Adobe abandoning Flash Player for TVs as well | Hacker News Reader

Adobe abandoning Flash Player for TVs as well

engadget.com

25 pointsshawndumas14 comments

I wonder how this affects platforms such as YouView and Google TV?

I assume Google TV can make do without Flash but how dependent is YouView?

Probably doesn't change much immediately but it's pretty clear that everyone will be moving away from Flash, including Adobe. Guess even big companies like Adobe can pivot.

I believe that Youtube has had all their content converted to the codec to the x264 codec for HTML5, so it should be a patchable fix for both.

Uh, he's talking about YouView and GoogleTV... not YouTube.

Sure, the YouTube content will likely still work under HTML5, but I guarantee that most people use their GoogleTVs and YouViews to watch actual content—most of which is on sites like Hulu and played with Flash.

Next week I was going to begin building my first TV app for Samsung's Smart TV - using Flash. Given the timelines I'll probably still go this route but do wonder what this announcement means for Samsung and LG's TV plans.

This is for Flash Player for browsers. If you're going with AIR you'll be fine.

That's the problem with this conversation. Flash haters are wrongfully disseminating information (lookin' at you, Gruber), which is causing more confusion for the consumer - someone we're supposed to be looking out for. I don't care either way if Flash supports mobile/TV/etc but this is really about timing for the writers, the death of Steve Jobs, "he was right all this time", etc, etc.

My issue is, tell the story straight. Hater or not, this isn't the end of Flash on mobile/tv, it's the end of Flash on mobile/tv within the browser - something that didn't really exist in the first place. And if you think about it, hater or not, does a Flash app belong in a browser on smaller screens or limited resources? It's a logical step for Adobe to prefer HTML5 within the browser because it is more fitting. Adobe will continue to allow AIR -> device publishing as it had before.

Before these "Flash discontinued" articles:

  Able to publish mobile apps with Flash? YES
  Able to publish device apps with Flash? YES
  Flash run in the browser for all mobile/devices? NO
  Create Flash plugin in the future for all mobile/device browsers? *YES*

After these "Flash discontinued" articles:

  Able to publish mobile apps with Flash? YES
  Able to publish device apps with Flash? YES
  Flash run in the browser for all mobile/devices? NO
  Create Flash plugin in the future for all mobile/device browsers? *NO*

Adobe is no longer pursuing a Flash Player plugin for mobile/tv browsers. That's really the story. Whether that spells the end for Flash or not is anybody's guess. Just tell it straight, please.

The connected world is moving away from PCs.

Adobe's previous plans were to have Flash be a unifying rich media platform across all these newfangled devices, like TVs, tablets, alarm clocks, etc… Flash could grow as the "connected market" grew.

Adobe has clearly decided that they can't accomplish this. Since being everywhere was the only way to keep Flash relevant in the long term, I think they've acknowlegded that the future is dim for Flash.

AOL slowly become a hush of their former selves when dialup revenue dried up. Rather than betting the farm on an eventual loser (though a lucrative one), Adobe is doubling down on the winner. This must have been a tough decision, but it's clearly the right one.

The future of AIR and other Flash-based app stuff is less clear, but if Adobe is spending less money on developing Flash, I'm not sure how they can continue to be successful with stuff that leverages flash.

Here's the thing. If you think of Flash as it is today, you can find how it will find eventually decline. Again, not disagreeing with that. Flash can die as a browser plugin and live on - not as a plugin, but as a programming language (AS3), whereby you code for any device using 1 language, but the compilation is to native code on various devices. This is a much lower hanging fruit than say, making a viable browser plugin for each and every browser/OS. Just an idea.

Mobile and the Internet are now intertwined. You'll have billions of Internet enabled mobile devices in 5 years. If you build something for the Internet and it doesn't run on mobile, you've got a problem. People are still concerned about IE6 support and in most countries it's about 2%. Mobile Internet usages is going well above 10%. Flash isn't going to die overnight but its use cases just got a lot smaller.

I don't disagree. I just think the slight of hand isn't necessary. Otherwise intelligent people are playing the telephone game for really no reason.

Thanks for the down vote. It's good to see that the verifiable information I have presented has upset someone with an opposing viewpoint (ie, a lie predicated on eager technology xenophobia).

We've built a bunch of SmartTV apps. I've seen nothing but pain from those who go the Flash route on these devices. Samsung in particular - were you going AIR or Stagecraft (full flash 10.1 isn't supported on 2009 devices) route?

The problem with Flash on these devices has always been Adobe's support (or lack thereof) is a requirement. Samsung and LG don't have the ability and won't help with any issues with the Flash player (unlike the HTML engines which they support) and Adobe has been stretched too thin trying to support all these devices.

The TiVo Premiere uses Flash for their UI, and a TiVo will last many years beyond this end of life. The article wasn't clear if it included this use of Flash, or if it is just for TV's using Flash in browsers?

From all the articles I've read on the demise of Flash, Flash isn't going away; it's just not moving into the future. I could be wrong, but browsers and devices that support Flash now will continue to support it, but Adobe won't be pushing the platform forward.

I think Flash still has a place in the market (device UI, embedded online gaming, although HTML 5 is catching up really fast), but with the explosion of connected mobile devices that have a hard time with Flash, that place has gotten much smaller.

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