironically though, despite the price, Adobe's Flash Pro package doesn't produce the best-possible quality Flash 8 video.  That's because it is only able to do "one-pass" encoding, where your video content is studied only once "on the fly" as it is being processed.  There are also fewer available video controls and features generally, though the Flash programming side of the product is very complete.

So what's the second option?  Well On2, the company that owns the VP6 technology that powers Flash 8 video, offers its own line of easy-to-use "Flix" products that focus solely on producing the very best video possible for Flash.  These applications do more than the encoder that Adobe has, yet cost a fraction of the price.  Their most popular product is Flix Pro 8, which costs $249, supports both Windows and Mac, can generate both Flash 8/9 video as well as the older Flash MX/7 format, and can perform two-pass encoding for the best possible output, plus a host of other features and functions, including support for cropping, cue points, alpha channel, batch encoding, chroma key (greenscreen), filters, and automatic code and player creation.  There is also a lower-priced Flix Standard edition with a minimal level of features for more rudimentary Flash video output and support, as well as the handy Flix Exporter plugin ($199) which allows you to edit video using your favorite QuickTime-enabled application - such as Apple Final Cut, Quicktime Pro, or Adobe After Effects - but then export the results directly to the highest-quality 2-pass Flash VP6 video...  The exporter even comes in a Server Edition that plugs into automated transcoders like Telestream FlipFactory for maximum workflow.  All Flix video plays on all platforms and browsers, works without a streaming server, and streams through firewalls.

All On2 Flix products will convert virtually all types of video, audio, and image files (e.g., wmv, avi, asf, mov, qt, mp4, mpeg, mpg, 3gp, dv, jpg, gif, png, bmp, mp3, wma, etc.) into Flash format (flv or swf).  But what if you want to produce live Flash 8 video, instead of prerecorded?  Long-anticipated by the Flash community, On2 has in fact just announced the only product of its kind that can accomplish this.  Using On2 Flix Live in conjunction with Adobe's Flash Media Server 2 or (now) CDN's such as Akamai, you can now encode and webcast live video to millions of viewers in high-quality VP6 for Flash.  Flix Live will stream live video from webcams, DV cameras, and a variety of capture cards and devices, with nothing extra needed on the receiving end - 755 million users around the world can already instantly watch it.  And, as with other Flix products, you'll be using up to 40% less bandwidth than with earlier versions of Flash video, and no Flash programming experience is required.

Well, the only way to do that is once again to turn to On2...  You need one of their Flix Software Development Kits (SDKs).  For Flash 8 video, there is no other place on earth you can buy these types of products.  There are currently four of them:

1. Flix Engine SDK - The server-based transcoding workhorse for integration with most sites and systems, supporting many platforms and programming languages with a rich API.
2. Flix SDK for DirectShow - Allows you to build Flash 8 video capabilities directly into your DirectShow-enabled Windows application.  Also supports Live encoding and streaming.
3. Flix Publisher SDK - Gives users of your site the ability to quickly and easily encode and upload any video entirely within their web browsers, with no transcoding servers required.  Now extended to enable Live encoding and streaming.
4. Flix Engine 3GPP - Just out, this new toolkit converts popular web content for viewing on 3GPP mobile devices, and can simultaneously create both Flash and 3GPP video files from any format.

(Note that these solutions are not available for online purchase; instead interested customers should contact On2 directly using one of the links above for the product of interest.)

"On2 Flix Pro 8 makes adding high-quality video to your website or any digital application simple, quick, and affordable."  -- 4.5 Star Review from Layers Magazine.

"Flash 8's new video codec technology is nothing short of phenomenal."  -- InformIT.com.

"We're super excited to be using Flash 8 codec this year.  We think it's an amazing upgrade to Flash video and we're extremely pleased with the results."  -- Sundance Film Festival Online.