Supported technologies
Adobe is committed to helping you keep step with the latest technologies, including those enabling broadcast television's migration to high-definition video. With Adobe® Flash® software, you can encode your 480p, 720p, and 1080p HD content with next-generation compression technologies in the MPEG-4 standard or use the On2 VP6 codec. Help ensure maximum compatibility with the H.264 video and HE-AAC audio codecs by using the ubiquitous, cross-platform Adobe Flash Platform runtimes for playback, both online and offline.
H.264
H.264 is the next-generation video compression technology in the MPEG-4 standard, also known as MPEG-4 Part 10 (ISO/IEC 14496-10). H.264 delivers excellent video quality across the entire bandwidth spectrum — from 3G (mobile phones) to HD (broadcast) and everything in between. H.264 is now mandatory for the Blu-ray specification for high-definition DVDs and ratified in the latest versions of the DVB (Digital Video Broadcasters) satellite TV and 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) mobile phone standards. Numerous broadcast, cable, videoconferencing, and consumer electronics companies consider H.264 the video codec of choice for their new products and services, including Apple, Canon, Sony, Nokia, SanDisk, Palm, RIM (Blackberry), and Microsoft.
HE-AAC v2 (HE-AAC+)
AAC is a standard audio format defined in the MPEG-4 video standard. It is the default audio format of Apple iPod and the standard audio format for Sony PlayStation 3. Adobe Flash Player software supports HE-AAC v2, also known as HE-AAC+, which is an extension of AAC that uses spectral band replication (SBR) and parametric stereo (PS) techniques to increase coding efficiency at low bit rates.
Speex
Take advantage of the new, high-fidelity, and open source Speex voice codec, which offers a low-latency alternative for voice encoding, now available in Flash Player 10. Flash Player also supports ADPCM, HE-AAC, MP3, and Nellymoser.
Content protection
Adobe offers several methods of content protection to help secure valuable assets. Adobe Flash Media Server software supports more secure, encrypted streaming to Flash Player and the Adobe AIR® runtime. In addition, content downloaded for playback in Adobe AIR with Adobe Flash Media Rights Management Server software can be protected by either content integrity validation or user-based authentication to support advertising-based, download-to-own, download-to-rent, and other business models.
Streaming vs. progressive download
There are two options for delivering FLV and F4V files: progressive download or streaming video with Flash Media Server. While progressive download is widely used, streaming offers several advantages, including better content protection and the option for encrypted streaming; live video support; greater network efficiencies; logging of usage; a richer playback experience with instant-on, rapid seek to any point in the video; and bandwidth and player detection for more reliable playback.
Continued support
Flash Player 10 continues to support the Sorenson Spark video codec based on the H.263 videoconferencing codec and the On2 VP6 video codec as well as MP3, ADPCM, and other audio formats supported in earlier versions of Flash Player, enabling continued compatibility with legacy content encoded in those formats.
