At its MAX 2011 technology conference, Adobe Systems Incorporated has announced that LG and TiVo have become the latest partners to bring Adobe Flash-based applications via Adobe AIR to connected TVs and digital home devices. Content partners can now take advantage of AIR to deliver Flash-based console-quality gaming and premium video across TVs, Blu-Ray players and set-top boxes.
Adobe also announced that Flash Player 11 and AIR 3 will be available, a milestone release that will enable the next generation of immersive application experiences across devices and platforms.
With more than 100 unique digital home devices already certified to support Adobe Flash and AIR, including Samsung Smart TVs, Adobe expects rapid growth for Flash-based applications across connected televisions and other devices. New gaming apps like Frima Studio's Zombie Tycoon, VH1's 'I Love the 80's' Trivia or Raider from PlayJam, as well as premium video experiences from SnagFilms, Flingo, EPIX and others are just a few of the applications that are enabled by AIR.
"TVs and other connected devices in the digital living room are the next frontier for rich entertainment apps," said Danny Winokur, vice president and general manager, Platform, Adobe. "Flash-based applications are transforming content consumption on TVs as developers embrace new opportunities to deliver beautiful HD content to increasingly powerful digital home devices connected to a big screen."
With the AIR SDK, Flash Builder and Flash Professional CS5.5 software, developers can build new applications for connected digital home devices or extend existing Flash-based experiences from desktops and mobile devices to TVs. AIR 3 brings a series of advancements to TVs including full hardware-accelerated rendering for 2D and 3D graphics to enable console-quality gaming applications. Content publishers are able to deliver HD videos with Dolby and DTS 7.1 channel surround sound for full support of home theater systems. With the new Game Input API, developers can also make a range of devices an integral part of the gaming experience on TV screens, including joysticks, smartphones and tablets.
With these new capabilities, consumer electronics and content companies are embracing Adobe AIR.
"We are excited to be the first TV maker to support Adobe AIR on our Smart TVs bringing rich, Flash-based applications to millions of customers today," said Kyungsik Kevin Lee, vice president, Visual Display Business, Samsung Electronics. "With the dramatic advancements in AIR 3, Adobe continues to push the envelope with innovative new features that will enable powerful 3D gaming apps and other next generation app experiences on televisions soon."
"LG is working closely with Adobe to bring Flash-based applications with AIR to LG Smart TVs in 2012," said Youngjae Seo, vice president, Smart TV Team, LG. "We can't wait to see what kind of application experiences three million Flash developers will bring to our customers with AIR 3."
"The availability of AIR will give us the tools to deliver better functionality, more features and a rich, seamless experience that our users expect from TiVo products," said Jim Denney, vice president and general manager, Product Marketing, TiVo. "We look forward to the development of a rich ecosystem of multi-platform applications to make the TV experience even better."
"Adobe AIR helps us deliver thousands of full length movies in high definition to a wide range of screens on Internet connected TVs as well as desktop and mobile," said Emil Rensing, chief digital officer, EPIX."Adobe solutions continue to help us bring product innovation to market faster and provide the best possible viewing experience for our subscribers."
"The number of digital home devices in the market is exploding and we are happy to see that we can continuously rely on Adobe to support them," said Steve Couture, chief executive officer, Frima Studio. "Adobe AIR allows us to easily publish games and applications to a wide range of digital home platforms. We are excited about future possibilities for games like Zombie Tycoon by bringing them to TVs—furthering the excitement of those games and introducing them to new audiences. As a third party and multi-platform developer, this means new revenue opportunities for us and our partners."
"PlayJam has always been a pioneer in interactive TV games and will continue to push the limits of social and casual gaming with AIR 3 including Stage 3D," said Stuart Walsh, chief operating officer, PlayJam. "With the near ubiquitous adoption of Flash technology by connected TV manufacturers, we believe that Flash enabled TVs will further fuel the global casual games community and provide a solid revenue channel for PlayJam and content partners like Slingo and Relentless."
"We are pleased to bring the 'I Love the 80's' trivia app to connected TVs with AIR," said Kristin Frank, general manager, MTV and VH1 Digital. "The rich content and vibrant colors bring the 80's back to life and provide our audience another screen to celebrate the decade."
Available later today, Flash Player 11 and AIR 3 enable the next generation of immersive application experiences across devices and platforms including Android, Apple iOS (via AIR), BlackBerry Tablet OS, Mac OS, Windows, connected TVs and other platforms. Dozens of new features in Flash Player 11 and AIR 3 allow developers to deliver a new class of gaming and premium video experiences, as well as sophisticated, data-driven applications with back-end systems integration across devices, including the iPhone and iPad via AIR.