Adobe woos developers with Flash Access 2.0

Adobe's Flash has been heavily criticised by Apple in recent months

Adobe has unveiled Flash Access 2.0, the latest version of its digital rights management software, at the Streaming Media East 2010 event in New York.

The rebranded and updated version of the firm's Flash Media Rights Management Server software was one of several key technologies unveiled at the show as Adobe seeks to consolidate Flash as the market leading web video technology.

Flash Access 2.0 offers a scalable and flexible means of content protection to enable companies to distribute and monetise video content via business models such as pay-per-view, electronic sell-through or advertising, the firm said.

Doug Mack, vice president and general manager of digital imaging at Adobe, claimed that the new tool will help organisations to become more profitable by hosting video.

"With approximately 75 per cent of video on the web delivered with Flash technology, Adobe and its broadcast and media customers are leading the industry and revolutionising how the digital video industry creates and consumes rich media," he said.

Adobe also showed off its HTTP Dynamic Streaming protocol, which has been designed to use HTTP infrastructures to enable content publishers, distributors and developers to deliver high-quality media in Flash Player 10.1 and AIR 2.

Lastly, Adobe announced the Open Source Media Framework, which it said will accelerate the development of custom media players by establishing an industry standard that offers high-quality, full-featured playback experiences.

Flash is at the centre of a growing war of words between Adobe and Apple after Steve Jobs dismissed the technology as "no longer necessary to watch video or consume any kind of web content".