Adobe upgrades, renames DRM software for Flash

InfoWorld - Adobe will ship today its renamed digital rights management software for the Flash platform. Previously known Flash Media Rights Management Server, the new incarnation is called Flash Access 2.0. The company already had announced intentions to shorten the name and will roll out the upgrade at New York's Streaming Media East conference.

In a beta release for about nine months, Flash Access 2.0 has been made more scalable, said Ashley Still, Adobe group product for Flash. "Version 2.0 has been completely rewritten as an SDK, so the way that it's being delivered is different," she said. By reconfiguring the technology as an SDK, users gain greater flexibility, and it is easier to link to user management databases, Still said.

[ InfoWorld proposed this week a peace plan to settle the ongoing dispute between Adobe and Apple over Flash. ]

Developers can write an implementation of the SDK, and Adobe offers reference implementations, such as streaming and download-to-own or download-to-rent for content. The SDK primarily works with the Java language.

Also new in version 2.0, content is now delivered to the browser and the online Flash Player. Previously, the DRM solution only worked with Adobe AIR (Adobe Integrated Runtime), which provides offline capabilities for Flash.

A business usage for the DRM product would include protection of executive broadcasts. "You can protect the content as well as you can ensure it can't show up on YouTube," Still said.

Flash Media Access 2.0 features integration with the upcoming Flash Player 10.1 release due out later this year.

Adobe at the conference also will be showcasing its Open Source Media Framework 1.0, providing an open source video framework intended to streamline video player development. The company also will promote its HTTP Dynamic Streaming technology for delivering Flash content via HTTP. The technology offers a better experience for content delivery than progressive downloads, Still said. HTTP Dynamic Streaming is due to ship early next month.

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