Finally someone has taken our advice and started displaying premium content via Flash video with embedded ads. As I have said in this space before, content providers need only create Flash based video content to distribute their stuff to viewers and then they can grab the largest online viewing audience of any video app. Larger than Windows Media Player, larger than Quicktime, larger than all other video types.

ABC has created and released a new Flash based video player for four of its shows that embeds video with non-skippable ad content from AT&T. Users can choose from four differenct shows (Desperate Housewives, Lost, Commander and Chief, and Alias) and view content in each with sponsor advertisments within.

Screenshots and more after the jump.

In each segment of the show the viewer can skip to any point before the ad. This forces the user to view your sponsor's content. Plus most users don't mind having to deal with a few ads to get better access to better content in more places.

The Player also lets viewer choose between all available shows while viewing the current show. This way you can choose what you want to see without having to leave your current choice. Plus short show descriptions are included so you don't have to leap before you look. Apparently all of the current season of Alias is available for work day viewing.

Shows are in wide screen format and use the high quality view codec from On2. Since shows are broken up into pieces surrounding ads, load times should be minimal.

While watching a show the user can also click on the faded show titles surrounding the video and skip to that show's current video.

Now if the other content providers would wake up and do the same thing life would be easier (I'm yelling at you AP, MTV, Comedy Central, etc).

Friday You Tube released a new player face for its video. They are incouraging users to check out the new player and tell them what they think. I like the player more than the older one, but its not as 'pretty.' You Tube added needed features including a scroller that can be easily selected and moved to jump through the playing video, a volume control, and a time stamp. Improvements I would like to see include the release of an API so developers can embed You videos in their projects and even adjust the player to add of remove functionality. Plus I would like to skin the player with various colors and designs. They could even use an API to promote the site to content providers for targetted use on sites. Maybe E! could start embedding E! content with custom skins and active dynamic Flash content.

The video played at the link below is from Bruce Springsteen's set at Jazz Fest in New Orleans this past weekend.

Third Party Flash creation software Toon Boom released an update for Mac users earlier this month. The software is not official Universal or Intel and PowerPC Mac compatible. We talked about Toon Boom back when they won and Emmy last year and this just shows the software moving forward with its user base. As animators upgrade to the new Mactels they won't need to wait for the next version to run this package outside of Rosetta. I think this developement was achieved with the help of the Universal Flash Player that was released as a beta with Safari on the newer Macs. It will be interesting to see what other third party Flash offerings will beat the Adobe Flash Universal IDE to market in the coming months.

via Macworld

• Web browsing compatibility
• Flash Player 7 support
• Action Script 2 support
• XML socket support
• Web services and SOAP API

So there was this big press conference at Sony headquarters yesterday to discuss the PS3 (which I will probably avoid, $425 is too much) and the CEO had some announcements about upcoming PSP updates, including a new web browser. The next PSP web browser will include official Flash support! Which means we can stop trying to hack the Flash Player into the PlayStationPortable and just go with the flow. 1UP mentioned the inclusion at 10:42 AM PST yesterday. I only wonder if the player will be a stripped down version or even just a modified version of the Palm OS Flash Player that was included with Sony's CLIE product line. The release of a coming camera and GPS modules leads me to think that Flash developers may be able to build full fledged RIAs that feature location based support and video teleconferencing. Now I just need to save up a couple hundred bucks and grab on of these for 'work.'

JD read a prediction on this back in August and Make found a hack to force Flash Player 7 into the PSP in Febuary

via Richard Leggett

update: our blog sibling Joystiq has the lowdown on all things PS3 and PSP

Time to update your Flash Player. According to Cnet, Adobe has released a new update to Flash Player to bring all you non-beta users up to 8.0.24.0. Adobe recommends all users of Flash player up to version 8.0.22.0 update their player via download. Apparently a vulnerability has been found that allows 'evil' SWF files to take control of a user's system when loaded into current version of the player. So head over to the link below and update your systems. The problem affects Breeze 5, Shockwave 10.1.0.11 and Flash debug player 7.0.14 (and earlier of course).

