FX

This document describes the JavaFX Media functionality available through the JavaFX APIs. It introduces the supported formats of media files, discusses the peculiarities of usage on different platforms, and gives practical advice about how to build your own media player and how to improve the performance of media playback in JavaFX applications.

To Get Started

1. Verify the System Requirements
   
   • Check the Supported Platforms
   
   
2. Install the Required Software
   
   • Java Runtime Environment (JRE)
   • NetBeans IDE 6.5 for JavaFX 1.1
   
   
3. Get Acquainted With the Following Documents
   
   • JavaFX Script Programming Language
   • Building GUI Applications With JavaFX
   • Media Browser Tutorial

Overview

The active growth of media content on the web has made video and audio the essential part of rich Internet applications. The idea of going beyond the ordinary rectangular video and broadening the horizons of traditional media usage led to creating JavaFX Media functionality available through the set of APIs. The javafx.scene.media package facilitates creating cross-platform media applications that can easily provide media playback in the desktop window, within a web page, or on the mobile device. The following figure demonstrates a variety of possible media uses in JavaFX applications: from simple embedded media panel through custom graphical playback controls to visual effects and transformations.

Figure 1

The JavaFX technology leverages the underlying media frameworks on each supported platform and device and enables access to all native codecs. In addition to using the native codecs provided by each platform, Sun has partnered with On2 to use the On2 Video VP6 decoder with JavaFX technology for media playback.

Familiarize youself with the supported formats and features, then learn more about the architectural capabilities and APIs, explore four implementations of a media player, and apply best programming practices to your own media applications in JavaFX integrated development.