[opendtv] News: Adobe throws in towel, adopts HTTP Live Streaming for iOS
- From: Craig Birkmaier <craig@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: OpenDTV Mail List <opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 17 Apr 2011 08:31:13 -0400
http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2011/04/adobe-throws-in-towel-adopts-http-live-streaming-for-ios.ars?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+arstechnica%2Findex+%28Ars+Technica+-+Featured+Content%29
Adobe throws in towel, adopts HTTP Live Streaming for iOS
By Chris Foresman
Adobe previewed some new streaming video capabilities of its Flash
Media Server at the 2011 National Association of Broadcasters (NAB)
trade show, including new compatibility with iOS devices like the
iPad. Instead of getting Steve Jobs to relent on his "thoughts on
Flash," however, Adobe is instead adding HTTP Live Streaming support
to Flash Media Server.
HTTP Live Streaming is a protocol that Apple developed to stream live
and recorded video using standard HTTP connections instead of the
more difficult to optimize RTSP. It uses H.264-encoded video and AAC
or MP3 audio packaged into discrete chunks of an MPEG-2 transport
stream, along with a .m3u playlist to catalog the files that make up
the individual chunks of the stream. QuckTime on both Mac OS X and
iOS can play back this format, and it is the only streaming format
compatible with the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.
Apple submitted HTTP Live Streaming to the IETF in 2009 as a proposed
standard, though it doesn't appear that the standard ever moved
beyond the draft stage. However, Microsoft quickly added support to
its IIS Media Services server, which is used to deliver "smooth
streaming" video to Silverlight-based clients. When IIS Media
Services detects an iOS device, it instead packages and delivers the
content using HTTP Live Streaming.
Adobe added its own HTTP-based streaming feature to Flash Media
Server last year. Similar to Apple's solution, it breaks up H.264
video into chunks saved as separate files and sends those files to a
client over HTTP. The difference is that its HTTP Dynamic Streaming
uses an XML-based manifest file (instead of a plain-text playlist
file) and the MPEG-4 fragment container format (.f4f). Also, it's
only compatible with Flash or AIR.
However, Adobe is "committed to developing technologies that simplify
broadcast workflows to make it simpler to reach a fragmented lineup
of devices," according to senior product manager for Flash Media
Server Kevin Towes. Towes noted in a blog post that Adobe is adding
HTTP Live Streaming support to Flash Media Server and Flash Media
Live Encoder. "By adding support for HLS within the Flash Media
Server, Adobe is reducing the publishing complexity for broadcasters
who need to reach browsers supporting HLS through HTML5 (such as
Safari) or devices where Adobe Flash is not installed."
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.
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. Apple recently began selling its portable computers without Flash
pre-installed, and we discovered that running Safari without Flash
seemed to increase battery life of the latest MacBook Air as much as
33 percent. While Adobe has claimed to be working on a MacBook
Air-optimized version of Flash, perhaps the company decided it was
prudent to cover all bases and serve up content to Mac users who are
choosing to not install Flash on their systems (yours truly included).
----------------------------------------------------------------------
You can UNSUBSCRIBE from the OpenDTV list in two ways:
- Using the UNSUBSCRIBE command in your user configuration settings at FreeLists.org
- By sending a message to: opendtv-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the word
unsubscribe in the subject line.
Other related posts: