5 ms·

54% of Web Video is now available in HTML5

52 points by tvon 16y ago

nfriedly 16y ago
Correction: 54% of Web Video is now available in HTML5
- tvon 16y ago
  Good point, updated submission title to reflect that.
  - fsinton 16y ago
    Correct - thanks for picking up on that. For Desktop/Laptop browsing, most sites still playback the Flash version. The capability to dynamically detect device and serve as HTML5 or Flash is the most significant change in the video space, with mobile playback via HTML5 being the market driver.
citricsquid 16y ago
I'd be interested in a breakdown of what contributes to those totals, sites like Youtube have a huge share in Video so it's not that out there to suggest that a single change they make could have such a huge impact internet wide. I know Youtube have been HTML5 for a while now so it isn't them, but it could be a similar site! Edit: oh, I think I misread. They're counting individual videos, not sites. So while Youtube has HTML5 available to everyone not all videos support it. My mistake, disregard.
deleted 16y ago
[deleted]
garyrichardson 16y ago
I'm sure 54% is available in HTML5 video, but that doesn't mean 100% of the browsers support playing HTML5 video. For my application, I need to be able to embed the video in the page and support looping. Here's my experience with HTML5 video at this point: - IE: don't bother until IE9 is stable. I anticipate some stupid bug/feature that requires pages for IE9 to be different - Firefox: don't bother. I'm not supporting two codecs and h264 will work everywhere but ff soon. - Chrome: there's still a bug in the looping code -- can't really us it. - Safari: Works. - Android: doesn't work reliably -- stick with flash. - Mobile Safari: pops the video into the video player and not actually on the page. I fall back to animated gifs here. So, for my application, about 4% of the browsers can actually use HTML5 video.
tibbon 16y ago
I'm going to call bullshit, on the basis on porn. I have yet to see a porn page that is using HTML5 instead of Flash for streaming their video. Unless in the past 2-3 years the percentage of porn to other videos online has changed significantly, or the entirety of the 46% is porn, that number seems really high. I just googled 'html5 porn' and there was something about YouPorn switching to HTML5, but then I went and checked, no HTML5. In fact, not only was the video flash, but there were 3 flash-based ads on the page as well. Good way to eat processor and kill batteries.
- tvon 16y ago
  You're probably mostly right, but I don't think a porn site is likely to advertise adoption of HTML5, so you might try looking at the mobile sites they serve up to see what tech they're using. I suspect MeFeedia doesn't index porn sites, but I went ahead and asked in the comments.
  - tibbon 16y ago
    I dunno, porn is all about niche right? Here's an idea: PornForGeeks. HTML5 valid, HTML5 <video>, strong use of semantic tagging, 'smarter' ads, strong query engine, etc
    - deleted 16y ago
      [deleted]
    - motters 16y ago
      There no doubt is a gap in the market for PornForGeeks. Chicks with C64s. Overclocking. Salacious LAN parties, etc.
      - deleted 16y ago
        [deleted]
- j79 16y ago
  I checked YP on my iPhone. Some videos were available. I'm guessing until HTML5 with <video> support is more mainstream, sites that stream/host videos will target devices rather than browsers. I'm guessing it's a lot of work (or resources) to re-encode your old videos (assuming they've got a copy somewhere), and not all companies are fortunate enough to be YouTube.
tvon 16y ago
via http://www.loopinsight.com/2010/10/27/54-of-web-video-is-now-html5/ http://www.loopinsight.com/2010/10/27/54-of-web-video-is-now... (which wasn't submitted because they didn't have a source at the time).
rmc 16y ago
Saying "HTML5 Video" is misleading. There is no video encoding format for HTML5 video in the html5 spec. I could be using Firefox, which supports html5 video, go to a site that has html5 video in h264 format, then I can't see it, despite me using a html5 browser and the video being a html5 video.
- WiseWeasel 16y ago
  For now, we can assume that HTML5 video = h.264, since that's what the iDevices play.
  - rmc 16y ago
    Yes that's a fair assumption for the moment. It'll be interesting to see what happens with WebM
    - buster 16y ago
      Why reencode to WebM when the rest of the world can play flash. Based on your "assumptions" it comes down to flash video for 99% of users vs html5+h264 for iDevices.. All in all it is just really sad that the major companies weren't able to agree on one common video format for html5 (thanks, Microsoft and Apple!). What's the future now? Flash for Windows Phone, html5/h264 for iPhone, html5/webm for chrome and android, html5/ogg for firefox and i think opera should just go for html5/avi+intel indeo, maybe nokia could do html5/animated gif. (the sarcasm ends here, btw.)
      - patrickaljord 16y ago
        Both Opera and Firefox support WebM.
        buster 16y ago
        That was sarcasm, btw ;) My point is that thanks to Microsoft and Apple (who are both getting money from licensing H.264) we have no consistent video format and we will never have. MS and Apple will never support ogg or webm and Firefox will never support H.264 (which is the only decision they could have made from their point of view). The dream of one consistent standard for the web that was HTML5 has been destroyed by some greedy corporations once again.
tomlin 16y ago
I really do hate these "Flash hate-bait" narratives because it only regresses progress in making the video tag viable. Which is, above all else, the real goal. HTML5 video does not support any sort of RTMP streaming. This is an undeniably important feature. Having to wait until a video loads before you can seek to a specific point is woefully disappointing for the end-user. Not having a reliable base of encoding across all platforms is a real kick in the teeth as well.
- vetinari 16y ago
  In both .webm and .mp4, the index is/can be at the beginning of the file, so you don't have to wait until video loads. Also, since HTTP 1.1 we have byte ranges, so in combination of above point, you can freely seek with HTTP-streamed videos.
  - ROFISH 16y ago
    And Apple devices use "Live HTTP Streaming" as their alternative for real-time video.
  - deleted 16y ago
    [deleted]
  - tomlin 16y ago
    Thanks. That's great info.
- jallmann 16y ago
  RTMP is a terrible protocol to work with -- it is overdesigned and underspecified. RTSP is a much better alternative for video streaming. Unfortunately, none of the major browsers (yet) support rtsp:// streams in the audio/video tag. In theory RTSP should be fairly easy for chromium, since it uses ffmpeg under the hood, which comes with a RTSP stack... There is also http pseudostreaming, but that has its own set of problems too.
- emehrkay 16y ago
  > Having to wait until a video loads before you can seek to a specific point That isn't true.
seanalltogether 16y ago
"Our final tally included only video that can be delivered within HTML5’s “video” tag. In the vast majority of cases, this means videos were encoded in H.264." This is misleading because many providers use H.264 but don't have solutions for HTML5 video. Hulu for example uses a H.264 but uses a streaming server with drm protection on the stream that can only be played within the Flash player.
- smackfu 16y ago
  Plus the whole subset of "yes we support HTML5 video tags so it should work on your iPad/iPhone but we are banned from showing video on mobile devices so too bad." For instance, any music video on YouTube.
pornel 16y ago
No, it's not available. That's how Vimeo looks in Safari 5 with plug-ins disabled: http://imgur.com/xrdlF.png http://imgur.com/xrdlF.png (To watch this video, you need Flash 10. You have an old version of Flash. Click here to download the latest version.) and there's no trace of <video> element in the source. They only use HTML5 as a workaround for browsers with "iP" in User-Agent string.
- Yaggo 16y ago
  Sorry, but am I missing something? I'm currently watching a video on Vimeo with Safari 5 & plugins disabled. All you need to do is to click the "Switch to HTML5 player" link.
motters 16y ago
I should probably reserve a bottle champagne, or some other celebratory indulgence, for the day that I no longer need to run Flash.

