Watch out, Joost: Adobe's Media Player 'œamps' up the ante!

Alex Zaharov-Reutt
Thursday, 10 April 2008 22:26

Opinion and Analysis

Adobe’s new cross platform, customisable ‘Adobe Media Player’, or AMP, offers a range of well known TV programming from CSI: NY to Star Trek and plenty more from major players, giving ‘video consumers’ a whole new channel to watch!

It’s not just Joost that needs to be worried, by Hulu, YouTube, Livestation and anyone else offering video content on the Internet – Adobe isn’t just happy to let others use Flash to deliver video – Adobe wants to do it itself!

Update 19th April, 2008: All the interesting shows, such as MacGyver, Star Trek, CSI:NY etc - are no longer viewable if you don't live in the US. Thanks Adobe and CBS for turning Adobe Media Player into another way to view content no-one really wants to watch, unless you're interested in watching Adobe tutorials and music videos. The original story follows:

The AMP media player uses Adobe AIR technology to, “redefine Next-Generation TV experiences for viewers and broadcasters”, says Adobe, “providing exciting new ways for viewers to discover and interact with their favorite content, while offering revenue and brand-building opportunities for content publishers” – with the media player a free download.

Major television broadcasters and leading content publishers, have come on board, including “CBS, MTV Networks, Universal Music Group, PBS, CondéNet, and Scripps Networks”, alongside Adobe’s own “Adobe TV, a network in Adobe Media Player with a series of shows that provides expert instruction and original series programming about Adobe products to the worldwide creative community”. Media Player is available for immediate download at .

John Loiacono, senior vice president of Creative Solutions at Adobe, said: “With Adobe Media Player, we’re bringing viewers and content owners closer together, with an experience that doesn’t constrain them by platform or proprietary software application. It’s a merger of TV Guide and DVR for Internet video content. Some great shows, like The Hills from MTV and CSI from CBS, is already available to view and more will be coming soon.”

Adobe says their new media player provides “high-quality playback of streamed, downloaded or locally-stored video in the Adobe Flash format”.

For the first time, “consumers can download video outside the browser in the Adobe Flash format, which can be viewed in 1080p, 720p or 480i video display resolutions with the most advanced audio quality”.

The opportunity to “subscribe” to television shows and other online video content is also available, letting you automatically receive new episodes of the shows as they become available.

To help viewers discover new content, a broad, searchable catalog of shows from leading media companies and networks is available and it is expected that it will continually expand to include video from additional broadcasters, studios and independent producers.

So, what other shows are available, and what it’s actually like to watch TV shows through Adobe’s Media Player? Please read onto page 2.