Flash 10.1 will support NVIDIA acceleration

by: John - posted: 10/5/2009 5:43:00 AM

There are a ton of games out there that are Flash based that are fun and innovative. It's a platform that's been around for a long time for the web and it's finally going to get a little processing help. Adobe has announced that Flash Player 10.1 will be able to utilize NVIDIA hardware for improved performance.

If you have a GeForce card in your computer, an ION based netbook, or even a phone with a Tegra processor the Flash Player will take advantage of that extra processing power to smooth out the performance. Even with a few of my fast computers, I sometimes get pegged with 100% CPU utilization on some Flash movies. With the upcoming player, that should be a thing of the past provided I am running it on a computer with NVIDIA hardware.

Having Flash be accelerated on a mobile platform should also help immensely. I had a few YouTube movies running on my Windows Mobile phone in the Opera browser and while the sound came through fine, video would usually stutter. Once phones come out with the Tegra processor, you should be able to view Flash video on your phone in a lot smoother setting.

That's great for NVIDIA people but what about those that run AMD hardware? Here's hoping we hear something from them as well so they aren't left out in the cold on this.

Adobe and NVIDIA Deliver Rich Web Experiences on Netbooks and Mobile Devices

GPU-Accelerated Netbooks from HP, Lenovo and Samsung Support Full Flash Player

LOS ANGELES — Oct. 5, 2009 — At Adobe MAX, Adobe’s worldwide developer conference, Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq:ADBE) and NVIDIA Corporation (Nasdaq:NVDA) today announced that both companies are bringing uncompromised browsing of rich Web content to netbooks, smartphones and smartbooks built with NVIDIA® GPUs. The companies have been working closely together as part of the Open Screen Project to optimize and dramatically improve performance of Flash Player 10.1 by taking advantage of GPU video and graphics acceleration on a wide range of mobile Internet devices. NVIDIA customers embracing Flash Player 10.1 for their new devices include HP, Lenovo, Samsung, Acer, Asus and more. Users are expected to be able to download a beta of Flash Player 10.1 before the end of the year.

The combination of NVIDIA GPUs and Adobe Flash Player 10.1 enables device manufacturers to deliver uncompromised Web browsing of rich applications, interactive content and HD video with substantially decreased power consumption. With the support of the NVIDIA GeForce®, NVIDIA ION™ and Tegra™ products users will be able to enjoy a much smoother viewing experience when accessing rich content built with the Flash Platform including HD and SD video from popular sites like Hulu.com or YouTube. For more information on Flash Player 10.1, please see the separate press release issued today.

“Consumers want the best Internet experience – whether it’s a mobile device in their pocket or a netbook at the coffee shop,” said Dan Vivoli, senior vice president of NVIDIA. “Our engineers have worked closely with Adobe to make this a reality.”

“The most innovative and expressive Web sites use Adobe Flash technology,” said David Wadhwani, general manager and vice president, Platform Business Unit at Adobe. “By working together to further leverage the power of graphics processors, Adobe and NVIDIA are able to provide breakthrough Web experiences on a wide range of devices. This new development brings us a step closer to putting the power of a PC in your pocket.”

NVIDIA ION-based netbooks and nettops like the HP Mini 311, Lenovo IdeaPad S12, Samsung N510, Acer AspireRevo, and Asus eeeBox EB1012 and others are shipping today and once Flash Player 10.1 is available, they can take advantage of GPU-accelerated video decoding to deliver the kind of smooth Flash technology based video previously found only on higher-end PCs. Tegra processor-based smartphones and smartbooks that start shipping later this year will accelerate vector graphics and video to enable feature-rich, full-screen Internet video and animation.

“HP is pleased to work with NVIDIA and Adobe to give customers a compelling high definition video experience,” said Kevin Frost, vice president and general manager, Consumer Notebooks, Personal Systems Group, HP. “The recently introduced HP Mini 311 supports stunning HD video using Flash Player 10.1.”

"As the biggest online video Web site in China, Youku.com believes in providing superior user experiences because fast video play-back is essential, said Allen Zhu, vice president of Youku.com. “Now, with the new Adobe Flash Player 10.1, video decoding for the first time is enabled through NVIDIA GPUs, we can greatly enhance the speed of video playback for the great quantity of HD videos hosted on our Web site. This would enable our users to enjoy a smooth and stutter-free HD video playback experience.”

“The new version of Flash Player 10.1 will help deliver smooth, full-screen HD and SD video on the Lenovo IdeaCentre Q110 nettop and IdeaPad S12 netbook with NVIDIA ION graphics,” said Stephen DiFranco, vice president, North America Channel Partners Organization, Lenovo. “As more and more consumers connect online for their entertainment, GPU acceleration with NVIDIA will enhance this experience, whether it’s on the go with a Lenovo netbook or at home with a tiny desktop PC.”