Today we’re proud to release version 1.3 of our powerful HDFVR video recorder. With this update we wanted to bring more versatility to HDFVR so we’ve added some really awesome features along this line.

Easy to integrate FFmpeg conversion

One of the biggest additions is the ability to link HDFVR’s recording process with the free and open source FFmpeg video conversion tool. This is possible with both Red5 and Wowza (with AMS it was not possible technically).

This FFmpeg link is very valuable because it allows you to easily convert the recorded flv videos to mp4 videos (H.264 video +AAC sound) which can be easily distributed to:

• mobile devices,
• HTML5 capable browsers,
• Flash Player

Without this FFmpeg link setup:

• Red5 and Wowza produce FLV videos with NellyMoser or Speex sound that can not be played back on mobile devices or by HTML5.
• Wowza’s Transcoder brings additional costs that varies on the number of simultaneous transcoding channels ($20/channel/month).
• Manually adding FFmpeg at the end of HDFVR’s recording process is cumbersome and difficult.

With this feature we eliminate all these inconveniences. FLV videos can now be converted to MP4 format as soon as the recording process ends.

Upon completion the new JS API onFFMPEGConversionFinished is called client side, however this call is unreliable since the conversion might end after the user closes the browser.

To learn more on how to setup the FFmpeg link at the end of your recording process head to the documentation page.

Fallback to audio only recording

Another important feature we’ve added is the ability to do audio recording when no camera is present and just a microphone is available.

Here’s how HDFVR looks when recording only audio:

HDFVR Recording in Audio Only Mode

Set allowAudioOnlyRecording to 1 in avc_settings.xxx to turn this feature on.

Playback and download through HTTP from Red5

Red5 comes with an integrated http web server called Tomcat which allows us to easily expose the recordings folder via http. This makes it very easy to play, download or move the recorded video files.

To learn how you can do this with Red5 head over to the documentation page.

Other Improvements

• The onUploadDone and onSaveOk JS callbacks and the save_video_to_db.xxx serve side scripts now receive the video/audio codecs used and the file type produced (flv, f4v, mp4).
• The new microphoneGain setting allows you to control the amount by which the microphone signal is boosted. This setting comes also with an all new JS function called onMicActivityLevelthat informs you about the amount of sound the microphone is detecting.
• The new enableBlinkingRec setting controls whether or not HDFVR should display the top left blinking animation while recording. By default it is set to 1 (enabled).
• Updated JS API documentation in both the online section and in the HTML files that ship with HDFVR.

Bug Fixes

1. Fixed issue with pausing the recording over slow connections causing the buffered audio and video frames to be lost and thus leading to gaps in the end video.
2. Fixed issue with the re-sizing of the video when flipImageHorizontally was set to true and the width and height of the embedded HDFVR .swf was set to 100%.
3. Fixed typo in license key error.

Known issues:

• Pause and record will not work correctly with Red5 1.0.2
• Recording H.264 video with Red5 0.8 will not work

How to Download

The new HDFVR 1.3 archive can be downloaded from your private client area.

When updating your HDFVR installation keep in mind that, as opposed to previous builds, you now have to change both server side and client side files if you’re using Red5 or Wowza (major changes in this build).