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Macromedia Flash video has passed Apple's QuickTime and RealPlayer from RealNetworks in delivering online streaming media.

Adobe also said, citing a study by AccuStream iMedia Research, Flash has been growing faster than the Windows Media Player. Sites using Flash to deliver high-quality streaming media securely include Comcast, Fox, and the New York Times.

That popularity provided a boost to Adobe's Production Studio. Adobe noted how providers like E! Online, Jaguar, and Image Line have all moved to the Adobe platform, which includes Macromedia products.

E! Online uses Adobe for broadband content from many of the channel's shows. Jaguar worked with development firm Global Beach to construct a micro-site for the Jaguar XK sports car, where visitors can "build and price" the XK, then print out the specs as a clean PDF to take to the dealer.

Also, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, hired Image Line Productions to create a retrospective of director Robert Altman's film career. They did so using the Adobe Production Studio tools.

Part of the appeal of Flash has been its cross-platform availability. Although it is a proprietary product, the Flash Player can be found for Windows, Mac, and Linux users. It got a head start on QuickTime, which works on Macs and Windows PCs, and Real, which runs on all three operating systems.

But Flash had the advantage of being supported in Macromedia Dreamweaver. That has become almost a de facto web developer standard for many designers, and it includes Flash tools. Other formats don't have the same widespread adoption, though QuickTime probably comes closest.

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David Utter is a staff writer for WebProNews covering technology and business.