Adobe: Flash Video's Next Stop Is Your Home TV
Adobe expects that the latest version of its Flash multimedia platform will allow more users than ever to see high-definition video, interactive applications and other features from the comfort of their living rooms.
The new version, called the Adobe Flash Platform for the Digital Home, is available immediately to OEMs, and Adobe expects the first devices and Systems On Chips (SOC) platforms to ship later this year.
As part of the announcement, which Adobe made at the 2009 National Association of Broadcasters show in Las Vegas, Adobe said it has partnered with the likes of Atlantic Records, Broadcom, Comcast, Disney Interactive Media Group, Intel, Netflix, NXP Semiconductors, the New York Times Company, Sigma Designs and others.
"Adobe Flash Platform for the Digital Home will dramatically change the way we view content on televisions," said David Wadhwani, general manager and vice president, Platform Business Unit at Adobe, in a statement. "Consumers are looking to access their favorite Flash technology-based videos, applications, services and other rich Web content across screens. We are looking forward to working with partners to create these new experiences and deliver content consistently across devices whether consumers view it on their desktop, mobile phone or television."
Adobe said about 98 percent of PCs have Flash installed, and according to Internet market research firm comScore, about 80 percent of videos viewed online worldwide use Adobe's Flash Player.
Adobe said it sees home televisions as essentially the next frontier for Flash, and the new platform allows developers to create applications to deliver Web-based content.
The offering from Adobe doesn't work with TVs made by Sony or Samsung, whose Internet-connected TVs use Yahoo's rich media platform.
Another rival technology, Microsoft's Silverlight, has been installed on more than 300 million PCs since it debuted last fall, according to Microsoft. Silverlight was used by NBC to stream the Olympics last year and by CBS to stream NCAA men's basketball games last month, and is also used by Netflix, the BBC and others.
Despite Adobe's dominance with Flash, some analysts see an opening for Microsoft because of its "living room presence" with Xbox 360 game consoles that can stream movies to TVs.
"There hasn't been a true competitor to Adobe for quite some time and Microsoft could potentially start bridging the gap between the PC and the TV even more effectively," said Josh Martin, an analyst at the Yankee Group, to The New York Times. "Maybe they could start putting out some of the fire that Adobe has long held."
Adobe also has a mobile version of Flash that allows users to see Flash-enabled video on smartphones. According to Adobe, Flash 10 will be seen in Windows Mobile, Symbian, Android and Palm Web OS phones by the end of the year. A few major smartphone players do not support Flash, the most notable of them being Apple and its iPhone.
Adobe's partners voiced their support Monday for Adobe's new initiatives, including longtime partner Intel.
"Intel and Adobe have a long history of collaboration and have worked together to optimize Flash technology for the digital home on the Intel Media Processor CE 3100, the first in a new family of purpose-built Intel System-on-Chips for CE devices," said William O. Leszinske Jr., general manager of Intel's Digital Home Group, in a statement.
"We recognize the value of extending rich, Flash-based Internet content and applications to a broad range of devices in your pocket, on your lap, at the office and now in your living room," he said. "We are excited to integrate the optimized Flash runtime into digital home platforms featuring Intel's SoC, such as advanced set-top boxes, high-definition digital televisions, Blu-ray disc players and other connected AV devices."