Adobe Throttles Up Flash Media Server -- Visual Studio Magazine

Adobe Throttles Up Flash Media Server

By David Nagel
01/25/2008

Adobe has released two new full version upgrades in its Flash Media Server line: Flash Media Streaming Server 3 and Flash Media Interactive Server 3. The latest versions, released Jan. 25, both include "major" performance gains and additional security enhancements for content delivery. They also add MPEG-4 support in the form of H.264 video and High-Efficiency AAC (HE-AAC) audio.

Flash Media Streaming Server 3 is Adobe's on demand and live streaming video server with new, pre-built services designed for rapid deployment. The latest incarnation advances performance, according to Adobe, with twice the speed of its predecessor. It also adds, for the first time, a single-server solution with an unlimited number of users and unlimited bandwidth. The updated server also adds 128-bit encryption for secure delivery and SWF verification to prevent reuse and unauthorized hosting of Flash-based content. Some of the other new features include:

Support for H.264 for streaming up to 1080p video to the Flash Player, Adobe AIR, and Adobe Media Player;
HE-AAC audio streaming;
Live streaming support for H.264 and On2 VP6 video in conjunction with Flash Media Encoder 2;
Live and on demand streaming to smart phones with Flash Player Lite;
Usage logs and real-time monitoring; and
A new seek feature that allows viewers to advance video to portions that have not yet been downloaded.

Flash Media Interactive Server 3, built on Adobe's Origin/Edge architecture, includes the same performance and security enhancements as Flash Media Streaming Server 3, as well as the additional codec support, logging, seek, and live and on demand streaming features. In addition, it incorporates a new plugin architecture for integration with other servers and services for authorization, server access, and file access. And it includes support for the newly open-sourced AMF3 format for data sharing and interactivity. Additional features include:

DVR-like recording functionality and the ability to archive live streams and multi-way sessions;
Dynamic thumbnails and video previews;
RTMP stream redirection; and
New "multipoint publishing" functionality for remote injection of "new live or prerecorded streams into your delivery network to quickly add time-sensitive content."

Flash Media Streaming Server 3 is available now for $995. Flash Media Interactive Server 3 is available for $4,500 for the full version, $1,995 for upgrades. The free developer editions of both are also available for download now here.

About the Author

Dave Nagel is the executive editor for 1105 Media's educational technology online publications and electronic newsletters.

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