Adobe Adds H.264 Support

Adobe Systems says HDTV-quality Web video can now reach the masses, with playback support for H.264 codec now available for Flash Player 9.

The software update, code-named Moviestar, includes H.264 support and and High Efficiency AAC (HE-AAC) audio support, as well as hardware accelerated, multicore enhanced full-screen video playback.

Adobe says the advancements will enable delivery of HDTV-quality content through the Flash Player and ultimately expand rich media Flash experiences on the desktop and H.264-ready consumer devices.

The update is available in beta here.

H.264 encoding is already available in Adobe Premiere Pro and Adobe After Effects software. H.264 playback in Adobe Flash Player will be supported by the Adobe Integrated Runtime (AIR) and applications developed with Adobe AIR software, including Adobe Media Player.

“Adobe is committed to providing a seamless creation-to-playback solution that allows creatives and developers to produce video and rich-media once, and then deploy that content across the widest array of distribution and playback environments,” said John Loiacono, senior vice president of Creative Solutions at Adobe. “Already a broadly adopted industry standard, the inclusion of the H.264 codec in Adobe Flash Player, Adobe AIR, the Creative Suite product line, and the upcoming Adobe Media Player will accelerate customer workflows, enabling the creation and repurpose of high-quality Web video content without extra development costs.”