Adobe's new Media Player: bring it on, QuickTime and WMP

[Kevin Callahan]

<http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070416-adobes-new-media- 
player-bring-it-on-quicktime-and-wmp.html>


Adobe introduced a new application for viewing media on the desktop  
this morning at the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) show  
in Las Vegas. The application is called Adobe Media Player, which the  
company says builds upon the base of Adobe's Flash Player to help  
expand Adobe's video solutions online. Akamai CEO Paul Sagan, whose  
company is partnering with Adobe on the venture, described Adobe  
Media Player as "a technology portfolio that will drive new advances  
in Internet video authoring, playback and commerce."

Unlike the current Flash Player, Adobe Media Player will enable  
content providers to monetize their media and provide new ways to  
distribute it. The application even offers options to protect their  
media through the use of "streaming encryption, content integrity  
protection, and identity-based protection." There will also be built- 
in options to provide analytics data on users so that content  
providers can have a better understanding of their audiences.