Adobe Debuts Flash Media Server 3 Product Line

Adobe Systems Incorporated today announced the Adobe ® Flash ® Media Server 3 family of products, which offers streaming media and real-time communication capabilities to the broadest possible audience. With industry standard H.264 video capabilities and High Efficiency AAC (HE-AAC) audio support, Adobe Flash Media Server 3 provides content owners with increased protection for streaming high quality video and allows for the delivery of interactive media applications that work consistently across multiple browsers and operating systems. Adobe Flash Media Server 3 provides a more efficient instant-on video experience virtually anytime, anywhere ‘ to the Web, the desktop with Adobe Media Player and to mobile devices with Adobe Flash Lite™ 3. With new pricing options, customers have a wide array of choices for the broadcasting of high quality streaming media experiences.

“Adobe’s award-winning Flash technology is driving the shift from traditional media consumption to engaging interactive experiences,” said John Loiacono, senior vice president of Creative Solutions at Adobe. “By offering the Flash Media Server 3 product line coupled with new pricing options, Adobe is reducing the barrier to entry for content owners who want to deliver streaming video or real-time communications online. Whether they opt for interactive social media services or linear streaming, our customers can feel confident that their media is more secure and that the end-user experience is the highest quality.”

The new product line includes two offerings: Adobe Flash Media Streaming Server 3 for live and on- demand video streaming and Adobe Flash Media Interactive Server 3 for customized scalable video streaming services, plus multi-way social media applications. Both products deliver new features that provide media publishers with cost-effective streaming solutions for leading Web video formats. These features include: nearly double the amount of streams per server; support for industry standard H.264 video and HE-AAC audio in Adobe Flash Player 9 (see separate release); upgrades to Adobe’s patented protocol for delivering protected content; and enhanced live video support for news, concerts, sporting events and social media services. In addition, Adobe Flash Media

Server 3 supports both prerecorded and live streaming to Adobe Flash Lite™ 3 which ensures the same video experience via mobile devices.

"With a complete end-to-end workflow, Adobe's video solutions have transformed our creation to delivery model," said Erik Huggers, BBC future media and technology group controller. "With advancements in performance and protection, Flash Media Server 3 provides the BBC with flexible new ways to deliver streaming media on as many platforms as possible. We're delighted to collaborate with Adobe and deliver more secure instant-on programming to our audience, via BBC iPlayer."

Flash Media Streaming Server 3
Adobe Flash Media Streaming Server can enable customers to stream high-quality encrypted video, with no license restrictions on bandwidth or the total connections. The new lower price for Adobe Flash Media Streaming Server 3 makes the benefits of streaming video to Flash, Adobe AIR ® software, Adobe Flash Lite 3 and Adobe Media Player available to a broader audience. Adobe AIR ® software is the cross operating system application runtime that extends rich Internet applications (RIAs) to the desktop. Expected to be available in early 2008, Adobe Media Player, the first application from Adobe built on Adobe AIR, will integrate both H.264 video and HE-AAC audio support so viewers can enjoy high quality broadcast television both online and offline in an engaging, customized video experience.

Flash Media Interactive Server 3
Adobe Flash Media Interactive Server 3 builds on the capabilities of Adobe Flash Media Streaming Server 3 and combines the capabilities of Adobe Flash Media Server 2 Professional, Edge and Origin Editions into a single product, delivering a robust, high-performance streaming product with interactivity that can scale to support any size deployment. Adobe Flash Media Interactive Server 3 also supports a new plug-in architecture that can integrate with rights management systems for real time access control.

Pricing and Availability
Adobe Flash Media Server 3 is expected to be available in January 2008 and will ship with special pre-built services making it easier to stream Flash Player compatible video. Adobe Flash Media Interactive Server 3 will be offered at $4,500. For single-server deployments, Adobe Flash Media Streaming Server 3 will be available at $995. For more information about Adobe Flash Media Server, please visit www.adobe.com/products/flashmediaserver.