2006 Forecast - Flash Video
I believe we will see a lot of companies move toward Flash movies in 2006. It will become the favorite for a wide range of promotional materials, including site tours and hosted galleries. A quick look at the benefits, and Flash becomes the obvious choice.
The Flash Player is ubiquitous, boasting installs on 98% of all desktops globally. It works on Windows, Macintosh, Unix, PDAs, and even cell phones. Unlike Java and DHTML, Flash behaves the same everywhere. The Flash player for Firefox behaves exactly the same as the Flash player for Internet Explorer. When compressed, the Flash files are very low bandwidth, so nearly any connection speed can download the movie.
Of even greater benefit, Flash movies can be produced with interactive features. While I doubt this capability will be taped initially, it will be the next logical step.
Unlike other video formats, Flash works for everyone, and that’s a competitive edge no one can afford to pass up.
