Adobe touts video boost with Flash Media Server 4

Adobe has updated its Flash Media Server 4 product, promising a range of improvements for firms that want to stream media.

There are three releases in the Flash Media Server family: Flash Media Streaming Server 4, Flash Media Interactive Server 4 and Flash Media Enterprise Server 4. Each has been designed to appeal to specific market segments.

The most meaty product is the Enterprise Server version. This has peer-assisted networking - which lets users playing the same content share their bandwidth - enabled as standard, and adds Real Time Media Flow Protocol (RTMFP) to reduce drain on bandwidth.

Across the board, though, Adobe said that each would let firms deliver high-quality video content to their users at low cost.

"The release of Flash Media Sever 4 software changes the game for the delivery of rich interactive media," said David Wadhwani, senior vice president of creative and interactive solutions at Adobe.

"By introducing a new enterprise server with peer-assisted networking and our RTMFP, we are transforming the way enterprise organisations and social media companies deliver rich interactive content by reducing the bandwidth costs associated with media delivery."

The servers will be officially unveiled on 10 September at the IBC tech show in Amsterdam, where their features will be discussed in greater detail.

For now, we know that Media Streaming Server 4 is pitched at small and medium sized firms that want to deliver live and on-demand content through a simple interface, while still protecting their content.

Meanwhile, Interactive Server 4 should appeal to firms that want to multicast across a range of devices and offer what Adobe called "scalable live and on-demand playback experiences, along with real-time, social media applications ". Again Adobe added that its server would let them do this in a secure manner.

The servers are available now, and Adobe has provided a comparison chart for firms to see which option suits the best.