General questions
- What is Adobe® Flash® Lite®?
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Based on the Adobe Flash Platform, Adobe Flash Lite is a runtime specifically optimized for mobile phones and consumer electronic devices. Flash Lite enables OEMs and operators to differentiate their devices via customized user interfaces, a more complete web experience, and the ability to access video and mobile content across devices.
- What are the key new capabilities of Flash Lite 3.1 ?
Flash Lite 3.1 includes the following new capabilities:
- H.264 support (dependent on OEM implementation) — Flash Lite 3.1 includes H.264 standard video support, the same standard deployed in Blu-ray and HD-DVD high-definition video players and HD web videos.
- Improved Web browsability — Flash Lite 3.1 is broadcast as a Flash 9, ActionScript® 2.0 compatible player and supports any content that does not use ActionScript 3.0.
The Flash Lite 3 web browsability guidelines provide a complete list of features not supported in Flash Lite 3.1.
View the brochure (PDF, 740k) - Support for hardware acceleration — Flash Lite 3.1 supports OpenVG 1.1 to improve flash rendering performance on capable devices.
- New object-oriented extension mechanism — This mechanism provides easier and faster integration with device APIs.
- How is Flash Lite distributed?
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Adobe licenses Flash Lite to both mobile and consumer electronic device manufacturers, who preinstall the runtime and ship it embedded into the device. In this instance, Flash Lite is used as a plug-in to the web browser, as a standalone player to render open content, or to build customized device user interfaces. Additionally, Adobe has recently announced the Flash Lite 3.1 distributable player, which enables developers to target the latest version of the runtime and directly distribute rich applications over the air with the latest Flash Lite player.
- When is Flash Lite 3.1 available?
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Flash Lite 3.1 is available today.
Flash Lite 3.1 Developer Edition is available for noncommercial distribution in the Mobile and Devices Developer Center today. The Developer Edition is optimized for Symbian OS™ v3 devices and has been certified by Adobe for the Nokia N95 handset. The Flash Lite 3.1 distributable player is available for developers to directly distribute their applications with the latest Flash Lite player to smartphones.
- When will Flash Lite 3.1 devices begin shipping?
Flash Lite 3.1 devices are available in the market today.
- How do Flash Lite 2.1 and the Flash Player 7 software development kit (SDK) compare to Flash Lite 3.1?
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The following table contains a comparison of key features. For a complete comparison, see the comparison chart.
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Flash Lite 3.1 Flash Lite 2.1 Flash Player 7 SDK Web browsing compatibility Yes (Flash 8 or earlier) No Yes (Flash 7 or earlier) Video codecs (FLV, device video) Device dependent Device dependent No Audio codecs Device dependent Device dependent Yes Flash Media Server connection support Yes No Yes XML socket support Yes Yes Yes SOAP API Yes Yes No Language support (including right-to-left) Yes Yes No Optimized for ARM Yes Yes No MMI APIs Yes Yes No - What reference platforms are available for Flash Lite 3.1?
Symbian OS v3, Microsoft® Windows® XP, and Red Hat® Linux® 2.6.
- What are the system requirements for Flash Lite 3.1?
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- 32-bit data bus, 200MHz
- 380KB core player DLL size (without video codecs)
- RAM requirements:
- For user interface: 4–6MB
- For standalone content: 2–4MB (excludes video)
- For web browsing: 32MB
- Content size-to-heap ratio 1:15
- What is the client footprint of Flash Lite 3.1?
380KB is the size of the core library without video codecs. As a reference, Flash Lite 2.1 has a footprint of 450KB.
- How much memory is required for Flash Lite 3.1 to run?
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Adobe recommends allocating 4-6MB of RAM for the user interface, 2-4MB for standalone content (excludes video), and 32MB for web browsing for optimal performance.
- What is the required memory usage for playing FLV files?
A one-minute video consumes 2–3MB of RAM, while a five-minute video consumes an average of 3–4MB. Longer videos play without requiring a linear increase in memory. Note: This is true for progressive, streaming, local, and/or remote.
- What features of Flash 8 Professional does Flash Lite 3.1 not support?
