After updating to Flash version 11.6.602.171 - can no longer play any embedded videos..and worse

Question

To begin with, I'm running a clean AMD 64 Bit Windows 7 System.  Never any problems with any of my video playing scenarios - until now - with this version 11.6.602.171.
After downloading and installing both versions - both for Firefox (other browsers) and IE, none of my browsers can play videos unless they are at their lowest resolution of 240.
So I used the Adobe Flash Uninstaller and ensured that the last vestages of Flash Player were removed - and reinstalled - all to no avail.
Then I downloaded the archived version of 10.3 to see if a previous version would work.  But that wouldn't work either.  None of my browsers will play videos now and I'm talking:
IE 10
Firefox 19.01
Avant Browser
Google Chrome
Google Chromium
Commodo Dragon
Commodo Ice Dragon
Opera
Waterfox
Pale Moon
None will play the video.
What you get is the video screen but unless you have a 240 option (lowest resolution), all you get is a green screen.  You hear the talking/music, but there is no picture and all the green screen does is flash.  Here's a JPG of the screen.  If you put your cursor anywhere on the progress meter (arrow) it will show you a small image of what's supposed to be playing (see below), but the screen remains green and flashes while playing.
Now here is where it gets interesting.  When I completely uninstall Adobe Flash Player and then go to a You Tube embedded video (on any site), there first appears a screen that tells you that you need a plug-in - but then within seconds (without downloading anything), the movie starts playing normally.
I then checked my Firewall (Zone Alarm) - turned it off temporarily - that wasn't the problem.  Then checked my latest version of Avast AntiVirus software and temporarily turned it off - that was not the problem either.  The videos still won't work and remain green unless you use the lowest resolution.
So this new version 11.6.602.171 has become a nightmare - but I'm afraid it messed up my system big time and I don't know what to do to alleviate this.
Crying HELP!!!!!!!!!!   Is there something I'm overlooking.  I'm now screwed - way to go Adobe for releasing such a faulty software product.
Ben Herrmann
North Carolina

Answer 1

It sounds like we've got a number of *different* problems on this thread.  I'll try and respond to a few of them.
@filter 2.5 and everyone else running into a green screen issue.  Please try the solution outlined in the post below to see if it will allow you to use hardware acceleration.  The other alternative is to try a different ATI driver.
http://forums.adobe.com/message/4865912#4865912#4865912#4865912
@pipseer - Somehow Internet Explorer's activex filtering was enabled on your system.  This troubleshooting is also described in this FAQ: ActiveX Filtering in Internet Explorer
@Sahloknir - For the sound issue, we're going to want your system specs.  Please start a new thread with:
Operating   system  
Browser  
Flash   Player version
Dxdiag Report Instructions
Sometimes video and audio problems are caused at a lower level and not directly related to Flash Player.  I recommend trying both of the links below to see how they perform.  If the problem exists with both, then Flash Player is most likely not the culprit as the HTML5 video link does not use Flash Player when playing.  You can verify the use of HTML5 by right clicking the HTML5 video and looking for the words "About HTML5" at the bottom of the context menu.
HTML5   video  
Non-HTML5 video
@mem2013 - The Flash Player update service will not impact Flash Player's performance.  This is a separate service that runs for just an instant on your system once an hour (if you have automatic updates enabled.)  Changing it from manual to automatic shouldn't make any difference.