Convert to BitmapData through code or use an image (PNG, JPEG, etc)?

As we all know, animating movieclips that contain vector art takes up a lot of processing power… thus slowing down the frame rate… This is very evident when you have a lot of movieclips animating…

I can do two things to ease the burden on Flash; but I am trying to decide which of the two can produce the best results in terms of speed…

I can either:

1.) Convert all the vector art into BitmapData through code and re-use it throughout the application… or…

2.) Save all the vector art as PNG / JPEG and import it to Flash

Which of the two will result in the fastest frame rate?