You'll need to download and install the free Adobe Flash 10.1 player from the Android Market.
So, if you've got an Android 2.2 phone or can upgrade your Android device to 2.2 then point your phone's web browser to to access the new Flash 10.1 streaming experience. We just use what we already have to bring a higher quality BBC iPlayer on mobile experience to mobile devices. We don't need to install any new kit or set up any new servers. However, using Adobe Flash 10.1 streaming on mobile delivers significant infrastructure efficiencies for the BBC as we use our existing video and audio encoding plant to create the streams. Some commenters have objected to the BBC's use of Flash to deliver this kind of service. This means that only newer, more powerful phones connected via Wi-Fi can support the Flash 10.1 streaming experience. However, the 400kbps encode requires a powerful mobile phone processor and a Wi-Fi connection to ensure a smooth viewing experience.
We then embedded the Flash player into the BBC iPlayer on mobile webpage to enable playback in full screen and on the page.Īdobe did a lot of work to optimise the Flash 10.1 experience and get the BBC iPlayer on mobile playback quality looking really good. We've adapted the Flash based embedded media player (EMP) that you see right across the BBC website to work on the small screen and created a 400 kbps Flash stream to provide a really good playback experience.įirst off, we did some development work to scale down the Flash based embedded media player to fit the mobile screen and tweaked the playback controls to mobile friendly touch/tap input rather than the mouse click controls found on a PC. Over the last few months I've been working with Adobe to bring their new Flash 10.1 streaming to BBC iPlayer on mobile on Google Android 2.2 (' FroYo') devices. The new design aims to improve the user experience by introducing a cleaner layout with a simpler, easier to use interface.Īs mobile phones become more and more powerful and web video technologies are extended to mobile platforms, we can offer an even higher quality mobile playback experience. We are always looking to deliver the best BBC iPlayer experience on mobile. If you add a series to favourites, BBC iPlayer will automatically add all new episodes in that series as soon as they are available in iPlayer so you will never miss your favourite programmes. You can add any programme or series to your Favourites. Browsers such as the Puffin Web Browser comes with out-of-box support for Adobe Flash. Other browsers like Photon also offer this feature, but we recommend Puffin because it’s highly rated and free.Last week we launched the mobile version of the new BBC iPlayer website which Anthony Rose announced a few weeks ago.īBC iPlayer on mobile adapts the new BBC iPlayer website design to the small screen and integrates a new Favourites tab for easy access to all your favourite programmes. If you need to access an Adobe Flash site on your iPhone or iPad, you have several third-party options.
RELATED: How to Install and Update Flash on Your Mac How to Use Adobe Flash on iPhone and iPad The biggest reason, though, was that Flash just did not work well with touchscreens. He also pointed out the issues with security, reliability, and performance.
Jobs had a couple of arguments: Adobe Flash was not an open platform the open H.264 video format was much better at delivering video than Flash and when it came to games, there was the App Store. In it, he outlined the reasons for not implementing Adobe Flash in Apple devices. In 2010, Steve Jobs wrote an open letter called Thoughts on Flash (which still makes for a good read). Why Flash Isn’t Supported on iOS and iPadOS DevicesĪpple devices like iPhone and iPad never officially supported Adobe Flash.
Major desktop browsers are now discontinuing support for Adobe Flash, although you can manually re-enable Flash in Google Chrome. Adobe is scheduled to officially sunset the Adobe Flash product in 2020.