Adobe released on Wednesday the Adobe Media Player 1.0. It’s a player that enables high quality playback of streaming and downloaded video in the currently widely used Adobe Flash format.

What makes the Adobe Media Player 1.0 a cut above the rest is its ability to download videos outside the browser in Adobe Flash format while offering 1080p, 720p or 480i video display resolutions and an advanced audio quality.

“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,” said Adobe senior vice president of Creative Solutions, John Loiacono.

Major television broadcasters and other leading content providers have each helped in a way to build this one of a kind Adobe product. Some of those worth noting are CBS, MTV Networks, Universal Music Group, PBS, CondéNet (lifestyle oriented websites – Vogue, W, Glamour, Allure, Self, Details and GQ and Epicurious and Reddit!) and Scripps Networks (HGTV, Foot Network, DIY Network, Fine Living).

With these providers’ inclusion in the project, future collaborations with huge brands such as Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, VH1, CMT, Logo, Spike, The N, Game Trailers and Atom Films are undoubtedly already in the works.

“It’s a merger of TV Guide and DVR (Digital Video Recorder) for Internet video content,” Loiacono added. “Some great shows like The Hills from MTV and CSI from CBS, are already available to view and more will be coming soon.”

Aside from already available online video content (like webcasts and the like), we now have the opportunity to subscribe to television shows. As soon as the content we have subscribed to becomes available, the Adobe Media Player downloads it for us automatically. And as I said earlier, with the collaborations with those mentioned above and the promise of more to come, the video catalog is expected to expand to a library of readily available digital media.

“Audiences want a great playback experience, including streamed or downloaded high-quality video,” said Melissa Webster, vice president, IDC Content and Digital Media Technologies. “At the same time, content owners need to protect and monetize their content via premium services or advertising. This is the opportunity that Adobe is addressing with Adobe Media Player.”

Plus, with the release of the player, Adobe offers offline content creators (i.e. TV networks) and media publishers the opportunity to distribute and build networks online – which is really the next step for all media. With the help of Adobe Media Player, they have the opportunity to use offline monetization and branding options that are focused on the viewer’s specific preferences.

Since Adobe gets to control all content and viewer options, they have info for targeted marketing and advertising campaigns. So the Adobe Media Player really is the next big thing in media - in that it brings the provider and the user together in a fully customizable forum that it benefits both parties. Targeted advertising brings in more providers and more providers means more options for users.

Let’s face it. Steaming digital media is the best way to bring content conveniently to the end user. The best example of which is Google’s YouTube. And with the help of the Adobe Media Player, streaming becomes professionally done and ends up being high quality – which really what most YouTube videos lack.