In the video-download world already confusingly crowded by the likes of Joost, YouTube, iTunes, Windows Media Player and others, Adobe hopes to kick some ass with a new obviously Flash-based desktop player. The lightweight download will offer the ability to watch protected Flash content offline. Adobe says it will allow for a “higher” quality of video, and that the cross-platform player will be built on open standards such as RSS and SMIL. Noted is the “powerful Favorites feature,” which automatically downloads new episodes of shows you say you like. (We’ve posted an alleged screenshot, found on Mashable, above.)
The player will be available as a free beta later this year, will full availability by year’s end. However, the confusion over which player and/or service you should use to get your legal broadcasts will most likely not be cleared up by then.
Adobe unveils new Media Player [Monsters and Critics]
