Web video formats and players
Movie trailers presented in Flash are viewable by more than 800 million users worldwide. That's a wide reach for "Beowulf," starring Ray Winstone. Copyright © 2007 By Paramount Pictures. All Rights Reserved.
Reaching the widest audience possible
A decade ago, the web video landscape was crisscrossed with competing, incompatible formats. Without a clear winner, content providers were faced with choosing a side and risking failure or distributing in multiple formats. Entrepreneurial transcoding services attempted to mitigate the hassle of encoding and delivering multiformat web video. None of these options, however, was particularly cost-effective.
Flash is the undisputed leader in web video
While Apple, Microsoft, and Real web video technologies were making headlines, Adobe® Flash® technology was quietly proliferating across browsers. Flash began as a small-footprint animation format, ideal for delivering animated content at low data rates typical of dial-up connections. As broadband access took hold, Flash technology evolved. The creative community, content providers, and end users alike embraced Flash. Today, Adobe Flash Player runs on more than 98% of Internet-connected computers worldwide. The prevalence of Flash Player means you can deliver rich, interactive web video experiences to more than 800 million users, more than all broadcast network audiences combined. Flash is the de facto standard in web video.
The Internet offers a unique promotional opportunity for documentaries, even those like "The 11th Hour" (Warner Bros.) playing in theaters.
See also
