Kevin Towes on Online Video at Adobe

Today, almost 10 years since we released our first media server, we are announcing Adobe Media Server 5 with enhanced support for serving and protecting video to the Apple iPad, Apple iPhone and Apple iTouch all running on Apple iOS through native app development. In addition, we are jointly announcing Adobe Access 4 that can now be used to securely protect videos on Apple devices that uses the same protection system to secure video on Adobe Flash, Adobe AIR running on 1 billion desktops and devices worldwide.

You may also notice that we changed the product name to reflect that streaming and protection technologies are not solely for Flash, but allow you to deliver and protect your video on an increasing number of devices supporting native app development environments such as Objective C.

Adobe Media Server stands out from all other media server technologies because we believe that streaming is not complete without a way to protect video from theft so that broadcasters or publishers can use video to drive or support a business. This strategy has been in place since the very early days of the products where in 2002, RTMP protected content because nothing was cached. In 2007 HD streaming opportunity was introduced with H.264 and adaptive bitrate – and so the video protection systems needed to change, and we introduced RTMPe and SWF verification which not only encrypted, but bound the media to the player. RTMPe/SWFv technology and the very simple workflow innovations have made it possible for world’s broadcasters and video distributors to put the latest releases of TV shows and movies online and in the palm of your hand. We are also adding in critical support for 608/708 Closed Caption so that you can increase your audience with every kind of capability.

With the evolution of streaming and movement towards HTTP delivery for multi-screen, Adobe not only introduced a DRM solution to meet the demands of both the most rigid requirement, but balanced the solution with simple publishing workflows. Adobe Media Server 4.5’s support for HLS format to Apple devices in September 2011 was a ground breaking shift and now Adobe Media Server 5 adds secure media delivery over HLS with easy to use workflows, and universal protection system to meet all broadcast protection requirements. But most importantly – for the audience, it looks and performs awesome – you don’t even know the protection is there, but it is.

What makes Adobe video solutions so unique in my mind is our strategy to always interleave delivery + protection– it has been in our DNA since we started the journey 10 years ago. Adobe Media Server 5 builds on the rich innovation that has both delivery + protection at its core.

Adobe Access 4 has advanced not only DRM with iOS jailbreak protection, but will also allow you to use the same license server to protect content across over 1 billion devices, desktops and now the Apple devices. Adobe Access maintains its position with the Ultraviolet project as one of the approved DRMs.

Adobe Media Server 5 extends the innovation around Protected HTTP Dynamic Streaming (“PHDS”) which allows you to not worry about protection, just enable the encryption and protection and let Adobe do the rest. This release introduces Protected HLS streaming (“PHLS”) which uses the protection system to deliver the content license to the native IOS app without requiring a license server! So now you can deliver HTTP content to both native apps running on Apple devices and Flash-enabled devices using the same powerful Adobe Access client but without the Adobe Access license server. This technology is perfect for live events, news, sports or concerts, or if you just want to protect your video content without a complicated setup. We have juiced up the server with a much higher performing dynamic packager and encryption system that supports on demand and live streaming over both HDS and HLS that will power some of the most impressive events in 2012 that will change the way we think of multi-screen video. We have also extended the server’s utilities for offline media packaging to include HLS segmenting and encryption so you can prepare all your content in advance.

So… you may be thinking how I can get so excited about DRM? Well, it’s not that hard when you think of what protection enables. DRM and Adobe’s unique Protected HTTP Streaming (PHLS, PHDS) systems enable higher quality video and access to more content on more devices because it simplifies things for those who are publishing the video.

I’m truly excited about these release, and to continue bringing technology to market that drives more and more high quality video to every single device we can. Adobe Media Server 5 and Adobe Access 4 will be released soon.

There is more to come, so watch my blog over the coming months.

Today (at 1pm PST) at the NAB Show in Las Vegas, the MPEG-DASH promoters group will be delivering a panel discussing and demonstrating MPEG-DASH video streaming. I’ll be joined by industry leaders from Akamai, Harmonic and Qualcomm, AEG Digital Media and Ericsson to discuss the MPEG-DASH format standards and broadcast industry partnerships that are starting to bring it to market.   

SEE MPEG-DASH in action in Adobe Flash with the Prototype player

SESSION TITLE: “DASH: Dynamic Adaptive Streaming for Better Mobile Video User Experience.”

