Vector graphics for web lectures: Comparing adobe flash 9 and SVG

Vector graphics are an ideal content format for slide based lecture recordings. File sizes can be kept small and graphics can be displayed in superior quality. Information about text and slide objects is stored symbolically which allows texts to be searched and objects on slides to be used interactively e.g. for navigation purposes. The use of vector graphics for web lectures is, however, not very common. A major reason for this is that multiple media formats have to be combined in order to replay video and slides. This paper presents experiences made during the development and every day use of two versions of the lecture recording system virtPresenter. The first of these versions is based on SVG while the second one is based on Adobe Flex2 (Flash 9) technology.