Macromedia today announced , new video encoding tools, CSS enhancements and visual authoring tools for XML, more tools for authoring and testing mobile content, workflow enhancements, and more. Macromedia Studio 8 will ship in September for $1000 (or as a $400 upgrade).

"Studio 8 is a huge leap forward," said Stephen Elop, chief executive officer, Macromedia. "There are tremendous improvements to features and performance allowing designers and developers to build and deliver more expressive and compelling experiences for the web and devices in less time than ever before. Our beta testers worldwide agree: this release will fundamentally change the way people think about the creation and delivery of digital content."

Macromedia said that Studio 8 contains workflow enhancements, new products, and feature firsts. The new Contribute and FlashPaper tools help designers and developers develop a simply, easy method for maintaining web content. Studio 8 also includes new video encoding tools for creating and publishing high-quality interactive video.

"New CSS enhancements and visual authoring tools for XML add style and sophistication to websites and applications. New tools for authoring and testing mobile content give Studio 8 the market lead in helping businesses reach the widest audience possible across multiple platforms.

In addition to major releases of Dreamweaver 8, Flash Professional 8, and Fireworks 8, Macromedia's Studio 8 now includes Contribute 3 and FlashPaper 2. Contribute 3 allows web professionals to modify or update content in a controlled, template-based workflow that improves efficiency while preserving website integrity. FlashPaper 2 extends the content creation process by converting any file type into web-ready PDF or SWF file formats.

Flash Player 8 offers new video codec, realtime effects, more

Macromedia also has released the latest version its Flash Player 8, the ubiquitous runtime environment. Version 8 includes a higher quality video codec, an advanced text-rendering engine, and an improved security model and privacy controls to offer better performance. Macromedia said the Flash Player is currently installed on over 600 million desktops and mobile devices globally.

In addition to the Flash Player client runtime, the Flash Platform also includes Flash Lite, a lightweight profile of the Flash Player runtime optimized for mobile devices. Flash delivers a robust programming model, development tools, dedicated server technology, integrated solutions, and the support from major systems integration partners, ISVs, and OEMs.

"Macromedia Flash Player is the driving force behind the Flash Platform," said Kevin Lynch, chief software architect, Macromedia. "It consistently allows our customers to deliver the richest Internet media and applications to the widest audience. With Flash Player 8, we see enterprises achieving a completely new, powerful way to communicate, educate, or do business using rich content across intranets or the Internet."

Flash Player 8 offers the ability to create compelling web-based experiences with the new expressive features with new realtime dynamic effects processing. The player now features built-in common filters that enable blur, drop shadow, and glow effects and the new font-rendering engine brings a clear, high-quality text delivery system across multiple platforms.

Version 8 also brings support for 8-bit alpha channel video, allowing Flash developers to create innovative media compositions with interactive, semi-transparent video overlays over video, text, and graphics. The new video codec offers exceptional video quality at a lower bandwidth, significantly improving the overall viewing experience for users. Flash Player 8 offers substantial performance gains with video, ensuring faster and smoother video playback. Flash Player 8 also dramatically improves runtime performance through optimizations such as more efficient caching and platform-specific enhancements.

Macromedia Studio 8 is expected to ship in September. Localized versions in German, French, Japanese, Spanish, Italian, Korean, Traditional Chinese, and Simplified Chinese will be available shortly thereafter, according to the company. Pricing is $1000 for a full license and $400 for all upgrades. Education, government, and volume pricing is available, while pre-orders of Studio 8 bundle a free limited edition backpack. Macromedia Flash Player 8 Public Beta is available as a free download in both English and localized versions and is available for both Windows and Macintosh operating systems.