Adobe Flash video coming to Apple iPad and iPhone devices

Adobe has released a workaround that will allow content publishers to deliver Flash-based video content to iPhones and iPads for the first time, without the need to use HTML5.

Adobe Flash Media Server 4.5 supports the HTTP Live Streaming (HLS) format created by Apple for use with QuickTime and iOS. The Media Server automatically detects whether a device is able to support native Flash content, and converts it to the Apple-friendly format.

Kevin Towes, senior product manager for Flash Media Server at Adobe, said the product would help publishers meet the demand for Flash video content on Apple products without using HTML5 technology.

"Now publishers can simplify their video publishing and protection workflows with Adobe Flash Media Server 4.5 with protected HLS support, audio channel extraction, DVR/PVR live, on demand and variant playlists," he said on the Adobe blog.

"Flash Media Server is an important part of a greater video solution to reach larger, more global audiences with technology providing consistency in a world of player and device fragmentation."

Additionally, Flash Media Server 4.5 will let users encode and deliver encrypted content to Flash and Apple devices using HTTP.

Adobe said broadcasters such as the BBC have been actively testing HTTP delivery to Flash for events such as Wimbledon, and Towes is hopeful that the broadcaster will be one of the first to use the single-server technology to make its web site content available Apple devices.

The ability to run Flash on iOS devices does already exist with the Skyfire application which channels all web requests via its servers and then transcodes Flash-based video into formats supported by the iPhone, although the quality is variable.

Towes told V3 that although Adobe could provide a work-around similar to Skyfire it would compromise the performance of Apple devices and so the Media Server tool was a far better system.

"Apple carries out the rendering on the hardware to reduce consumption of the battery and although Adobe would be able to get Flash content to iOS devices, the quality and battery life would be compromised." he said.

"If we can't provide Flash to the devices, we will comply with Apple's video formatting requirements and deliver the best media streaming server experience to iOS devices."

Towes also said that for Flash-based animations, adverts and games to work, Adobe technology would need to be embedded into the Safari browser and this is not yet possible.

Flash Media Server 4.5 is available to download for free.