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Adobe throws in towel, adopts HTTP Live Streaming for iOS

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T

Tobor

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That's right. Once implemented, click a Flash video on an iOS device, you get served video. Adobe caved.

Ars Technica said:
In other words, instead of trying in vain to persuade Apple to build Flash into iOS, or losing potential Flash Media Server customers to some other iOS-compatible solution, Adobe seems to be implicitly acknowledging that content publishers need Flash-free video streaming.
Click to expand...

http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2...hnica/index+(Ars+Technica+-+Featured+Content)

Even better, you can remove Flash from your desktop(assuming you're using a modern browser), and the video will still work.

EDIT: almost forgot.

efddbac4.png
 
Even better, you can remove Flash from your desktop(assuming you're using a modern browser), and the video will still work.
Click to expand...

Great.

Not really relevant to me, as I built a powerful PC for peanuts that handles flash with aplomb, but I'm sure this is wonderful news for those on more limited platforms.
 
i have chrome with built in flash, but also had flash installed for ie or something
everything was pretty slow and youtube 720p would not load at all
uninstalled flash and everything seems to be up and running again
 
Sweet. I've kind of given up on Flash since I'm on an iOS device most of my Internet time now but maybe it will make a comeback.
 
wait, this means you can remove Flash from your computer, and Flash videos will still work because they will actually be streamed via HTTP Live Streaming?

Getting annoyed with YouTube revving my MacBook Pro's fans up to 5,000,000 rpms because I'm watching a 1 minute 480p video.
 
What we've been doing for a year and a half:
Code: 
			<div id="video-container" align="center">
								<video id="tv" controls poster="--your-poster-image-url-here--" preload="load">
									<source src="--your-mp4-here--" type="video/mp4" />

									<object id="player">
										<param name="movie" value="http://fpdownload.adobe.com/strobe/FlashMediaPlayback.swf"></param>
										<param name="flashvars" value="src=--your-mp4-here--&amp;controlBarAutoHide=true&amp;poster=--your-poster-image-url-here--"></param>
										<param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param>

										<embed 
											src="http://fpdownload.adobe.com/strobe/FlashMediaPlayback.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" 														allowfullscreen="true" flashvars="src=--your-mp3-file-here--&amp;controlBarAutoHide=true&amp;poster=--your-poster-image-here--">
										</embed>
									</object>
	
								<!-- END OF THE PLAYER EMBEDDING -->
								</video>
							</div>

							<script>
							if(document.createElement("video").canPlayType) 
							{
								if(!document.createElement("video").canPlayType('video/mp4'))
								{
									var myP = document.getElementById("player");
									var newNode = myP.cloneNode(true);
									document.getElementById("video-container").innerHTML="";
									document.getElementById("video-container").appendChild(newNode);
								}
							}
							</script>
 
Futureman said:
wait, this means you can remove Flash from your computer, and Flash videos will still work because they will actually be streamed via HTTP Live Streaming?

Getting annoyed with YouTube revving my MacBook Pro's fans up to 5,000,000 rpms because I'm watching a 1 minute 480p video.
Click to expand...
Yes, although you can switch YouTube over to HTML5 now, this will allow you to remove Flash completely.

Ars Technica said:
It's also worth noting that Flash Media Server will also be served to compatible clients on non-iOS platforms, including Safari on Mac OS X.
Click to expand...
 
Adobe is more than Flash. Flash is just a means to an end for them. This decision makes sense when viewed as such.
 
Wow. So without that, all the people bashing iOS for not having Flash can say is that they cannot play some games on their iPad. Very cool news. Might try it on my wife's nookColor today (unrooted). This should work on things like that, right? Android browsers without Flash.
 
Tobor said:
Yes, although you can switch YouTube over to HTML5 now, this will allow you to remove Flash completely.
Click to expand...
What's the incentive to remove flash completely instead of just regimenting it's usage through plugins. There's a ton of quality infographics at NYT that are rendered unreadable once Flash is gone, for instance. MLB.tv only works with Flash on desktops, etc.
 
PhoncipleBone said:
Wow. So without that, all the people bashing iOS for not having Flash can say is that they cannot play some games on their iPad. Very cool news. Might try it on my wife's nookColor today (unrooted). This should work on things like that, right? Android browsers without Flash.
Click to expand...
It's not out yet. They just showed a preview at NAB. It's being released in the next version.

Once it goes live, Android should definitely work.
 
