[Robert the Bruce]

I thought that Adobe FlashPlayer was needed in order to view video's on YouTube. I've just recently uninstalled Adobe FlashPlayer but YouTube still works fine. So can someone tell me what Adobe FlashPlayer is actually for ? In layman's terms.
While I'm on the subject. What is Adobe Reader and Adobe Air for and are they useful ? Again, in layman's terms please.

[DoubleHelix]

Flash is required to view YouTube videos. What exactly did you uninstall, and how did you uninstall it? What web browser and version are you using?

Flash is used to watch flash videos.

Adobe Reader is used to read PDF files.

Adobe Air is a set of functions that other programs use. It's like Java and .NET Framework.

[tjamnz]

Camera videos are usually converted from raw (source formats) to web friendly formats with video editing software and then converted to Flash, .mp4, or wmv video formats so you can watch them with either Adobe Flash Player (browser based), Quicktime player, or Windows media player software.

If your still able to watch youtube videos, check your browser add-ins list. Its probably still listed there.

[Robert the Bruce]

Originally Posted by DoubleHelix

Flash is required to view YouTube videos. What exactly did you uninstall, and how did you uninstall it? What web browser and version are you using?

Flash is used to watch flash videos.

Adobe Reader is used to read PDF files.

Adobe Air is a set of functions that other programs use. It's like Java and .NET Framework.

You say I need to have Flash in order to watch YouTube video's. Then how come I can watch YouTube without Adobe Flashplayer ? Also, I just told you what I uninstalled - Adobe Flashplayer. I used Add & Remove Programs to uninstall it.

[Robert the Bruce]

Originally Posted by tjamnz

Camera videos are usually converted from raw (source formats) to web friendly formats with video editing software and then converted to Flash, .mp4, or wmv video formats so you can watch them with either Adobe Flash Player (browser based), Quicktime player, or Windows media player software.

If your still able to watch youtube videos, check your browser add-ins list. Its probably still listed there.

How do I go about checking browser add-in list ?

[TOGG]

If you didn't use Adobe's own uninstaller it's possible that the Flash plugin is still on your computer. What happens if you run the Adobe version checker?; http://www.adobe.com/software/flash/about/

Where you look for addon/extension details depends on the browser. In Opera and Firefox it's under 'Tools'

[Triple6]

Different browsers use different Flash players and they are uninstalled separately, some even have Flash Player built in like Google Chrome. What browser are you using? Or the uninstall failed and never actually uninstalled Flash or when you returned to YouTube it realised you were missing Flash and reinstalled it as it normally does when you visit Youtube without having Flash. Also some video's on YouTube are available in HTLM5 format but the majority are Flash and I believe you have to Opt-into an optional mode to use HTML5. So, which browser are you using?

[NICK G]

Check if flash player is running on your system..

[Robert the Bruce]

Flash Player is on my system. I use Google Chrome and now understand that Chrome comes with Flash.

[DaveBurnett]

Adobe Air is used by the BBC iPlayer in the UK.

[Blacqwolf]

Adobe Flash Player is needed for reading Flash player applications - a common way of providing interactive objects and video players on the Internet.

The reason YouTube continues to work after uninstalling Flash Player is because, with new standards supported by modern Web browsers, YouTube can offer an HTML-based player without needing any add-ons, and it's automatically opted into when you browse YouTube without Flash installed.

Adobe Reader is for reading PDFs (Portable Document File) - something very commonly used for presentations or briefings on the Internet. Many product manufacturers make their manuals in PDF, many employers make the electronic form of their handbooks or brochures in PDF, and so on.