How to Convert SWF to FLV in Linux

The SWF and FLV extensions both designate Flash video files. Although the files contain similar compression and container technologies, SWF is an older file type and not as widely used as FLV. SWF cannot, for instance, be read by the media players that can read FLV, such as the Linux-compatible VideoLan VLC Player. If you would like to make a Flash video file work with the VLC player, you can convert the SWF file to FLV.

Instructions

1. Download Mozilla Firefox for Linux and install it to the computer. Mozilla Firefox is available for download in multiple languages for the Linux system at the Mozilla website (see Resources). Firefox is the only Web browser that supports online conversion sites and can be installed on a Linux operating system without further modification.

2. Launch the Firefox Web browser and go to a website that does media conversion. Media-Convert and YouConvertIt are the only two conversion websites that list SWF among their supported input formats (see Resources).

3. Click the "Choose File" or "Select It" button to open the video import window. Find the SWF file you want to convert in the window and double-click the file to upload it to Media-Convert or YouConvertIt.

4. Pull down the list by "Output format" or "Convert to." Select the "Flash Video" or "FLV" format from the list of available video format options provided.

5. Type your email address into the box provided on YouConvertIt, or, if you want, into the box provided in the "Advanced settings" section of the Media-Convert page. An email address is required on YouConvertIt but not on Media-Convert.

6. Click the "OK" or "Convert It" button to convert the SWF file into an FLV file. If you entered your email address, you can close the page. If you chose not to enter an email address on the Media-Convert website, you must leave the page open in the Firefox Web browser.

7. Download the FLV file when the download link appears. If you did not enter an email address on Media-Convert, download the file from the link that comes up on the Media-Convert screen. If you did enter an address in either Media-Convert or YouConvertIt, open the email that arrives from the media conversion site and click the link inside the email to download the FLV.

References

• FileInfo: SWF
• FileInfo: FLV

Resources

• Mozilla Firefox: Home
• Media-Convert: Home
• YouConvertIt: Convert Files