Adobe debuts Media Player, video content

by Steven Schwankert

April 9, 2008 —

Adobe Systems debuted a new media playing software, Adobe
Media Player 1.0 (AMP) along with online programming instructional video
content on how to use the company's products, it said Wednesday.

The move makes Adobe the latest player to get into the online video space,
offering not only software that rivals Apple's Quicktime and Microsoft's Windows
Media Player, but also video content such as episodes of "CSI: Miami"
and "CSI: New York," along with other feature programming and music
videos.

Announced about a year ago, the Media Player and content catalog is designed
to be free for end users, supported by advertising, according to Ashley Still,
senior product manager at Adobe, in an interview.

Users can sort their favorite content and can search for new material. They
can also subscribe to favorite shows that are featured, and are then reminded
when new episodes are available, Still said.

Shows and videos will be available either streaming or for download, depending
on the content producer, and can be viewed online or offline accordingly, Still
said.

Based on Adobe's Flash technology, Adobe Media Player contains both content
creation and playback components, and is available for Windows and Mac.

As an ad-supported service, Media Player may begin to tap into a long-awaited
form of advertising: being able to promote specific products for sale within
a program, such as the pair of sunglasses an actor is wearing, Still said. Advertisers
can also be target their message by show and even by episode, and place ads
wherever they like within the program or clip.

Content may contain digital rights management (DRM) software, depending on
its owner, Still said. Adobe recently launched its own DRM server, but said
use of DRM is up to the material's producer.

Adobe Media Player may be downloaded for free at [http://www.adobe.com/products/mediaplayer/].
Pricing information for the video content publishing software was not immediately
available.

Additionally, Adobe TV material can be viewed at http://tv.adobe.com.
All of the instructional videos on the site were created using only Adobe software
for the relevant components, the company said.

Elizabeth Montalbano in New York contributed to this report.

IDG News Service