Adobe releases beta version of Flash Player 10.1

There’s some big news on the Flash video front – Adobe announces the beta availability of Adobe Flash Player 10.1 from Adobe Labs for Windows, Mac, and Linux. Adobe also expects Flash Player 10.1 to be available on smartphones and other Internet-connected devices in 2010.

So why is Flash Player 10.1 so important for us netbook users? 10.1 leverages hardware decoding of H.264 video on Windows PCs, netbooks, and mobile devices where available which will help playback quality as well as conserving battery life.

According to the download page:

“Adobe® Flash® Player 10.1 is the first runtime release of the Open Screen Project that enables uncompromised Web browsing of expressive applications, content and video across devices. With support for a broad range of mobile devices, including smartphones, netbooks, smartbooks and other Internet-connected devices, Flash Player 10.1 allows your content to reach your customers wherever they are.”

If you’re curious about the key features of the 10.1 beta release, head on over to the Adobe labs page where you’ll also be able to download the release for your netbook system. You can also read the release notes (in PDF) here.

AND.. as far as hardware support is concerned, here’s a list of hardware platforms that support hardware acceleration of Flash Player 10.1 beta.

AMD/ATI:

Hardware video decoding of H.264 content in Flash Player 10.1 is supported on AMD/ATI products with UVD2 with ATI Catalyst Software Suite – starting with version 9.11 for the ATI Radeon family of produces and driver release 8.68 for the ATI FirePro family of products. Supported products include:

ATI Radeon HD 4xxx and higher family of products
ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4xxx series and higher
ATI Radeon HD 3xxx integrated graphics and higher
ATI FirePro V3750, FirePro V5700, FirePro V7750, FirePro V8700, and FirePro V8750 (and later)

Broadcom:

Hardware video decoding is supported on the Broadcom BCM70012 video decoding chipset, found in systems with Broadcom Crystal HD Enhanced Video Accelerator hardware

Intel:

Hardware video decoding of H.264 is supported on the Intel 4 Series Chipset family starting with graphics driver version 15.16.2.1986 for 32 bit and 64 bit Windows Vista and Windows 7 OS’s.

These drivers are available from: