YouTube betas HTML5 support

[twocows]

YouTube Blog: Introducing YouTube HTML5 Supported Videos
This makes me happy. Too bad Mozilla decided not to support H.264 for their HTML5 implementation; I can't yet experience the greatness that is a Flash-free YouTube. :'(

A lot of people are whining about the fact that there's no Theora, but I really didn't expect them to re-encode their entire library yet again. Still, more widespread support for Theora would be nice; it'd certainly develop faster if more people used and knew about it.

Also, it doesn't support ads yet. I'm sure that'll make a few people happy for now, ehe.

 

[Emotion.]

Saw this on Lh earlier, it'll be a nice little load off of chrome for sure, although these days I don't use Yt much.

 

[Bianca Paragon]

Works for 1% of videos in 1% of browsers. Useful!

 

[twocows]

Works for 1% of videos in 1% of browsers. Useful!

It works in Safari, Chrome, Opera 10.5 alpha (beta?), and Internet Explorer with Chrome-frame. It doesn't work in Firefox because Mozilla chose not to support H.264 in their HTML 5 implementation, and it doesn't work in plain IE because there's no HTML 5 support. As for the limited selection of videos that it works for, that would be because it is a beta; I imagine that it will be available for all videos once out of beta, and will potentially work for all browsers (Google said they are working with Mozilla toward a solution, and I imagine IE9 will come out with HTML 5 support sometime in the next year or two).

 

[Bianca Paragon]

Translation: It works in Webkit, and an alpha build of Presto.
Hardly huge levels of support.

 

[twocows]

Translation: It works in Webkit, and an alpha build of Presto.
Hardly huge levels of support.

That's to be expected; after all, it is beta software. Not that 2/4 is a bad score, given that there are only four relevant rendering engines anyway.

 

[Bianca Paragon]

2/4 is assuming all things are equal - they're not. It supports only the two LEAST used engines.

 

[twocows]

2/4 is assuming all things are equal - they're not. It supports only the two LEAST used engines.

While that's true, I expect that it will be beta until it gets support for all or most platforms. Then again, Google does have a weird way of making things beta forever. Regardless, I find this to be a step in the right direction, and I'd like to see HTML 5 support for more video sites.

 

[TheAppleFreak]

While that's true, I expect that it will be beta until it gets support for all or most platforms. Then again, Google does have a weird way of making things beta forever. Regardless, I find this to be a step in the right direction, and I'd like to see HTML 5 support for more video sites.

Google is the master of infinite betas... just look at Gmail. It wasn't until a while ago that it came out of beta, and there's an extension for it that adds the BETA logo back under the sign if someone's nostalgic.

And Paragon, although you're right that Firefox can't yet utilize the HTML 5 support yet, there are Firefox extensions that add this sort of capability. Search and Mozilla shall be your friend.

Personally, I'm excited about this. Flash can get really annoying, especially when I'm using 7 or XP in VMware for my FireRed hack.

 

[Faltzer]

That's excellent; I do not miss Flash, and I think the entire Internet would be better off not relying on Flash for redundant functionality that I can already accomplish with a video player off. Granted, if I ever have to go on YouTube, I have my Greasemonkey plug-in for YouTube sans Flash.