52 points by tvon 16y ago

nfriedly 16y ago

Correction: 54% of Web Video is now available in HTML5

tvon 16y ago
Good point, updated submission title to reflect that.
- fsinton 16y ago
  Correct - thanks for picking up on that. For Desktop/Laptop browsing, most sites still playback the Flash version. The capability to dynamically detect device and serve as HTML5 or Flash is the most significant change in the video space, with mobile playback via HTML5 being the market driver.

citricsquid 16y ago

I'd be interested in a breakdown of what contributes to those totals, sites like Youtube have a huge share in Video so it's not that out there to suggest that a single change they make could have such a huge impact internet wide. I know Youtube have been HTML5 for a while now so it isn't them, but it could be a similar site! Edit: oh, I think I misread. They're counting individual videos, not sites. So while Youtube has HTML5 available to everyone not all videos support it. My mistake, disregard.

deleted 16y ago

[deleted]

garyrichardson 16y ago

I'm sure 54% is available in HTML5 video, but that doesn't mean 100% of the browsers support playing HTML5 video. For my application, I need to be able to embed the video in the page and support looping. Here's my experience with HTML5 video at this point: - IE: don't bother until IE9 is stable. I anticipate some stupid bug/feature that requires pages for IE9 to be different - Firefox: don't bother. I'm not supporting two codecs and h264 will work everywhere but ff soon. - Chrome: there's still a bug in the looping code -- can't really us it. - Safari: Works. - Android: doesn't work reliably -- stick with flash. - Mobile Safari: pops the video into the video player and not actually on the page. I fall back to animated gifs here. So, for my application, about 4% of the browsers can actually use HTML5 video.

tibbon 16y ago

I'm going to call bullshit, on the basis on porn. I have yet to see a porn page that is using HTML5 instead of Flash for streaming their video. Unless in the past 2-3 years the percentage of porn to other videos online has changed significantly, or the entirety of the 46% is porn, that number seems really high. I just googled 'html5 porn' and there was something about YouPorn switching to HTML5, but then I went and checked, no HTML5. In fact, not only was the video flash, but there were 3 flash-based ads on the page as well. Good way to eat processor and kill batteries.

