This week, at the 2009 IBC (International Broadcasting Convention) trade show in Amsterdam, Adobe Systems announced Flash Access 2.0. Formerly known as Adobe Flash Media Rights Management Server (FMRMS), Flash Access is content protection software that lets video and audio authors control how, when, and where their content can be experienced by users – even after download. Which would allow media companies to enforce user constraints, such as limiting viewing to a given rental period.

Jim Guerard, vice president and general manager of Dynamic Media at Adobe outlined how “With Adobe Flash Access 2.0, media publishers can rely on robust protection for premium content to support new, emerging business models for rich interactive online experiences,” For example, Flash Access 2.0 will provide a way for media companies to enforce user constraints, such as limiting viewing to a given rental period.

Adobe Flash Access 2.0 comes as a Software Development Kit that facilitates Internet deployment and integration into software and services such as order management, subscription databases, access control, and LDAP-based Active Directories. Flash Access will also be available as a Software as a Service (SaaS) through certain Adobe partners that will offer hosted content protection to multiple clients.

Flash Access 2.0 supports standards-based MPEG 4 (H.264) content as well as the FLV file format through progressive download, streaming, and download for local playback. It will also support digital, and analog ,output protection technologies—including HDCP, CGMS-A, and Rovi (formerly Macrovision®) ACP—for Windows platforms.

Flash Access 2.0 will allow the play back protected content securely on an upcoming new version of Adobe Flash Player, and outside the browser via Adobe AIR, and is scheduled to ship in the first half of 2010.