SESSION DETAILS: TODAY at 1:00pm (PST)

SESSION LOCATION: Room N231 (about a 15min walk from the Adobe booth in Central Hall)

You can also read the blog post from Qualcomm here

See you there!

Today we kick off the annual pilgrimage in the Dessert of Nevada, thats right… we’re back in Vegas for NAB 2012 and Adobe has never had such a tremendous amount of excitement around its video product lines. There is way too much to put into 1 blog post, but here’s the summary…

• Adobe Creative Suite 6 Production Premium – the future of post-production is revealed
• Adobe Primetime – the future of multi-screen video publishing and monetization is alive
• Adobe Access on Apple iPad (sneak peak) – consistent content protection for multi-screen publishing
• MPEG-DASH (sneak peak) built on Adobe Flash

Stop by our booth in the South hall and spend some time being amazed – or demo kings are all here, and they’re excited to show off everything we’ve got!

(UPDATE: Live from the Booth)

Snapshot of the Adobe Booth showing project Primetime. Live streaming coming from the main stage, via SDI cable to an Envivio encoder. The booth is showing Primetime Highlights to multiple devices, and DRM on IOS. make sure to check it out!

(UPDATE 2: Live from the Booth Stage)
Snapshot of the front side of the Adobe booth at NAB on Monday. Crowds created standing room only 4-levels deep. It is an incredible scene all day with creative people learning more about the new Adobe Creative Suite 6 Production Premium reveal.

Last week we released an update to Adobe Flash Media Live Encoder (FMLE) 3.2 for the Apple Mac OS Lion. This update corrects an crash issue when running FMLE on MAC OS Lion. As always this great product is a free tool from Adobe, used by hundreds of thousands of people for incredible live events every day.

Download it for free today!

This is a great option to deliver high quality adaptive nitrate to Adobe Flash or Apple iOS using Flash Media Server 4.5 on Amazon Web Services.

Today I am happy to announce the immediate availability of Flash Media Server 4.5 on Amazon Web Services that lets you stream video and reach audiences on more devices than ever before including Apple iOS. Now available in all of Amazon’s datacenters including Brazil with reduced pricing of up to 10% !

Flash Media Server 4.5 is available today for subscribers, just visit your Amazon EC2 dashboard and search for “Adobe” AMI. If you are not a subscriber, it’s easy to join for $5 per month. Click here

Since first releasing Flash Media Server on Amazon Web Services in 2010, we have seen tremendous number of customers that use this as an option to access the Flash Media Server technologies to start up a business, create social applications, create games and deliver great HD video experiences to Flash.

Now with Flash Media Server 4.5 you can deliver your video content to both Flash and HLS-compatible devices such as Apple iOS all from the same video file or live video stream. Yes, I said LIVE – We have worked closely with the Amazon CloudFront team to support live streaming for the first time ever, with the new support for lower caching, live is now possible on CloudFront.

The new features of Flash Media Server 4.5 on Amazon Web Services include

• Apple HLS live and on demand streaming to Apple iPhone and iPad
• Live Streaming using Amazon CloudFront CDN is now possible using HTTP streaming (Adobe HDS + Apple HLS)
• Protected HTTP Dynamic Streaming (PHDS) for Adobe Flash – a light weight content protection option for HTTP streaming
• Dynamic stream packaging that enables single source video output to Adobe HTTP Dynamic Streaming and Apple HLS streaming
• Video Origin hosting to give you ultimate control over your video delivery

For more features, you can check out full 4.5 feature list at Adobe.com (note that SIP and IP Multicast are not available on Amazon Web Services at this time).

I’m also excited to announce a reduced price per instance hour that now reflects the new EC2 pricing, saving you up to 10% on some instance sizes

If all that wasn’t enough…. We now have support for all EC2 regions including Brazil and US-W in Oregon!

Learn more on Amazon.com

Now, pick your selves up off the floor, take a deep breath – there is 1 more thing you should know.

We have partnered with the Amazon Cloudfront team to give you a tight integration with your Flash Media Server 4.5 instance that can expand your video delivery globally through Amazon Cloudfront CDN. This means that you can deliver your live or on demand video streams to more devices in more locations with less buffering than ever before. I will say it again…. Yes, you can now use Live streaming over HTTP to Flash and Apple iOS using Amazon CloudFront CDN.