Tobor said:
It's not out yet. They just showed a preview at NAB. It's being released in the next version.

Once it goes live, Android should definitely work.
Click to expand...
Ah, gotcha. Operating off no sleep here. Thank you.

scorcho said:
What's the incentive to remove flash completely instead of just regimenting it's usage through plugins. There's a ton of quality infographics at NYT that are rendered unreadable once Flash is gone, for instance. MLB.tv only works with Flash on desktops, etc.
Click to expand...
Battery life on portable devices. Perhaps saving some processor usage if you are running something like a video encode in the background.
 
scorcho said:
What's the incentive to remove flash completely instead of just regimenting it's usage through plugins. There's a ton of quality infographics at NYT that are rendered unreadable once Flash is gone, for instance. MLB.tv only works with Flash on desktops, etc.
Click to expand...
Performance and battery life. The MacBook Air, for example, has dramatically improved battery life without Flash.
 
Most Android users with a sensible head on their shoulders keep Flash turned off for the sake of their battery life, so this ought to be a benefit to them as well.

Between this and the dominant .264 standard, I think it's safe to close the book on WebM.
 
Tobor said:
It's not out yet. They just showed a preview at NAB. It's being released in the next version.

Once it goes live, Android should definitely work.
Click to expand...

And it would only work if websites or web hosts upgrade to Adobe Server 2011.
 
badcrumble said:
Most Android users with a sensible head on their shoulders keep Flash turned off for the sake of their battery life, so this ought to be a benefit to them as well.

Between this and the dominant .264 standard, I think it's safe to close the book on WebM.
Click to expand...

Andrex is plotting your demise as I type this.

You're already dead.
 
nVidiot_Whore said:
And it would only work if websites or web hosts upgrade to Adobe Server 2011.
Click to expand...
Any decent website has already implemented an iOS friendly option, or is planning on it, so this is an easy option for anyone on the fence.

That's why Adobe had to do this. They need to keep more websites from jumping ship.
 
Tobor said:
Performance and battery life. The MacBook Air, for example, has dramatically improved battery life without Flash.
Click to expand...
But that doesn't explain why one should completely uninstall Flash versus using it in a managed way (ie: Click to Flash, Flashblock, etc.). There's still a wealth of content on the web that's only available in Flash such that it doesn't make sense to uninstall/not install it on a capable machine.

I definitely applaud the diversity, though.

And as I typed that I just realized another example - watching the Bulls v. Pacers on ESPN3 right now in another window.
 
Tobor said:
Any decent website has already implemented an iOS friendly option, or is planning on it, so this is an easy option for anyone on the fence.

That's why Adobe had to do this. They need to keep more websites from jumping ship.
Click to expand...

My point was we won't have a real "release date" for when all websites will magically have support for this.

It will take time. Most sites featuring video outsource their streaming services to some sort of host or CDN, so it shouldn't take too long for most sites.. but you never really know.

It's not like it's a free upgrade for the CDNs.
 
When will this take effect? And does this mean if I got a Ipad 2 that I would finally be able to view just about any video on the internet?
 
Gary Whitta said:
Also, this could be a huge kick in the nuts for tablet competitors who boast Flash compatibility as a selling point over the iPad.
Click to expand...


Exactly. Now the bullet point reads as "Watch your battery life drain as you use Flash!"
 
Gary Whitta said:
Also, this could be a huge kick in the nuts for tablet competitors who boast Flash compatibility as a selling point over the iPad.
Click to expand...
Exactly.

And Scorcho, what sites out there have all of this Flash only content that would not be served by moving to this standard?
 
nVidiot_Whore said:
My point was we won't have a real "release date" for when all websites will magically have support for this.

It will take time. Most sites featuring video outsource their streaming services to some sort of host or CDN, so it shouldn't take too long for most sites.. but you never really know.

It's not like it's a free upgrade for the CDNs.
Click to expand...
True. The main news here is that the four year old standoff is over, and we know who won. That's big.
 
Gary Whitta said:
Will this only work for Flash video though, or Flash games and applications also?
Click to expand...

Video only.

And Scorcho, what sites out there have all of this Flash only content that would not be served by moving to this standard?
Click to expand...

Why do people ask questions like this? Is it just to use the equally inane "don't visit those sites" comment?

It's not like there's a database out there with every single website and what media support they have.
 
PhoncipleBone said:
Exactly.

And Scorcho, what sites out there have all of this Flash only content that would not be served by moving to this standard?
Click to expand...
i'm asking the case for uninstalling Flash at this point, not in some unknown future date when it eventually becomes irrelevant.

