Adobe Delivers New Distribution, Content Protection, and Media Player Framework Technologies
NEW YORK – At the 2010 Streaming Media East Conference, Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq:ADBE) announced major new advancements to the Adobe Flash® Platform — Adobe’s design and development platform for creating and delivering content, video and applications that run consistently across operating systems and devices. Highlights include the immediate availability of Adobe Flash Access™ 2.0 software, a content protection solution that enables the distribution and monetization of premium video content, which can help create new sources of revenue for media publishers. In addition, Adobe is also showcasing HTTP Dynamic Streaming, a new protocol support for media streaming on the Flash Platform; and the Open Source Media Framework, to accelerate development of custom media players.
Adobe demonstrated its new solutions during the Streaming Media East 2010 Conference at its booth (#226) at the New York Hilton Hotel, May 10-12.
These powerful new Flash media delivery tools come in advance of the much-anticipated releases of Flash Player 10.1 and Adobe AIR® 2, which are optimized for high performance on mobile screens and designed to take advantage of native device capabilities for a richer, more immersive user experience.
Doug Mack, vice president and general manager of Digital Imaging and Rich Media Solutions at Adobe
“Adobe continues to innovate and develop media playback solutions that enable our customers and partners to build their businesses and become more profitable; whether it’s by helping to protect and monetize video content or by offering new options for delivering media to the Flash Platform. With approximately 75 percent of video on the Web delivery with Flash technology, Adobe and its broadcast and media customers are leading the industry and revolutionizing how the digital video industry creates and consumes rich media.”
Steven Roberts, senior vice president for New Media and Business Development at DIRECTV
“DIRECTV has always focused on providing a superb user experience, whether it is on television, online, or on mobile devices. We use the Adobe Flash Platform for content delivery because of the ubiquity of the Adobe Flash Player and the quality and advanced features like DVR functionality that Adobe Flash technology delivers. We’re thrilled to be maximizing our customers’ online experience and their bandwidth, using the power and innovation of Adobe’s HTTP Dynamic Streaming and Limelight Networks’ global delivery platform.”
Alex Blum, CEO, KickApps
“KickApps is committed to enabling a broad range of social media experiences including social video for organizations of all kinds. Our collaboration with Adobe on the OSMF App Studio is an important example of this commitment and will accelerate time-to-market and enable playback experiences limited only by the creativity of our shared customers. With the Cloud-based OSMF App Studio, users can create highly customized, full featured media players with drag-and-drop ease, including the ability to integrate best-of-breed third party applications, content, and Web services. OSMF is one more way Adobe is advancing the ability for organizations to take advantage of the power of the Adobe Flash Platform.”
Protecting and Monetizing Premium Content
Further advancing the Flash Platform, Adobe today made available Adobe Flash Access 2.0, a scalable, flexible content protection solution that enables the distribution and monetization of premium video content.
Adobe Flash Access 2.0 provides a way to combine the unprecedented reach and interactivity of the Adobe Flash Platform with robust security and flexible usage rules so that businesses can enforce necessary constraints, such as limiting viewing to a given rental period.
Adobe Flash Access 2.0, previously known as Adobe Flash Media Rights Management Server, enables media publishers to effectively monetize video content using a variety of business models, such as pay-per-view, electronic sell-through or advertising funded business models.
New in this release, content protected with Flash Access 2.0 will play back securely online via Flash Player 10.1 software as well as Adobe AIR 2.0. Also new in Flash Access 2.0 is support for output protection, which can be used to protect content sent to external displays.
Adobe® Flash® Access 2.0 is one of the first approved content protection solutions selected by the Digital Entertainment Content Ecosystem (DECE). DECE is a consortium of leading content providers, consumer electronics companies, technology vendors and service providers working to enable improved consumer access to entertainment content.
Expanding Content Delivery with HTTP Dynamic Streaming
Building on the success of Adobe’s Flash Platform for the delivery of streaming content, Adobe’s new HTTP Dynamic Streaming leverages industry standards to provide content publishers, distributors and developers the tools they need to utilize HTTP infrastructures for high-quality media delivery in Flash Player 10.1 and AIR 2.
While Flash Media Server 3.5 remains the choice for delivering interactive media experiences over RTMP (Real Time Message Protocol) with features like new trick modes, smart caching technology, protection and real time communication, customers will now have the flexibility to use HTTP Dynamic streaming, which enables the use of existing network infrastructures and standard Web server hardware to deliver rich media experiences on a massive scale.
HTTP Dynamic Streaming includes integration of content protection powered by Flash Access 2.0, allowing publishers to encrypt and apply business rules to their premium video content for both live and Video on Demand (VOD). Protected HTTP Dynamic Streaming allows publishers to secure valuable video content with a flexible workflow while maintaining the robust and persistent content protection features of Flash Access.
HTTP Dynamic Streaming supports all of the high-quality media codecs supported by the Flash Platform today, including H.264 and VP6, and all of the uses cases media companies rely on, including high quality live and recorded media with adaptive bit-rate and network DVR support to the Flash player.
Accelerating Media Player Development
Rounding out Adobe’s media delivery solution for the Flash Platform, the Open Source Media Framework (OSMF) is an open framework for building custom media players.
The new framework will help establish an industry standard for media players and will offer production-ready components to help streamline the development process, reducing the time content publishers spend creating and integrating playback technologies.
OSMF enables developers to easily assemble pluggable components to create high-quality, full-featured playback experiences.
The open framework enables collaborative development focused on Web video monetization with lower costs and faster turnaround.
Multiple partners are already providing plug-ins for OSMF, including advertising, analytics, content delivery and platform services companies Adap-tv, Akamai, Anvato, Conviva, Edgecast, FreeWheel, GlanceGuide, KickApps, Level 3Limelight Networks, MediaMelon, Omniture (an Adobe company), Podaddies, Quantcast, ScanScout, Streaming Media Hosting, Tremor Media Videoplaza and YuMe.
Helpful Links
Adobe Flash Access website: www.adobe.com/go/flashaccess
HTTP Dynamic Streaming for the Flash Platform website: www.adobe.com/go/httpdynamicstreaming
Open Source Media Framework website: www.osmf.org
Adobe Flash Media Blog: http://blogs.adobe.com/flashmedia
Kevin Towe’s Blog: http://blogs.adobe.com/ktowes
FlashStreamWorks.com: www.flashstreamworks.com
Streaming Media East website: www.streamingmedia.com/Conferences/East2010
Pricing and Availability
Adobe Flash Access 2.0 is available immediately. For pricing information related to Adobe Flash Access 2.0, please contact an Adobe sales representative at www.adobe.com/go/flashaccess_rfi. HTTP Dynamic Streaming for video on demand is expected to be available at no charge. Pricing for HTTP Dynamic Streaming for live streaming is available upon request. Both products are scheduled to ship in late May. OSMF is free, and is expected to be available in late May.
About Adobe Systems Incorporated
Adobe revolutionizes how the world engages with ideas and information – anytime, anywhere and through any medium. For more information, visit www.adobe.com.
© 2010 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All rights reserved. Adobe, the Adobe logo and Flash are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Prices listed are the Adobe direct store prices in the U.S.; reseller prices may vary. Prices do not include tax or shipping and handling.