DOC: Click here to discover how to configure your Flash Media Server with Amazon CloudFront CDN

DOC: Click here for Getting Started guide of Flash Media Server on Amazon Web Services

If you would like to learn more join us on Webinar on Live Streaming using CloudFront with Flash Media Server 4.5 where speakers from Amazon CloudFront and Adobe will provide an overview and demo of Amazon CloudFront’s improved live HTTP streaming support for both Flash-based and Apple iOS devices using Adobe Flash Media Server 4.5 running on Amazon EC2. With this solution, you can easily and cost-effectively deliver your live video via AWS to multiple platforms and to a world-wide audience, while paying for the AWS resources you consume.

When: May 04, 2012 at 10:00-11:00 AM PDT

Click Here to learn more and Register

The new AMI’s are listed below

• us-west-2 (US West – Oregon): ami-c8de52f8
• sa-east-1 (South America): ami-bebf61a3
• eu-west-1 (Ireland): ami-dd073fa9
• us-east-1 (US East – Virginia): ami-69f82600
• ap-northeast-1 (Tokyo): ami-b06edfb1
• us-west-1 (US West – N. California): ami-a3b7efe6
• ap-southeast-1 (Singapore): ami-904f08c2

We look forward to seeing what new video and interactive experiences are created with Flash Media Server 4.5 on Amazon Web Services!

You have to love standards, imagine a world where your toaster used a different power supply than your refrigerator , or your plumbing be a mish mash of pipes, or when you go the hardware store to get a new door knob, it didn’t fit in your door. Imagine now preparing videos 4 or 5 times for different devices and imagine if you just had to do it once.

Standards help any industry grow and expand, and our video delivery industry is prime for some standards. With more devices and platforms on the market that can consume and create video standards that span across every device, every platform will enable video publishers to reach more audiences and open new opportunities to monetize.

This is why I am excited to announce that Adobe’s video solutions will adopt the emerging video standard, MPEG-DASH across our video streaming, playback, protection and monetization technologies. This is just one part of our big announcements today which include project Primetime, our integrated video and Ad service for online video and DRM for Apple iOS devices through our Adobe Access technology (formally known as Adobe Flash Access)

But let’s focus this post on MPEG-DASH, and more on the other items later this week. To get started, I created an FAQ to help you understand what this announcement means

Q: What did Adobe announce?

Adobe announced that it will support the MPEG-DASH standard initiative for streaming video through future versions of its video streaming technologies to help increase the amount of video available online to devices by reducing fragmentation and costs caused by multiple video formats.   

Read our Press Release

Q: What is MPEG-DASH?

“Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP” MPEG-DASH simplifies and converges the delivery of IP video, to provide a rich and enjoyable user experience, to help drive down costs and ultimately to enable a better content catalogue to be offered to consumers, because more revenues can be re-invested in content, rather than paying for operating overheads. It will help streamline and simplify workflows and enable operators and content providers to build sustainable business models to continue to deliver the services that consumers demand.

• Overview of MPEG-DASH Standard
• DASH Standard

Q: Why did Adobe announce support for MPEG-DASH?

Interoperability between content encoders, service providers, platforms and devices will allow video publishers to focus on quality content and not the infrastructure to protect and deliver video.

For example, a broadcaster today may be required to support and protect multiple formats optimized for Adobe Flash, Microsoft Xbox, Samsung TV and Apple iOS. MPEG-DASH standard will allow broadcasters to prepare a single format that can reach across all devices using DASH formats and its associated common encryption standard. This will reduce the workflow to prepare content and reduce storage requirements and simplify testing so the audience can receive a consistent high quality experience where every video is consumed.

Q: What other companies support MPEG-DASH?

Adobe is joined by over 20 companies in the promotion of MPEG-DASH including industry leaders such as Microsoft, Qualcomm, Akamai, NDS, Envivio, Samsung and Harmonic. By adopting industry standard streaming formats such as MPEG-DASH and content profiles such as DASH-264, Adobe is joining a group of video delivery ecosystem leaders that range from encoders, DRM providers, content delivery networks, device manufacturers and platform providers.   

