Flash Player 10 and Adobe AIR 1.5 introduce a new communications protocol called the Real-Time Media Flow Protocol (RTMFP). The most important features of RTMFP include low latency, end-to-end peering capability, security and scalability. These properties make RTMFP especially well suited for developing real-time collaboration applications by not only providing superior user experience but also reducing cost for operators.
In order to use RTMFP, Flash Player endpoints must connect to an RTMFP-capable server, such as the Adobe Stratus service. Stratus is a beta, hosted rendezvous service that aids establishing communications between Flash Player endpoints. Unlike Flash Media Server, Stratus does not support media relay, shared objects, scripting, etc. So by using Stratus, you can only develop applications where Flash Player endpoints are directly communicating with each other.
Flash Player is already the market leader in online video distribution over the web. With the introduction of RTMFP and advanced media compression technologies, Flash Player 10 is well positioned as the leader in real-time communications as well.
With Adobe Stratus you can build:
- A video chat application
- Multi-player games
- Voice Over IP
Signup for a Stratus beta developer key
Discuss Stratus in the Labs forums