Good morning Flashers. It's official: Flash Media Server 3 will be released in and it will improve pricing dramatically (yay!).New Server Editions
This has been a long time coming and it marks a huge step forward for FMS as a platform. There will be no more bandwidth or connection limitations (instead it's all you can eat so to speak) and there will be two server editions which simplify the whole offering greatly: Adobe Flash Media Streaming Server and Adobe Flash Media Interactive Server. A free developer edition is also available.
As you may have guessed, Flash Media Streaming Server will allow you to - wait for it - stream video (both live and on-demand) while Flash Media Interactive Server basically presents the current feature set of FMS2 (and then some more), the swiss army knife of media servers which supports not only streaming but also has scripting capabilities, server side remote objects, and everything you are used to to date. This means that Flash Media Streaming Server (FMSS) is basically a stripped down version of the Flash Media Interactive Server, and it will cost less too (and pricing was a major sore point to date). This makes sense, because so far you had to pay for all features even if all you wanted to do was push video.
Pricing
FMSS will set you back a mere USD $995 while FMIS costs USD $4,500. Combined with the dramatic licensing improvements this means that the fully features Flash Media Interactive Server is much better value for money while Flash Media Streaming Server will allow you to push video for less than a thousand bucks. What's your excuse now for not using Flash video?
If you are like me and want to build not only video features but also throw in a bit of collaboration and multi user trickery then the Flash Media Interactive Server (let's call it FMIS) is for you. And get this: FMIS can be configured as Origin/Edge as well as standalone, which means the price point for large scale deployments has been totally slashed by about 90%.
In terms of other caps there's only the usual CPU restrictions which are in line with other platforms: FMSS supports up to 4 CPUs or cores per license (allowing for a dual CPU, dual core setup per license) while FMIS allows up to 8 CPUs or cores. This means that CPU restrictions have also been relaxed when compared to FMS2 (which all of a sudden seems really unattractive :-).
New Features
There are of course a host of new features too, such as massive performance improvements (which effectively improve value for money even further), support for H.264 streaming, added security features, streaming to mobile via Flash Lite 3 and a bunch more. There's a side by side comparison chart here.
There is also a great article and podcast with Kevin Towes, FMS Product Manager, here.
Flash Media Server 3 is due to ship in early 2008. The full press release is here, the product page here.
Thanks for the update:-D
By the way.. do i understand it correct if the FMSS con't be setup as an origin/edge?
news of this week
i hope more killer new features instead killer on price
http://www.adobe.com/aboutadobe/pressroom/pressrel...
Our streaming business has gone from 90% WMV to 90% FLV.
Didn't read the feature set, but I'm assuming that mp4 streaming is included.
cough splutter, cough, cough, die.
I won't be making any multiplayer stuff anytime soon huh ;)
http://www.adobe.com/products/flashmediainteractiv...
Anything else and you are paying the exact same amount as before, no price cut there. Especially massive.
But, the licensing structure is much better, at least they listened there.
Graeme
I think you're being overly negative here.
a) I don't consider $4,500 expensive for an Origin/Edge server license - and I do consider that a massive price cut as it was roughly 10 times that price previously.
b) less than $1,000 seems reasonable for a streaming server. Previously you had to pay at least $4,500 even if all you wanted to do is video. I don't think Adobe can realistically charge much less as somewhere along the line they have to make some money..!?
If that's too expensive (I don't think it is) then there's always the progressive option.
c) The price of $4,500 may be the same at first glance but previously you got a Porsche that was limited to do 20mph whereas now you can go full throttle, in a better model. You also have twice the performance and a few new goodies. Effectively it's a big price cut as where you normally would have needed 2 or 3 stacked licenses you now only need 1.
I have one client who will now spend $4,500 on licenses instead of $9,000 to $12,000. If that's not a price cut then I don't know what is.
You said "If that's too expensive (I don't think it is) then there's always the progressive option."
Well there are other alternatives as well. I think it's a bit one-sided of you to overlook Red5 and other RTMP streaming servers. In Red5's case it can do way more than FMS3 in that it's open, uses Java as it's server-side language, and supports remoting, remote object, etc...
So, anyway, the alternative to using FMS is not just progressive downloads.
I didn't mean to sidestep alternative platforms.
However this post was meant to be about FMS and its new pricing and licensing, not a comparison on delivery methods for Flash video. The point I wanted to make was this: FMS3 will be a lot cheaper than its previous versions.
I'm very happy about the licensing changes and in that respect the server is cheaper. It makes me wonder about all the clients that have up to this point invested hundreds of thousands in the origin/edge config when now they can do it in a fraction of the cost. If that was me, I would be feeling rather ripped off at this point. So, like I said, that does make it cheaper.
It's like others have said though, the streaming server is not "a good deal" I think because there are other options out there and I'm sure there will be more.