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- Filters (blur, drop shadow, and so forth)
- Blend modes (add, subtract, multiply, and so forth)
- Enhanced strokes (miter, square, and so forth)
- Text as Link
- setTimeout
- _target
- Encoding per pixel alpha with video created with Flash 8 Professional (On2 VP6)
- Bitmap caching
- ActionScript objash Rects or methods
- Flash remoting
To learn more about optimizing your website and content for Flash Lite 3.1, review the Flash Lite 3.1 web browsability support guidelines.
- Are there plans to add support for the Flash 8 Professional features that are not currently supported by Flash Lite 3.1?
We are currently evaluating support for the remaining Flash Professional 8 features in future releases.
- Does Flash Lite 3.1 support H.264?
Yes. Flash Lite 3.1 includes H.264 standard video support, the same standard deployed in Blu-ray and HD-DVD high-definition video players and HD web videos. Playback of H.264 video will be dependent on the OEM's implementation on the device for seamless playback and delivery of H.264 video.
- Does Flash Lite 3.1 support Flash 9 content?
Flash Lite 3 broadcasts itself as a Flash 9 compatible player and will play back SWF content created with Flash 9 (Flash CS4 Professional) as long as it does not use ActionScript 3. Flash Lite 3 will display a Flash icon to indicate instances where content is not supported.
- I am currently using an older version of Flash Lite. What do I need to do to upgrade to Flash Lite 3.1?
If you are an OEM, contact your Adobe representative or complete the Flash Lite license request form. If you are a developer, visit the Mobile and Devices Developer Center to download Flash Lite 3 Developer Edition.
- How can I author Flash Lite 3.1 content for mobile devices?
Author, test, and publish mobile content for the latest release of Adobe Flash Lite, now supporting FLV and rendering of SWF files for Flash Player 8 when integrated within a mobile phone or embedded web browser. Authoring support for Flash Lite 3 requires both an update to Flash CS4 Professional software and an update to Adobe Device Central CS4.
Flash Lite for the digital home
- Why is the Adobe Flash Platform for the digital home based on Flash Lite and not Flash Player?
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Flash Lite is an optimized implementation of the Flash Player runtime for embedded systems that have less powerful hardware and processing power than today's desktop systems. As a mature runtime for embedded devices, Flash Lite for the digital home supports Internet-connected digital home devices that have less powerful CPUs and memory (RAM) than desktops for the most popular usage models that include standalone applications, streaming high-definition video, and user interfaces.
- What are the target devices for the Adobe Flash Platform for the digital home?
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The following Internect-connected devices are targets for the Adobe Flash Platform for the digital home:
- Television sets
- Blu-ray disc players
- Game consoles
- Set-top boxes
- Digital media adapters
- Will the Adobe Flash Platform for the digital home be available for existing Flash Lite licensees automatically?
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Depending on individual licensing terms, existing Flash Lite licensees can work with Adobe to add Flash Lite for the digital home to their existing licensing agreements.
- What system-on-chip (SoC) platforms support the Adobe Flash Platform for the digital home?
- The following SoC partners offer reference software stacks for Flash Lite for the digital home:
- Broadcom 7405, 3549
- NXP PNX8935
- Sigma Designs 8634, 8644, 8654
- Intel Canmore (3100)
- MediaTek
- STMicroelectronics
- Which version of Flash Lite is used for the digital home?
Flash Lite 3.1.
- Does Flash Lite for the digital home support Flash 10 and ActionScript 3.0 content?
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Flash Lite for the digital home supports ActionScript 2.0 and Flash Player 8 content. It also supports Flash 10 media with full hardware playback of high-definition H.264 video.
- Does Flash Lite for the digital home support the web browsing use case?
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No. There are significant usability and technical challenges to support a full web browser. First, it is difficult to do traditional browsing with a typical remote control when websites require a mouse and keyboard interface. Secondly, web browsing requires significant system resources (for example, greater system memory) that most digital home devices do not support. In many cases, the desired services can be supported with a well-designed application based on Flash technology instead of being delivered via a web browser.