The first of the early adopters to realize his mistake has returned his brand new iMac with Intel after just 24 hours. Unfortunately for Jed Wood of SilentRant.com the failure of Flash on the new iMac (specifically in Safari and Firefox under Rosetta) forced him to return his smooth new Mac. Again, careful how early you adopt, he ended up lucking into a trade in on the PowerPC iMac, but almost suffered a 10 percent restocking fee.

via yesterday's comments

On Monday Adobe grabbed a DRM company that creates lock downs for PDF files via a client-server method and document encryption. This seems old hat in the textbook and business documentation world, but I wonder if Adobe will use this method to create a new SWF based DRM. For more clues I sat at work listening to the Gillmor Gang discuss DRM and video. They brought up the new Google Video store and how Google is using Flash (7 if you must know) to display its videos. One member of the gang (I forget his name) said (aroung the 18 minute mark) that Adobe and Macromedia's merger should bring DRM to Flash in the future so Flash can become a more viable content distribution model. I'm all for it... er let me clarify, I'd prefer DRM free content for ease of use etc, but if it must be there I want cross platform content, like Flash. In order words, that new VH1 video site and the new Comedy Central video service are closed to my iBook due to lack of vision on the part of their developers (and the music industry, but that's another story), but if the content was Flash based (like CNN's free in page video) then the content would be semi cross platform (sorry Linux, wait for 8.5). The only question is: Is SWF (and On2 by association) better than WMV and M4V?

image from video for Flash

After Lightroom's release by Adobe Labs this week, I immediately asked myself what this means for the Flash community. First off I grabbed the Lightroom Beta Vodcast and sat down to watch the 20 meg video that streamed to my laptop. The video was extremely interesting and filled with features and neat stuff, but really had only a little bit on my favorite topic. Around 15 minutes into the video George Jardine gets to the moment I was waiting for, Lightroom allows pro (and not pro) photographers export to HTML, PDF, and Flash with ease. This is great because not photographers, like the one that shot my wedding, can export the perfect cross platform (Mac/PC that is) format and burn straight to CD or even distribute to clients via the web. The only thing a pro might want would be an easy option to lower the quality of slide photos and maybe a way to select images to save for comment or rating. Oh and maybe a way to choose Flash player versions or bundle slideshow for CD. What do you think could be added to this non-Flash app to make it better for wanna-be Flashers?

More info from Jeff Tranberry, John Nack, and Adobe Labs.

Everyone's favorite home of the BOFH has been lucky enough to grab a newer-than-new copy of the coming Macromedia (guess we should say Adobe) Flex 2.0 ALPHA. The multi page review explores the product with a few screen shots for your viewing pleasure.

The review includes notes of interest on what looks to be a future site license option for Flex that should make the product more easily available. Also, they see Flex as being positioned to directly compete with .NET.

I just wonder how this application will play into the merger. Will Adobe be pushing this product as part of some gigantic bundle or Extra-Creative-Suite? Or will they group it with other application and web software?

Oh, there is a link at the end of the review to the download site so you can grab your own ALPHA to try.

Looks like the merger completion brings with it another big (and not unexpected) merge:

What are Adobe's plans for Flash Player and Adobe Reader?
Our long-term plan is to develop a "universal client" by combining PDF, Flash and HTML in a single, integrated runtime. Of course, we will continue delivering the Flash Player as a small, efficient runtime for content and applications on the web, and Adobe Reader for viewing and interacting with PDF documents and forms. The integration of these technologies into a unified framework creates a ubiquitous platform that runs on virtually every device, and dramatically expands the opportunities to create compelling solutions.

I guess Flash Paper is just a vectorized Adobe Reader now. Plus SVG will soon be fully consumed by Flash. The only question I might have is... where is my PDF manipulation ActionScript?

thanks What do i know

Adobe starts its new week of Macromedia ownership with a huge release. Now you will be able to get the bundle that most of us already have. First up is the new Adobe design bundle coming with a full Adobe Creative Suite Premium and a copy of Macromedia Flash Professional 8. Second is the Adobe Web Bundle coming with Adobe Creative Suite Premium and Macromedia Studio. Both are set to be the cost you might have expected to pay for the seperate software pieces, but now they all come in one convient box (with a savings of a couple hundred dollars each). If you haven't upgraded to 8 and still have that older copy of Photoshop break out the wallet. Plus, you could always wait for that new video bundle their offering. Personally, I think I'll wait for the next round of upgrades before shelling out the two grand these require.

Thanks TUAW

• Almost 100 million downloads of Flash Player 8 since its release (that's about 5 million/day!)
• 1.5 million Studio 8 Trial downloads
• Public alphas for Flex Builder 2, AS 3, and Flash Player 8.5 released today
• labs.macromedia.com -- "your source for early looks at emerging products and technologies from Macromedia" (press release)
  
• Codename: "Apollo" -- "the Universal Client" -- web model on a desktop distribution (looks like some of the concepts behind Central are growing up)
• Not too much can be said about the merger at this point for legal reasons, but Chizen promises "an engagement platform"