Adobe Flash Player

Adobe Flash Player Essentials – Games, Music, Videos and More

Adobe Flash Player is most likely one of the most common names associated with the Adobe. In fact, most people probably don’t even know there are a few other less known systems that playback video and audio files. On the initial release date in 1996, Adobe provided Internet users with a free software download to play and view multimedia. Although created by Macromedia, today Flash Player is exclusively distributed by Adobe Systems Inc. Therefore, it’s commonly referred to as Adobe Flash, it is free, including plug-in versions available for all the major web browsers and various operating systems.

Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox call it a Shockwave player and Google Chrome bundles it with an Adobe Flash plugin. The Flash Player has the most significant number of users in the world by a considerable margin. Users must enable it to play games, view animations and work with graphic user interfaces (GUIs) embedded in websites. For the best performance, users are encouraged to either allow for automatic updates or at least receive update notifications and download those promptly.

How Does Flash Player Work?

Programmers and developers create small web format files (SWFs), and the Flash Player is a runtime system that plays these files. Flash formats the data to display animated vector graphics on the Internet. Users can hear audio, view video, plus do some other interactive things such as play games.  Adobe Flash player as a browser plugin, or as a standalone player can play the SWF files. Understanding all the programming language is not necessary for Internet users. All that is necessary is to download the free Flash Player or enable the plug-in.

How to Download Flash

To download the Adobe version of the free player, navigate to Adobe Flash Player free download button above. The step-by-step process is rather simple, with easily visible tabs. Be sure to review ALL checkboxes.

The option to receive are as follows. Automatic updates (highly recommended),  Notification of updates, or to receive no updates whatsoever (not recommended) . Most computer experts recommend receiving notifications and then choosing when and how you want to install them.

Product Features

Flash Player supports numerous data formats, including; XML, JSON, AMF, and SWF. Multimedia formats supported by the Adobe Flash Player are; mp3 player, FLV, PNG, JPEG, GIF, and RTMP. Other lesser-known formats are also supported.

The Bottom Line

Macromedia created the original Flash Player, but Adobe has made this essential computer software available to billions of Internet users across the globe. Chances are, if you surf the web, play video games, or enjoy listening to music and watching videos, you have used the Flash Player.