Adobe Systems plans to take its popular Flash Player technology to the next level Tuesday, unveiling an update codenamed "Moviestar" equipped with high-definition video technology. Moviestar will support the H.264 codec video compression standard now available in Blu-ray systems, HD-DVD players, and TV set-top boxes. The company will offer Moviestar in a beta version Tuesday, with the intention of releasing the final product this fall. Moviestar adds to the existing Flash Player 9 platform.
With Moviestar, Adobe is taking note of the rising profile of video on computers. "Video is really driving so much of the Internet now," particularly marketing and communications-related endeavors, said Mark Randall, chief strategist for dynamic media at Adobe. "What [the announcement] means is that people are going to be able to have higher quality experiences," Randall said. "[Enterprises will] be able to deliver better-quality experiences and do so more efficiently in terms of bit rate," said Randall.