The MPEG-DASH Promoters Group is a group dedicated to the promotion and implementation of the standard. Current members include Microsoft, Qualcomm, Dolby, DTS, Akamai, AEG Digital Media, BuyDRM, Digital Rapids, Digital TV Labs, EBU-UER, Elemental, Envivio, Ericsson, Harmonic, Intertrust, NDS, Packet Ship, Path1, RGB Networks, Samsung, Thomson, ZiXi and others to bring more video content online.

Q: What content profiles of MPEG-DASH will Adobe support?

Adobe will support MPEG-DASH ISOBFF on demand and live profiles which are recommended in DASH-264 recommendation. The content profile is similar to Adobe’s HDS format and supports many of the performance objectives of the HDS format.

Q: Will Adobe continue developing HDS / HTTP Dynamic streaming and HLS / HTTP Live Streaming?

Yes, Adobe will continue developing its HDS format used to deliver high quality, protected video experiences across multiple devices. Adobe will also continue to innovate around the HTTP Live Streaming (HLS) file format.

Q: Is Adobe dropping support for HDS format?

No. Adobe will continue to innovate on the HDS format in all areas to improve the video performance, efficiency and rendering across all devices, networks and service providers. As MPEG-DASH interoperable technologies come to market, Adobe will include MPEG-DASH content profiles within HDS to maintain interoperability.   

The Adobe HDS format supported today by Adobe streaming technologies including Adobe Flash is based on the same MPEG-4 Part 12 (ISO/IEC 14496-12) the same technology used in the DASH-264 content profile.

Q: What Adobe technologies will support MPEG DASH?

Adobe will support MPEG-DASH as an HDS profile within its future streaming technologies that include Adobe Flash Media Server, Adobe Access, Adobe Flash, Adobe AIR and the Open Source Media Framework including Flash Media Playback and Strobe Media Playback.

MPEG-DASH will also be supported by Project Primetime including Adobe Auditude Advertising platform.

Q: When will Adobe technologies have support for MPEG-DASH?

Adobe has not announced a timeline at this time but will have public demonstrations throughout 2012.

Q: Where can I learn more about MPEG-DASH?

There are many resources online. I’ve listed a few good references below, including the MPEG-DASH Promoters Group.

MPEG-DASH promoters group

MPEG DASH ARTICLES

• Jan Ozer (November 2011)
• Tim Siglin (December 2011)

Today, Adobe joined forces with over 20 key industry leaders to launch an initiative to promote a standard video delivery format based on MPEG-DASH (ISO/IEC 23009) that will help reduce video delivery fragmentation to enable broadcasters and video publishers to bring more video online.

PRESS RELEASE: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/major-industry-players-unite-to-promote-new-adaptive-streaming-standard-2012-02-22

The online video industry is accelerating with more devices, more content and more monetization opportunities. Standards such as SMPTE, MPEG, SCTE have been the foundation of the traditional video broadcast industry. These standards show up in broadcast production workflows, hardware, play out servers and client devices such as televisions. A recent example of the impact of standards on online video is the adoption of H.264 and HE-AAC in Adobe Flash Player 9 back in 2007. 4 years later online content has exploded in volume and quality partly because of adopting the codec standard H.264 and AAC.

The MPEG-DASH promoters group will help demonstrate and drive industry adoption towards a video streaming format standard profile called DASH-264. DASH-264 profile is based on the same fMP4 (Part 12) foundation that both Adobe and Microsoft have developed Adobe HTTP Dynamic Streaming (HDS) and Microsoft Smooth Streaming on.

You can read more about these formats in the joint whitepaper.

Adobe is excited to participate in this industry-wide initiative to help solve interoperability problems through standardization and move the entire industry forward so we can all have more content available to us.

You can experience an end-to-end demonstration of MPEG-DASH from encoder through delivery and playback at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona next week in the Qualcomm booth (Fira Convention Center – Exhibit Hall 8, #8B53). The demonstration has been developed by Harmonic (Encoder), Akamai (CDN) and Qualcomm (player).

For more information on the MPEG-DASH promoters group, please visit our website here: http://dashpromotersgroup.com/

Today, I’m excited to announce the immediate availability of Adobe Flash Media Server 4.5.1 – an update that focus’ on improving support for long running live video streams such as 24×7 linear broadcasts running over the HTTP delivery system including HTTP Dynamic Streaming (HDS) for Adobe Flash and HTTP Live Streaming (HLS) for Apple iOS.