But, don't get me wrong, I agree with you in that the direction is great and I really like FMS myself (duh, who would guess that :) )
Sorry to sound negative on your blog, didn't mean to, just putting out the other opinion on it. I'll post something on my own blog about it I think :)
Graeme
http://www.adobe.com/products/flashmediaserver/com...
"Fair point Chris,
I didn't mean to sidestep alternative platforms.
However this post was meant to be about FMS and its new pricing and licensing, not a comparison on delivery methods for Flash video. The point I wanted to make was this: FMS3 will be a lot cheaper than its previous versions."
Well I was not criticizing your blog post on the subject. It really was just that one comment you made that if it's too expensive, then use progressive download that made me say anything about it.
Anyway, I'm glad that Adobe is listening to their customers in regards to the pricing too!
Thanks for the info.
Prices are at least in Latin America very expensive when you purchase fms and by the way is not possible to build video or collaboration applications for medium or small business even sometimes for big enterprises. I am from M
We have heard that the only real barrier has been pricing. People have chosen less secure methods such as HTTP delivery and have forced users to download additional plugs to help download and render high quality video. H.264 addresses the quality issue by building on the knowledge present in the industry today to encode high quality video. Today we also released Flash Player 9 updater 3 that includes support for H.264/AAC+, and significant performance improvements for video streaming. The most important feature is its integration with the new server. Providing real-time high capacity encryption with RTMPE, and simple access controls with SWF Verification. Encryption and Access controls are the foundations for rights management. Flash Media Server delivers on this without encrypting the video asset, and without a complex DRM solution reducing the total cost of ownership. Because you are always connected to FMS, you can encrypt the delivery with no client artifacts, and provide access controls by tapping in your pre-existing network infrastructure. So make a video available for a couple hours, certain number of plays, or to selected users its your choice.
On the issue of Price this was the biggest barrier to entry for many customers, and many chose to deliver video via a web server because it was cheaper, and less complicated. Flash Media Streaming Server 3 at $995US takes away that barrier with a very low price and significant improvements in the out of the box experience and documentation. Unlimited users, unlimited bandwidth up to the capacity of your hardware makes it easy to know how many servers need. Now people can deploy a robust and secure streaming solution to Flash with minimal investment. The Flash Media Interactive Server 3 at $4,500US builds on the Streaming server by adding the ability to extend the core abilities of the server. From file location, to authorization to geo filtering. All of these streaming features can be developed custom to your deployment. On top of all that, you can leverage the advanced caching abilities and massive distribution models that are deployed by many content delivery networks today.
Being the swiss-army knife it is, Flash Media Interactive Server 3 lets you add value to your video by adding the Social Media. Solutions can be built for the browser (Flash Player), the Desktop (AIR) and the mobile device (Flash Lite 3) that enhance the socializing of video what does that mean? Think about video mash ups, video sharing, video message and recording, or creating a DVR solution for live video or even invoke a live video chat. Flash Media Interactive Server is one of a kind that goes way beyond streaming video it helps you monetize and socialize you video.
We hope that this new price point and configuration of Flash Media Server really remove any question that streaming Video to Flash is the best and most efficient way to reach the widest audience on a global scale.
Why do consumers care its simple. Because Flash Media Server helps to protect content, content owners are more willing to make more content available at the highest quality. With more content available, advertising helps to provide a business model and encourage more content. The consumer now gets more content at a higher quality with far fewer hassles of plug-ins, network interruptions and other frustrating factors. Basically, go to a site, and hit play its really that simple.
Kevin Towes,
Product Manager, Flash Media Server
Adobe Systems, Inc.
I'd like to know what are some possible uses of the new C++ Plugin architecture? I Googled it but haven't find much--well, it is very new, I know, but if someone shed more light on it that would be great.
Thanks,
Meengla
I am wondering when (or if) Flash Media Encoder will be updated to encode H264. Otherwise, how do I encode live H264?
Anyone an idea?
thanks
thomas
I believe Adobe have announced support for H.264 in FME. I would also expect some third party vendors to add this fairly soon (Viewcast, Digital Rapids etc).
Which OS platform do you believe might prove the most efficient for the FMSS3: Win2003 Enterprise Server, or RHEL4 or maybe last resort, RHEL5?
Thanks for any thoughts.
Great.
Thanks for your answer
Brice
Or FMIS is the only way to go?
I have a small question:
What is the highest quality I can get for live chat on FMIS?
Thanks
So B/W is the only limitation?
If I have a 100Mbps dedicated server and I want to get the highest quality video conferencing session, what will this be?
Adobe whitepaper says:
Industry-standard H.264 video and HE-AAC
audio streaming provide support for up to
1080p HD delivery to users of Adobe Flash
Player, Adobe AIR, and Adobe Media Player.
So, if I am using a professional HD video camera to push the LIVE stream into my server, and assuming the viewer has enough B/W to get high quality video, will FMS be able to process and push this?
So my basic question is:
Eliminating B/W issues, will FMS3 be able to support LIVE processing of multiple sessions of HD video?
Thanks!