Adobe unveils new Media Player

By Stevie Smith
Apr 16, 2007, 13:10 GMT

Adobe Systems Inc. has today officially uncovered its new Adobe Media Player and has duly unleashed an application across the tech world that will allow its users to enjoy playback on video content when either online or offline.

In an unveiling at the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) trade show, which is running in Las Vegas, Nevada, between 14-19 April, Adobe has today announced Adobe Media Player, which will arrive built on the company’s award-winning Flash architecture and will be positioned to enable “new ways to distribute and monetize media, while helping viewers discover and view high-quality content both online and offline.”

A preview build of the new player will be on show today (April 16) at the NAB 2007 show (booth SL 3220), where attendees will be able to witness how the media player “delivers more engaging video experiences to viewers while offering content publishers new abilities to distribute, track, and build businesses around their media assets.”

Bruce Chizen, CEO at Adobe Systems Inc., commented that: “Adobe Flash has revolutionized the distribution of video content across the Internet and Adobe Media Player builds on this leadership position,” with regard to the company’s aspirations for the introduction of its newly integrated media player.

The emergence of Adobe’s Media Player and its offline multimedia playback functionality has seen industry watchers and anaylsts hailing its arrival as somewhat of a technologocal landmark, especially as no rival media players (read: Windows Media Player, Apple Quicktime, and RealPlayer) currently allow for user download, movement, and playback between devices.

“Adobe has created the first way for media companies to release video content, secure in the knowledge that advertising goes with it,” said Forrester Research analyst James McQuivey in a Reuters report. “Control is something that media companies absolutely get high on,” he continued on the subject of media company reticence concerning the release of their content to the Web.

From a viewing perspective, Adobe Media Player users will be able to attain the application via a free lightweight download, before gaining access to enhanced Flash playback, the ability to download and view video content offline, full-screen playback, one-click viewer ratings, and also a Favorites feature that automatically downloads the latest episodes of a user’s favorite TV shows or podcasts. Built on open standards such as RSS and SMIL, Adobe’s Media Player will also be able to grant users with the ability to enjoy the Web’s most popular video format beyond the restrictions of their browser.

And, from a content publisher perspective, Adobe is confident that Media Player will provide “better ways to deliver, monetize, brand, track, and protect video content” while also crafting a wide selection of video content delivery options for high-quality playback – both online and offline – including on-demand streaming, live streaming, progressive download, and protected download-and-play. Furthermore, Media Player expands monetization and branding opportunities with viewer-centric dynamic advertising and the ability to customise the presentation of the player on the fly to synch with the brand or theme of the content playing at that time.

In light of current industry animosity related to the spread of piracy and copyright infringement across the Web, especially on video-sharing services such as Google’s popular yet much-criticised YouTube, it is believed that Adobe Media Player could well see a more even playing field between consumers and media providers. Specifically, Media Player gives contributing media companies the opportunity to securely offer ad-supported video content while leaving the consumer with the feeling that they truly ‘own’ their media through the online and offline flexibility.

“Consumers think: I bought my media, I own it, I should get to carry it with me from device to device. Adobe's video player works the way consumers think about media by giving them the freedom to carry it with them,” added McQuivey.

Major media contributor and technological deals are expected to be anounced in the next few months and the beta download of Adobe’s Media Player is scheduled to hit later this year, with the final build set to be a free download when it arrives before the close of 2007.