Multiple flash video players on w3c-valid page is slow

I have a web site that dis开发者_如何学运维plays a column of flash videos. The page is w3c-valid.

The problem is that the page loads very slowly and sometimes crashes my web browser. Until the page is fully loaded, the videos are slow to respond and play. Is there a way to make these videos load their preview images only? What should I do to speed the page up?

The videos are 360x264.

The W3C validator does not say anything about the speed and usability of your page.

If you want to speed it up, I suggest not loading the Flash at the same time the page is loaded. Show thumbnails of the videos and only replace them with the player when the user clicks on the thumbnail.

Matti,

I've done what you suggested... now the trouble is the video doesn't appear soon enough. It takes several seconds to appear. Do you have a suggestion for speeding up?