- Does Flash Lite for the digital home support RTMPe, multibitrate streaming, and HTTPS?
- Yes. RTMPe, multibitrate streaming, and HTTPS support are part of the Flash Lite 3.1 feature set.
- What are the key differences between Flash Lite 3.1 for mobile devices and Flash Lite 3.1 for the digital home?
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Hardware-accelerated cache as bitmap This feature enables the ability to achieve 720p30 content rendering (1280x720 at 30 frames per second) on hardware for optimal performance. Runtime bitmap caching is a feature that was added to Flash 8 to improve vector performance on the desktop by caching a vector drawing as an off‐screen bitmap so that the entire cached movie clip could be rendered to the stage with hardware BitBlt operation as a result of repaint (exposure) requests instead of requiring vector redraw.
Driver Development Kit (DDK) The Driver Development Kit is the code package that enables OEMs to hardware accelerate Flash Lite for the digital home by developing driver module implementations that talk directly to core modules and to OEM hardware. Each driver module abstracts a feature that can be hardware accelerated and contains a default software implementation, making driver development optional in all cases.
The following modules are provided in the DDK:
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ImageDecoderDriver — Abstracts JPEG and PNG image decoding with default software implementations for both.
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AudioDecoderDriver — Abstracts MP3 and AAC audio decoding with a default software implementation for MP3. Used for MP3 playback and traditional FLV.
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VideoDecoderDriver — Abstracts On2 VP6, Sorenson, and H.264 video decoders with default software implementations for On2 VP6 and Sorenson. Used for FLV.
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GraphicsDriver — Abstracts hardware accelerated graphics "planes." Default implementations will be provided for the generic Linux frame buffer and for the DirectFB software library from the DirectFB website.
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StreamPlayerDriver — Abstracts full hardware playback of time-stamped video and audio elementary streams for overlay video.
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SoundOutputDriver — Abstracts output of PCM audio streams for Flash and traditional (nonhardware) FLV.
Extension Development Kit (EDK) The Extension Development Kit is a C/C++ SDK that enables OEMs to extend Flash Lite for the digital home with new ActionScript classes that are implemented in native code. The EDK is packaged separately so that extension binaries can be produced independently of any of the other SDKs.
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- What are the minimum hardware requirements for Flash Lite for the digital home?
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Processor 300MHz or equivalent dedicated to runtime operation
Screen 1280x720 X ARGB-8888 graphics plane with 30fps minimum hardware compositing
Graphics 2D hardware graphics engine with BitBlt and FillRect
Memory -
128MB of system RAM with 4–32MB RAM per application instance
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0–32MB of graphics RAM for bitmap acceleration per application instance
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32MB persistent read-only storage for code (HDD or flash memory)
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4MB persistent read-write storage for shared objects (HDD or flash memory)
Video H.264 hardware decoder
Audio AAC hardware decoder or software equivalent
Connectivity Internet connection (for example, 100BaseT Ethernet, 802.11)
Remote Traditional directional or free space
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- What are the recommended hardware features for Flash Lite for the digital home?
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Processor -
500MHz or faster clock speed
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Large (greater than 64K) L1 data cache
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Multiple cores with SMP operating system such as SMP Linux
Graphics 2D hardware graphics engine with StretchBlt
Image JPEG hardware decoder and PNG hardware decoder
Video On2 VP6 hardware decoder to decode to RAM and/or the screen; Sorenson hardware decoder to decode to RAM and/or the screen
Audio MP3 hardware decoder
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- What are the software requirements for Flash Lite for the digital home?
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Operating system Linux 2.6.x Kernel
Runtime libraries glibc or uClibc C runtime library
Toolchain GNU Compiler Collection, binutils, make, bash
- If a device supports Flash Lite for the digital home, does this mean that I can watch web videos from sites such as YouTube, Hulu, and CBS.com right on the TV?
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This will depend on the specific content provider. Each content provider has unique technical requirements in terms of AS, RTMP encryption, and so on. In addition, content providers have their own unique licensing requirements for providing the required API to stream the videos to a TV enabled for Flash.
