Now Playing: Adobe Media Player, Adobe TV

On Wednesday Adobe launched both Adobe Media Player 1.0 (AMP) as well as Adobe TV.

AMP is an offline Flash video player. It was originally released in beta form last September. The software, written with Adobe's Integrate Runtime (AIR), runs on Windows and MacOS (both Intel and PowerPC).

Adobe already has a number of partners lined up. In a press release, John Loiacono, senior vice president of Creative Solutions at Adobe said:

"With Adobe Media Player, we’re bringing viewers and content owners closer together, with an experience that doesn’t constrain them by platform or proprietary software application. It’s a merger of TV Guide and DVR for Internet video content. Some great shows, like The Hills from MTV and CSI from CBS, is already available to view and more will be coming soon."

AMP will allow users to subscribe to and search for content. Adobe doesn't host any content, rather AMP pulls content from partners via RSS feeds. Users can add any video RSS feed into the player. As the press release says:

Users can also subscribe to television shows and other online video content and then automatically receive new episodes of the shows as they become available. To help viewers discover new content, a broad, searchable catalog of shows from leading media companies and networks is available and it is expected that it will continually expand to include video from additional broadcasters, studios and independent producers. Some of the initial content available on Adobe Media Player includes: CSI: New York, CSI: Miami, Big Brother, Star Trek, Melrose Place, Hawaii Five-O, The Twilight Zone and MacGyver from CBS; clips from The Hills, MTV News and Yo! MTV Raps from MTV Networks; select shows on HGTV, Food Network, DIY Network and Fine Living Network from Scripps Networks; Epicurious.com, Style.com and Wired.com from CondéNet; PBS programming and music videos from Universal Music Group. Additional content from MTV Networks’ brands including MTV, Nickelodeon, COMEDY CENTRAL, VH1, CMT, Logo, Spike, The N, GameTrailers and Atom Films will be made available over the next several months.

Speaking of content, Adobe also launched Adobe TV. But don't get confused. Adobe TV isn't really about TV. It's a web site and AMP "channel" dedicated to tutorials and more about Adobe products. As said in a separate press release, it's

"a free online video resource for expert instruction and inspiration about Adobe products, including the company's Creative Suite 3 family of world-class creative tools."

In other words, a cool way of using AMP to get out the word on other products. Smart move.

So, does the world really need yet another player, and I don't just mean AMP, but rather another competitor in the seemingly crowded online video /TV / content / you-name-it arena? Adobe seems to think so, and it has plenty of partners lined up that seem to think so as well.