While its viewers enjoy the practical new benefits of the Adobe TV redesign, that's only half the story. The programs now showing were produced using a new framework set to revolutionise web video production.



The re-launched Adobe TV boasts a number of welcome new user-friendly features, prompted by viewer feedback. Among the improvements at the free online training ‘network' are; better interactivity, including the ability to personally communicate with TV show hosts; being able to save and view video content offline; video sorting by ‘most popular', ‘most viewed', ‘highest rated' and ‘recently added'; the ability to customise appearance; and resizable pop-out windows that mean users can have videos playing while working in their Adobe applications.

But it's behind the scenes, in production, where the innovation of open source coding is driving the structure of the site's web video development and making its mark on video sharing and accessibility as part of the Open Source Media Framework (OSMF) project.

Adobe TV is the first in the world to use OSMF to build feature-rich video players and applications.

The project, which was known as "Strobe" while in development, is for applications built on the Adobe Flash Platform. Until OSMF, media players were complex to construct into various technologies, but that is set to change through an open source approach.

Faster development, better site interactivity

The general goals of OSMF are to make it easier and faster to develop and share best practices for video and community interaction. Production-ready code and support for Flash features speeds development time and reduces costs. The project aims for users are to encourage easier audience interaction and to streamline media buying and in-stream advertising.

OSMF ultimately is a media framework designed to support workflows around video playback. Web video players contain huge variations in features, from screen appearance, to how they integrate with a site's design. The goal of the OSMF project is to allow all of them to have a foundation in open source functioning across the layers of media elements, composition and configuration.

For developers, OSMF allows for easy assembly of pluggable components into high-quality, full-featured playback viewing. The ‘open' aspect of the framework enables more collaboration, lower costs and quicker turnaround. OSMF means automatic delivery of the highest possible quality image, on the available bandwidth. It detects and recovers from errors and supports third-party plug-ins, allowing developers to use support services ‘out of the box' for custom integration with plug-ins.

Removing barriers and creating standardisation

One goal of OSMF is to remove the complexity from typical web video players so they integrate more easily and can be developed faster to work with the numerous backend services of their production.

Open source will overcome the problem of low-price video publishing options not easily supporting customisation. OSMF will lower the barriers so developers over all abilities and for all budgets can produce the same results in interactivity.

Varying standards in web video range from the well-defined to non-existent, causing developers to struggle to make a video player ‘hub' fit the workflow. OSMF aims to standardise workflows but it will also accommodate non-standard set-ups, regardless of how limited their use in the market.

View Adobe TV

Live and re-run events on view at Adobe Refresh

A new site set up for Australian and New Zealand users to view live global Adobe events has been expanded to store presentations and much more in a library of resources for hungry local designers and developers.

Adobe Refresh was originally designed to broadcast content from international shows like MAX. But the site had barely begun before user feedback led to a re-think. The portal is now being re-developed as a venue for past event clips, video updates and a host of other features with local appeal.

According to Adobe system engineer, Andrew Spaulding, what you'll see at Adobe Refresh are announcements, talks and demonstrations on "anything ‘cool' that's on the web".

Episode one in a series of monthly discussion videos is online now. It's a recording of a discussion held on September 7 about Flash Catalyst, Flash Builder 4 and ColdFusion 9. In chat show format, hosts Andrew Spaulding and Adobe AU & NZ technical director, Mark Szulc, talk with three consultants who are expert Adobe users. The panellists give objective and practical insights from their hands-on experience.

Local focus

Also at Adobe Refresh, the company's Australian and New Zealand team members post updates about their coming activities and appearances, product reviews, articles about upgrades and innovations and links to their blogs.

The Adobe Ambassadors page lists the specialities and services of the best mentors in the business, giving users a chance to make personal contact or find out more about who does what in the region.

Still to come at Adobe Refresh are; a user group news page, local Adobe event and partner events lists, a showcase of Australian and New Zealand content, developer and designer interviews and a feedback area for users to forward advice and ideas.

Szulc promises the live transmissions will continue and he invites interest from site visitors who want to participate in coming live shows on news, reviews and tutorials.

"We'd like site users to drive the content," he said, urging people to "check back often and please provide feedback while the site is under development."

Sign up

The best way to get involved or just hear about the next moves of Adobe Refresh is to sign up at http://www.adoberefresh.com.au or http://www.adoberefresh.co.nz as an Australian/New Zealand member and become part of this thriving local community.

Send us your feedback to feedback@adoberefresh.com