(6 May 2008 6:00 pm)

MUMBAI: Adobe Systems has announced the Open Screen Project which is dedicated to driving rich Internet experiences across televisions, personal computers, mobile devices, and consumer electronics.

Also supporting the Open Screen Project are content providers, including BBC, MTV and NBC Universal, who want to reliably deliver rich Web and video experiences live and on-demand across a variety of devices.

The Open Screen Project is working to enable a consistent runtime environment - taking advantage of Adobe Flash Player and, in the future, Adobe AIR - that will remove barriers for developers and designers as they publish content and applications across desktops and devices, including phones, mobile Internet devices (MIDs), and set top boxes.

The Open Screen Project will address potential technology fragmentation by enabling the runtime technology to be updated seamlessly over the air on mobile devices. The consistent runtime environment is intended to provide optimal performance across a variety of operating systems and devices, and ultimately provide the best experience to consumers.

To support this mission, and as part of Adobe’s ongoing commitment to enable Web innovation, Adobe will continue to open access to Adobe Flash technology, accelerating the deployment of content and rich Internet applications (RIAs).

The work will include:

- Removing restrictions on use of the SWF and FLV/F4V specifications
- Publishing the device porting layer APIs for Adobe Flash Player
- Publishing the Adobe Flash® Cast™ protocol and the AMF protocol for robust data services
- Removing licensing fees – making next major releases of Adobe Flash Player and Adobe AIR for devices free

Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen says, “Adobe is spearheading the Open Screen Project with support from industry leaders who share a common vision to provide rich, interactive experiences across computers, devices and consumer electronics. A consistent, more open platform for developers will drive rapid innovation, vastly improving the user experience.”

Adobe adds that the Flash Player is the world’s most pervasive client runtime, delivering creative options, engaging user experiences, audio/video playback, and universal reach. The company claims that content for Adobe Flash Player reaches over 98 per cent of Internet-enabled desktops and more than a half billion handsets and mobile devices today. Adobe expects more than one billion handsets and mobile devices to ship with Adobe Flash technology by 2009.

Flash technology is used to deliver vector graphics, text, interactivity and application logic, video and sound over the Internet. More than 75 per cent of broadcasters who stream video on the Web use Flash technology. Adobe AIR is the next-generation RIA runtime for the desktop, supporting HTML, Ajax, Adobe Flash technology and PDF.

Adobe adds that companies supporting the Open Screen Project share its vision that a consistent and more open platform across devices will drive rapid innovation that will ultimately be good for consumers. The participants in the Open Screen Project are leading companies in the mobile, desktop and device ecosystems that will contribute in unique ways to this project.

ARM CEO Warren East says, “Delivering a highly responsive, uncompromised Web and rich media experience to consumer devices and the digital home is a key focus for ARM and our partners. The Open Screen Project with Adobe enables ARM and our partners to optimize and deploy Flash Player and Adobe AIR across billions of ARM Powered® devices and unlocks the ability for hardware optimizations on future ARM® processors.”

Intel VP, GM system software division Doug Fisher says, “Consumers always want more from their devices. Flash Player already reaches the vast majority of Internet - connected computers, and our deep technical collaboration with Adobe will optimise Flash technology and Adobe AIR across a broad range of devices, including a version of Adobe AIR for the Mobile and Internet Linux project, moblin.org.

" Intel’s broad and rich hardware and software ecosystem combined with Adobe’s Open Screen Project will help us deliver a full Internet experience, whether it be in your pocket, on your lap, at the office or in your living room.”

Motorola VP software platforms and ecosystem Christy Wyatt says, “As a long-standing champion of open standards, Motorola supports Adobe’s Open Screen Project and its goal of enabling a more open development experience for the ecosystem.

“We expect the Open Screen Project to further accelerate the use of Flash technology and innovation in mobile applications, interfaces, and platforms, allowing mobile users to experience the richness of the Web on a variety of new devices.”

MTV president, global digital media Mika Salmi says, “Our approach is to empower fans, Web developers and publishers to access, share and interact with our content freely across platforms. We’re embracing the Open Screen Project so that our fans can continue not only to enjoy our brands, but also build and contribute to them on every device and screen without limitation.”

NBC Universal executive VP, CTO Darren Feher says, “NBC Universal delivers a majority of our content in the FLV format across more than 20 streaming video players on our numerous digital properties. We’re excited about supporting this project, which will reduce barriers to Flash technology adoption on non-PC devices and help ensure NBC Universal content can be seen anywhere.

“Clearly, devices continue to increase in importance as a means to access rich content and applications, and we are delighted to work with Adobe to deliver great experiences through these additional distribution channels.”

Nokia Devices Software senior VP Lee Williams says, “As a long time strategic partner of Adobe, we are pleased to help launch the Open Screen Project and applaud Adobe’s move toward removing barriers to adoption of Flash technology in the mobile ecosystem. Nokia will continue to deploy Flash runtime technologies on our devices.

“Nokia has a long history of pioneering the deployment of Flash technology in the mobile market and we look forward to exploring future opportunities with Adobe AIR for devices. Today’s announcement will help spur a new generation of rich Internet experiences on mobile devices.”