Besides, do any of us know yet when video providers will be upgrading or at what speed?
 
minx88 said:
When will this take effect? And does this mean if I got a Ipad 2 that I would finally be able to view just about any video on the internet?
Click to expand...

This has to do with Adobe's media server.

1) Not everyone who displays flash video now is using Adobe products to do the streaming.. so these sites/hosts would have to switch to/pay for Adobe's streaming server to get the upgrade.

2) Not everyone who is using Adobe's tech now is going to immediately upgrade... or maybe ever upgrade.. it's really impossible to tell..

3) I don't see any information about when this is coming to Adobe's products, or whether it will be a free update or a paid new major or minor version.. either way, not everyone upgrades immediately anyways.. as major server upgrades are costly, have to be planned, backups made, etc.

Basically, this won't suddenly make all web Flash video iOS compatible, because this is about a SERVER product from Adobe that is yet to be released. The entire web won't be upgraded at once.

Tobor said:
True. The main news here is that the four year old standoff is over, and we know who won. That's big.
Click to expand...

It's very big.

I also mis-read.. I thought this was an announcment for "Flash Video Server 2011."

So it's really unclear if this will COST existing FVS customers.. at least those on the current version.. might be a free upgrade.. but either way, it's gonna take some time, and not everyone will be on board.
 
Gary Whitta said:
Will this only work for Flash video though, or Flash games and applications also?
Click to expand...

It's just a change to the way people stream video using Adobe's Flash Media Server

the only change to the user is they don't need Flash to view the video
 
Tobor said:
Even better, you can remove Flash from your desktop(assuming you're using a modern browser), and the video will still work.
Click to expand...

Screw iPhones. This is the biggest news of this.

There's still a wealth of content on the web that's only available in Flash such that it doesn't make sense to uninstall/not install it on a capable machine.
Click to expand...

And if this is the push needed to get Flash killed, I'm all for it.

Flash is a clunky relic of the early 90's internet. It has been needing to go for a long while.
 
Version 3.5 was released on January 13, 2009.

Version 4.0 was released on September 13, 2010.
Click to expand...

Last 2 major releases from Adobe... were nearly 2 years apart.

We COULD be waiting a while for this.. I imagine this would be a FVS 4.5 feature or something, judging by Adobe's release habits.

But they certainly aren't as dominant as they used to be.. and have probably been losing customers.. so perhaps this is some sort of expedited released.

Let's hope it's a 4.1 or something and is free to 4.0 server customers.
 
krypt0nian said:
Maybe he means people who like battery life?
Click to expand...

Huh yeah ok, but it's not he did do anything unless I missed the giant protests outside Adobe's buildings.
I would have understood a reaction like :
Now Adobe suck less
or
Yeah for battery life

or anything but we won? I'm half expecting a tirade on why I should live in an ipad driven world.
especially considering that
nVidiot_Whore said:
So it's really unclear if this will COST existing FVS customers.. at least those on the current version.. might be a free upgrade.. but either way, it's gonna take some time, and not everyone will be on board.
Click to expand...

could mean we won't get any improvement at all in quite a while.
 
Mael said:
Huh yeah ok, but it's not he did do anything unless I missed the giant protests outside Adobe's buildings.
I would have understood a reaction like :
Now Adobe suck less
or
Yeah for battery life

or anything but we won? I'm half expecting a tirade on why I should live in an ipad driven world.
especially considering that
Click to expand...

Whatevs, duders.
 
Mael said:
Huh yeah ok, but it's not he did do anything unless I missed the giant protests outside Adobe's buildings.
I would have understood a reaction like :
Now Adobe suck less
or
Yeah for battery life

or anything but we won? I'm half expecting a tirade on why I should live in an ipad driven world.
especially considering that


could mean we won't get any improvement at all in quite a while.
Click to expand...
What sites are you waiting for improvement?
 
Mael said:
Huh yeah ok, but it's not he did do anything unless I missed the giant protests outside Adobe's buildings.
I would have understood a reaction like :
Now Adobe suck less
or
Yeah for battery life

or anything but we won? I'm half expecting a tirade on why I should live in an ipad driven world.
especially considering that


could mean we won't get any improvement at all in quite a while.
Click to expand...
I just told you I'm a consumer. Here's another one: I use the internet and am not interested in having one company run things on its own. Therefore, yes, we, as consumers, won.
 
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