Can’t make it to MAX? Watch the keynotes online!
One week until Adobe MAX 2011! We have some very exciting news to share during the keynotes and like previous years we also have some very well known guests on stage! There really is no substitute for being live at the keynotes in the Nokia Theater but MAXonline is probably the next best thing.
Mister Ryan Stewart and I will be hosting MAXonline again this year and we promise to give you a behind the scenes look at MAX as well as exclusive interviews you won’t see anywhere else!
Watch on your desktop or Flash-enabled mobile device using Adobe’s video streaming technologies including HTTP Dynamic Streaming with Flash Media Server 4.5 and experience Flash Player’s peer-assisted networking technology for media delivery. Or watch it on your Apple iOS device using HLS powered by Adobe Flash Media Server 4.5!
Just make sure you don’t miss it! Register today!
Do not miss the best Adobe MAX ever!
I know… I know… I say this every year… But trust me on this one! If you don’t attend MAX this year you’re going to kick yourself in the head. I’ll even take bets on that! I am 100% sure that you’re going to say “Well, Serge. It looks like you were right” by this time next week!
So what is happening…? Well… Did you really think I was going to tell you everything I know? ;-) I don’t want to spoil the surprises and frankly I don’t even know everything but the things that I do know about are fantastic.
If you’re still on the fence about going to MAX then perhaps this incentive can help. As a extra thank you gift, MAX attendees can save 20% on all your favorite Adobe products, training, and support from October 23, 2010 through November 1, 2010. Eligible products include Adobe Creative Suite, ColdFusion, Flash Builder … and anything else in the Adobe Online Store. More details will be available at MAX.
I’m pretty sure you can tell that I am super excited about MAX this year! Not only will I be co-hosting MAX Online with my colleague and good friend Ryan Stewart but you’ll also see me during both keynotes. Oh dear… Writing that just made me a little nervous actually but I’m sure it’s going to be a lot of fun!
If you can’t make it MAX then make sure you sign up for MAX Online. We’ll be streaming both keynotes live. That said… You should really try to be there in person! Again… Trust me on this one ;-)
Android week: Watch the Google I/O keynote online
The Google I/O keynote is only a little over 3 hours away. I am super excited about Google I/O this year. I wish I was there… But if you’re like me and you couldn’t make it out to San Francisco you can still be a part of it.
Both today’s and tomorrow’s keynote will be streamed live on Google I/O’s YouTube channel. I can’t think of a better way of celebrating my birthday than to sit back with a nice glass of wine and watch the keynote live. I know… I am a bit of a geek :D. You can count on me doing the same thing tomorrow ;-). Trust me… You don’t want to miss this event… We have some very exciting announcements coming up and I’m sure Google also has a thing or two up their sleeves!
The keynote starts at 9:00 am PDT. That’s 12:00pm in New York, 5:00pm in London, 6:00pm in Belgium, 1:00am in Tokyo.
Oh… And just in case you missed it: I’m giving away a Google Nexus One!
8 misconceptions about Flash video
I recently came across a couple of serious misconceptions about Flash Video and I thought it was a good idea to set the record straight.
#1 – Flash Video is progressive download only.
While progressive download is an option, streaming live or pre-recorded content is also possible using a Flash media streaming server or service provider. Obviously Adobe has it’s own offering in this space but third party and open source alternatives are also available.
#2 – Streaming Flash Video is expensive.
With an open source alternative available, streaming Flash Video can cost as little as $0 (obviously not counting hardware or bandwidth costs).
#3 – Flash Video quality is terrible. Just look at YouTube.
With Flash Video, you can publish video to any quality ranging from a stamp-size video in a banner to 1080p full HD video. The publisher has complete control over the quality of the video.
#4 – Flash Video streams can’t be protected.
There are a couple of ways of protecting your Flash Video stream. Adobe’s Flash Media Server provides RTMP-based streaming directly into Flash Player, avoiding the browser cache. SSL encryption and additional authentication mechanisms can also be added to more directly target the client player (Whitepaper PDF). With the recently released Flash Media Rights Management Server, publishers can further protect their streams with DRM.
#5 – Flash is a closed format that works with proprietary video codecs.
Both the SWF file format specification and the FLV/F4V specification are available to the public as part of the Open Screen Project. Flash Video can be published with 3 different codecs which are part of the Flash Player (so no additional installs are required). The Sorenson Spark codec and On2′s VP6 codec are the oldest codecs. The industry standard H.264 video codec was added in Flash Player 9 and allows you to publish video to the Flash Player up to 1080p full HD video.
#6 – I can only use Flash Video in a browser.
Adobe AIR (available for Mac, Windows and Linux) allows you to build real desktop applications with web technologies including JavaScript, HTML and Flash. Since the Flash Player is at the heart of the AIR runtime, it is obvious that you can also use all of the Flash Player features including Flash Video. Adobe AIR 1.5 also supports the DRM capabilities provided by the Flash Media Rights Management Server.
#7 – Flash Video is difficult to use.
For developers: Adding Flash Video to a Flash project (made with Flash Professional or Flex and targeted for Flash Player or Adobe AIR) is as easy as adding any other asset to your project. If you can add an image to your project, you can also add Flash Video.
For end-users: The majority of internet users won’t need to install anything extra. 98.3% of all internet connected PCs have Flash Player 8 or higher installed, meaning they can instantly view Flash Video encoded with either the Sorenson Spark or On2 VP6 codec. 89.4% have Flash Player 9.0.115 installed. That version of the Flash Player has H.264 video and HE-AAC audio playback, multi-core support and hardware scaling of HD quality full-screen video. This means that most users can play your HD H.264 video from the instant the page is loaded.
#8 – Only YouTube uses Flash Video.
According to comScore, 80% (up from 72%) of online videos are viewed Worldwide using Adobe Flash technology. This makes Flash Video the #1 video format on the web. Renowned broadcasters like CNN, BBC, NBC, FOX and many others use Flash Video as their main video format.
Feel free to follow me on: 