Key functionality changes include

• Improved support for 24×7 streaming in HDS and HLS
• Improved compatibility with Adobe Flash Access DRM including Key Rotation
• Improved protection options for streaming media delivered over the RTMP protocol (protected RTMP)
• Support for SWF Verification using AIR (including AIR for Desktop, TV and Android)
• Compatibility with AIR for TV support for Multi-channel Audio including Dolby and DTS) over HTTP Dynamic Streaming (HDS)
• Change of the default Apache HTTP server to improve performance of HTTP Streaming and HTTP Streaming origin services

To Download the 4.5.1 update, click here

To Review the Release Notes, click here

To review the new protected RTMP in documentation (page 34), click here

This release improves on the Flash Media Server 4.5 release shipped in September 2011 and is a free upgrade for those customers.

What a truly exciting world we live today. The acceleration and usability of mobile computing devices is reshaping how everyone thinks about information, entertainment and business. I personally have been thinking about disruptive video technologies for a very long time, from LaserDisc, WebTV, Internet and everything we’ve accomplished since I joined Adobe. I’m surrounded by an incredible team of thinkers and doers who have significantly advanced the way people and businesses create and deliver video in the past 5 years.

With any accelerated technology – a large group of people are motivated to consider different ideas and concepts that improve the technology, and as such when you are smack in the middle, there are a lot of options available to you.   

Online video today is smack in the middle of this — lots of ideas, lots of execution, lots of trial and error. Questions such as video file format, protection, delivery, optimizations for different networks and different device capabilities. At first glance is a lot to handle, and it is amazing to have so many great thinkers considering new ideas and pushing the envelope to mature the industry quickly so we can all realize its true potential.

Today we have made a small step towards thinning down the fragmentation. In a unique cooperation, Adobe with the Microsoft media team, have jointly contributed to a whitepaper sharing our thoughts on Video Streaming file format optimized for online delivery using fragmented MPG4 file format (fMP4) Part 12.   

DOWNLOAD WHITEPAPER HERE

The file format for online streaming is a very important component of a great user experience. The online streaming file format is what makes it possible to deliver high-quality experiences over the Internet and evolving mobile networks. Traditional formats such as MPEG2 used in broadcast and on DVD’s are a terrific option for those mediums, but has significant challenges when publishing video online. Problems such as multi-track audio, multiple camera angles, seamless and dynamic Ad insertion, network and storage optimizations and high performance bitrate switching (adaptive bitrate) are all unique to online.   

This paper highlights the technical and consumer benefits of the fMP4 format chosen by both Adobe and by Microsoft for their online HTTP streaming formats. I’ve pulled out some key highlights of the fMPEG4 format from the paper when compared with other streaming formats being used in the market today.

• Content Metadata Separation – This enables multi-camera switching – think about that sporting event which lets you switch between the bench camera, the roof camera and the broadcast feed. The format improves online stream switching functions that can create a great interactive video experience.
• Backwards Compatibility to MPEG2 – Video needs to be distributed to multiple devices, with multiple formats – publishers will need to consider how to deliver to both MPEG2-TS/HLS and devices supporting fMP4. A key benefit of the fMP4 format is it is really easy to change the file format structure. Both Adobe and Microsoft achieve this with Adobe Flash Media Server 4.5 and with Microsoft IIS.
• Independent Track Storage – Accessibility is an absolute requirement for online video to support audiences with different capabilities. The file format can make this effort simple or difficult, and fMPG4 makes it easier. The format also enables more advanced functions such as switching languages, or switching different audio feeds for live events.
• Seamless Stream Splitting – Adaptive bitrate is a solution for delivering HD content over the internet. Great adaptive bitrate implementations will not disrupt the viewer experience. The fragmented MP4 format supports smaller segment sizes (1-2 sec compared with 10sec for TS) and makes it possible to very quickly switch between bitrates so your viewer is not interrupted.
• TrickPlay Modes – Trick play allows the user to navigate their live or vod video content using DVD or DVR functionality such as fast and superfast forward or reverse play. This is much easier when you have the content on a DVD or local DVR, but it is a real hard problem to solve when media is not local. The fMPG4 format structure provides the foundation to support this user experience.
• Integrated DRM – Content protection options are critical to secure content so broadcasters can make more content available online. fMP4 support for integrated DRM models enables the broadcaster to develop their online business offering resulting in more content for consumers.

