UK Broadcast services provider Red Bee Media has launched a new online video player that can deliver content to connected devices including computers, smartphones, tablets and connected TVs.

Red Bee’s RedPlayer will target broadcasters, studios and brand owners, offering distribution and managed services, including encoding, transcoding and content protection. The company said it had developed the platform in response to a growing demand for monetisable “broadcast quality” online services.

BBC director-general Mark Thompson announced on Friday his intention to launch an international commercial version of the iPlayer within a year.

In his MacTaggart Lecture to the MediaGuardian Edinburgh International Television Festival, Thompson said people like servicemen should be able “to use a UK version of the iPlayer wherever they are in the world”.

But licencing restrictions and technical issues may prove problematic.

In a move which could be seen by some as the diversification their platform offering, and to others, a possible slap in the face for Flash. Cambridge, Mass.-based online video platform Brightcove announced on Monday their new Brightcove Experience for HTML5.

The new platform provides support for intelligent device detection, playlist rendering, and playback of H.264 encoded video content. a framework for publishing and delivering interactive and advertising-supported Web video.

Amazon announces a new Flash Media streaming and content delivery service.

Targeted at the mid-sized customers (who spend between US$3-5k a month on video/content distribution), this new service is sure to cause ripples in the CDN space.

Cloudfront’s easy integration with other Amazon Web Services is sure to prove appealing to both developers and content providers looking for a simple and easy to way distribute rich media based content.

Microsoft have been previewing an new Xbox LIVE upgrade which gives users the ability to test out some of the new features coming soon to the Xbox.

These include Facebook, Last.fm, Twitter and 1080p streaming. Early reports indicate that the Limelight delivered HD streams are outstanding.