tvon 16y ago
You're probably mostly right, but I don't think a porn site is likely to advertise adoption of HTML5, so you might try looking at the mobile sites they serve up to see what tech they're using. I suspect MeFeedia doesn't index porn sites, but I went ahead and asked in the comments.
- tibbon 16y ago
  I dunno, porn is all about niche right? Here's an idea: PornForGeeks. HTML5 valid, HTML5 <video>, strong use of semantic tagging, 'smarter' ads, strong query engine, etc
  - deleted 16y ago
    [deleted]
  - motters 16y ago
    There no doubt is a gap in the market for PornForGeeks. Chicks with C64s. Overclocking. Salacious LAN parties, etc.
    - deleted 16y ago
      [deleted]
j79 16y ago
I checked YP on my iPhone. Some videos were available. I'm guessing until HTML5 with <video> support is more mainstream, sites that stream/host videos will target devices rather than browsers. I'm guessing it's a lot of work (or resources) to re-encode your old videos (assuming they've got a copy somewhere), and not all companies are fortunate enough to be YouTube.

tvon 16y ago

via http://www.loopinsight.com/2010/10/27/54-of-web-video-is-now-html5/ http://www.loopinsight.com/2010/10/27/54-of-web-video-is-now... (which wasn't submitted because they didn't have a source at the time).

rmc 16y ago

Saying "HTML5 Video" is misleading. There is no video encoding format for HTML5 video in the html5 spec. I could be using Firefox, which supports html5 video, go to a site that has html5 video in h264 format, then I can't see it, despite me using a html5 browser and the video being a html5 video.

WiseWeasel 16y ago
For now, we can assume that HTML5 video = h.264, since that's what the iDevices play.
- rmc 16y ago
  Yes that's a fair assumption for the moment. It'll be interesting to see what happens with WebM
  - buster 16y ago
    Why reencode to WebM when the rest of the world can play flash. Based on your "assumptions" it comes down to flash video for 99% of users vs html5+h264 for iDevices.. All in all it is just really sad that the major companies weren't able to agree on one common video format for html5 (thanks, Microsoft and Apple!). What's the future now? Flash for Windows Phone, html5/h264 for iPhone, html5/webm for chrome and android, html5/ogg for firefox and i think opera should just go for html5/avi+intel indeo, maybe nokia could do html5/animated gif. (the sarcasm ends here, btw.)
    - patrickaljord 16y ago
      Both Opera and Firefox support WebM.
      - buster 16y ago
        That was sarcasm, btw ;) My point is that thanks to Microsoft and Apple (who are both getting money from licensing H.264) we have no consistent video format and we will never have. MS and Apple will never support ogg or webm and Firefox will never support H.264 (which is the only decision they could have made from their point of view). The dream of one consistent standard for the web that was HTML5 has been destroyed by some greedy corporations once again.

tomlin 16y ago

I really do hate these "Flash hate-bait" narratives because it only regresses progress in making the video tag viable. Which is, above all else, the real goal. HTML5 video does not support any sort of RTMP streaming. This is an undeniably important feature. Having to wait until a video loads before you can seek to a specific point is woefully disappointing for the end-user. Not having a reliable base of encoding across all platforms is a real kick in the teeth as well.

vetinari 16y ago
In both .webm and .mp4, the index is/can be at the beginning of the file, so you don't have to wait until video loads. Also, since HTTP 1.1 we have byte ranges, so in combination of above point, you can freely seek with HTTP-streamed videos.
- ROFISH 16y ago
  And Apple devices use "Live HTTP Streaming" as their alternative for real-time video.
- deleted 16y ago
  [deleted]
- tomlin 16y ago
  Thanks. That's great info.
jallmann 16y ago
RTMP is a terrible protocol to work with -- it is overdesigned and underspecified. RTSP is a much better alternative for video streaming. Unfortunately, none of the major browsers (yet) support rtsp:// streams in the audio/video tag. In theory RTSP should be fairly easy for chromium, since it uses ffmpeg under the hood, which comes with a RTSP stack... There is also http pseudostreaming, but that has its own set of problems too.
emehrkay 16y ago
> Having to wait until a video loads before you can seek to a specific point That isn't true.

seanalltogether 16y ago

"Our final tally included only video that can be delivered within HTML5’s “video” tag. In the vast majority of cases, this means videos were encoded in H.264." This is misleading because many providers use H.264 but don't have solutions for HTML5 video. Hulu for example uses a H.264 but uses a streaming server with drm protection on the stream that can only be played within the Flash player.

smackfu 16y ago
Plus the whole subset of "yes we support HTML5 video tags so it should work on your iPad/iPhone but we are banned from showing video on mobile devices so too bad." For instance, any music video on YouTube.

pornel 16y ago

No, it's not available. That's how Vimeo looks in Safari 5 with plug-ins disabled: http://imgur.com/xrdlF.png http://imgur.com/xrdlF.png (To watch this video, you need Flash 10. You have an old version of Flash. Click here to download the latest version.) and there's no trace of <video> element in the source. They only use HTML5 as a workaround for browsers with "iP" in User-Agent string.

Yaggo 16y ago
Sorry, but am I missing something? I'm currently watching a video on Vimeo with Safari 5 & plugins disabled. All you need to do is to click the "Switch to HTML5 player" link.

motters 16y ago

I should probably reserve a bottle champagne, or some other celebratory indulgence, for the day that I no longer need to run Flash.