Adobe’s F4F file format is an HTTP streaming format based on the fragmented MP4 file format. This format is deployed today at service providers such as Akamai, Limelight and Level3, and is used today by broadcasters such as the BBC and MTV . The Open Source Media Framework, combined with Adobe Flash Player is our player supporting this format, and we have published the full format spec on Adobe.com.

You can read a lot more technical and application-specific information about the fragmented MP4 file format in Tim Siglin’s whitepaper in which media researchers from both Adobe and Microsoft were joined by Netflix to comment on the fragmented MP4 file format. In the paper, you can also discover industry standards groups being formed including MPEG-DASH and UltraViolet/DECE. These standards groups are committed to defining video delivery and protection standards to reduce the fragmentation in the market so broadcasters can reduce their costs to publish content and publish more great content online and across all consumer devices.

In addition, you can also review Chris Knowlton’s blog post from Microsoft where he has shared his perspective on this paper and the decisions made in the development of the Protected Interoperable File Format (PIFF) used within IIS Smooth Streaming.

The writer, Tim Siglin is from Transitions, Inc, and is a well-published streaming media industry analyst and reporter.

To read this paper and discover the opportunities available to the market with this file format, please download “Unifiying Global Video Strategies – MP4 File Fragmentation for Broadcast, Mobile and Web delivery” Please connect to Tim Siglin’s Blog posting .

From Pritham Shetty,
Vice President, Video Solutions, Adobe Systems, Incorporated

BBC, Hulu, YouTube, ESPN. Nearly every premium video publisher uses Adobe technology to get great video experiences to the devices viewers love. And, not only on desktop – WatchESPN uses Adobe AIR on Android and just passed 1M downloads. And, not only on Android – with Adobe Flash Media Server 4.5, you can now stream to iOS using HLS.

Adobe is 100% committed to enabling our media and publishing customers to reach and monetize audiences on Internet-enabled devices. This means investing not only in Flash but broadly in delivery with Flash Media Server, content protection with Adobe Flash Access, and analytics with Omniture. In fact, we are so committed to the vision of premium video across every device, that we just acquired Auditude, a leading video ad management platform, last week. And yesterday, Adobe was awarded the Streaming Media Reader’s Choice Award for best video streaming software for our efforts with HTTP and RTMP streaming.

The investments we have made in video are only the beginning – and the announcements Adobe made around Flash are a doubling down of our commitment to the goal of great video experiences across devices. We are focusing our efforts on the experiences our customers are actively building, and reducing our focus on areas that are not widely used but require significant resources. This enables us to focus on unsolved problems, like standardized dynamic streaming and DRM for HTML5, that are holding back reach and monetization across devices.

Simply put – Adobe will continue to apply Flash technology – and all of our knowledge around Flash video – to the same problem Adobe has always solved for customers: reaching audiences across fragmented devices and operating systems. We are already investing in the future – but clearly we will continue to invest in the technology and that our customers are using today.   

This is what Adobe will support:

1. Desktop: Flash Player as a browser plug-in
2. Mobile Browser: Flash Player 11.1 will be available on Android and Blackberry. Adobe is committed to creating great tools and technologies for HTML5 experiences and server-side technologies to deliver HTML5 video (Ex. FMS 4.5 streaming to iOS).
3. Mobile Apps: Flash based apps packaged with AIR which can be distributed via all of the major app stores, including Apple’s App Store, Android Market, Amazon’s App Store etc.
4. TV apps: Ability to embed Flash video in native HTML apps as well as Flash based apps packaged with AIR

This is what Adobe will not support:

1. Future versions of Flash as a mobile browser plug-in. Increasingly, mobile OS manufacturers are excluding browser plug-ins, limiting our ability to use Flash to solve mobile browser fragmentation
2. Browsing on a TV. We believe the apps, not browsing to a website, will be the primary way viewers access premium video and games on TVs and peripherals. Specifically, we will not ensure that, for example, 10 year-old websites will render flawlessly on TVs because most people are not browsing 10 year-old websites on TVs.

Adobe helped start the Internet video revolution – and we believe these changes will enable us to continue making the right investments to drive the next wave of innovation.