Intel, Adobe team on Flash for set-tops
updated 07:40 am EST, Mon January 5, 2009
Adobe Flash for CE 3100
Intel and Adobe today said they have struck a deal to optimize Flash for the CE 3100, Intel's system-on-a-chip design for TV set-top devices. The processor's combination of graphics and processing is deemed fast enough to run both a full desktop-level version of Flash as well as the traditionally cellphone-oriented Flash Lite and is meant to bring the animation and interface technology to networked media hubs, Blu-ray players and TVs themselves that previously would have had to go without the format.
The first devices supporting Flash Lite are estimated to ship sometime in the middle of 2009; a schedule isn't given for full Flash. Adobe's AIR platform for running web apps outside of the browser is also planned but is only planned for a generic future release.
The conversion of Flash is potentially crucial for future home media devices, as an increasing number of web video services are dependent on the format. Online TV providers such as Hulu and individual TV networks often rely solely on streaming Flash video to supply ad-supported content and until now have largely been ruled out of set-top devices for performance reasons.
