Flash Media Playback / FAQ

Adobe® Flash® Media Playback is the standard media player for the Adobe Flash Platform. It comes with a full-featured interface that allows easy configuration of standard player functionality such as autoplay, autohide controls, poster frame definition, control bar positioning, and more. Its extensible plug-in architecture provides production-ready code that meets recurring development challenges, while helping publishers to monetize their video content with seamless integration with partner services. With support for the latest player features such as dynamic streaming and DVR functionality, Flash Media Playback enables Adobe tool users and ecosystem partners to fully utilize the powerful video features of the Flash Platform.

Flash Media Playback is a compiled SWF file, hosted on Adobe.com. It is not open source, but it is fully configurable and does support dynamically loaded plug-ins from third-party service providers. Strobe Media Playback is available both as a compiled SWF file and as the source code used to create the compiled SWF file. It is not hosted on Adobe.com; instead, it is available for download from the Open Source Media Framework website. Both Flash Media Playback and Strobe Media Playback are built on top of Open Source Media Framework, the pure ActionScript® 3.0 framework that gives developers complete flexibility and control in creating their own rich media experiences. For more information on both Open Source Media Framework and Strobe Media Framework, visit the Open Source Media Framework website.

This set of three products provides complete flexibility in deploying rich media:

• Flash Media Playback — For basic web video, enables a website to get up and running quickly and easily through the use of simple embed codes and FlashVars, or XML configuration files.
• Strobe Media Playback — Offers more flexibility than Flash Media Playback, and because it is downloaded, it can be deployed behind a firewall that does not allow access to the hosted version of Flash Media Playback. In addition to the control allowed through FlashVars, Strobe Media Playback is also available as source code for developers who want enhanced functionality beyond that which is available with Flash Media Playback.
• Open Source Media Framework — Allows any sort of rich media experience to be created and maintained, though it is more complex to use. Open Source Media Framework is the underlying technology of both Flash Media Playback and Strobe Media Playback. It is a completely flexible and configurable set of pure ActionScript classes.

In addition to providing a standard, fully configurable user interface that supports a broad range of media behavior, Flash Media Playback focuses on enabling the types of video and ad experiences common on the web today, along with supporting new features in Adobe Flash Player 10.1, Flash Media Server 4.5, and Adobe Access 3.0 software and HTTP Dynamic Streaming. It also supports the development of third-party plug-ins to provide functionality such as content delivery network (CDN) support, advertising, reporting, and social networking.

We continue to meet with our Flash Platform ecosystem partners (CDNs, ad providers, tracking services, and social networks), and they have expressed enthusiasm about delivering plug-ins to enable their services in Flash Media Playback.

Already installed on over 98% of all Internet-connected desktops, Flash Player is a multiple-platform client runtime that supports SWF media players and other content created using Adobe Flash Professional CS5.5 software.

Flash Media Playback is a compiled SWF file hosted on Adobe.com that can be embedded in a website. The goal of Flash Media Playback is to allow website developers to focus on the overall user experience of video on their sites with minimum time spent on the technical details of the media player.

Yes. Flash Media Playback is the standard media player provided by Adobe. Adobe is committed to helping create standards for player development for the Flash Platform. By creating a standard media player for Flash Platform video playback, Adobe is contributing to the reduction of fragmentation and complexity in media player functionality.

Please review the End-User License Agreement for details on the terms of use.

Flash Media Playback is available free of charge.