5 ms·
Netflix - Why We Choose HTML5 for User Experiences on Devices
- tomeast 16y agoIt makes it easier to embrace HTML5 when you have complete control over the browser used.
- weixiyen 16y agoI agree, although I'm contemplating providing 2 UIs, an HTML5 version and an IE-friendly version for my own projects.
- marknutter 16y agoExcept that Netflix's iPad app is so slow and clunky it's almost unusable.
- jmtulloss 16y agoI agree that it's less than ideal, but I wouldn't say unusable. The part that bothers me the most is the interrupted playback issues, which probably has nothing to do with html5.
- marknutter 16y agoThat's why I used the qualifier "almost" ;)
- a1k0n 16y agoThat's the only iPad app my 2-year-old needs help navigating. He likes to watch Thomas and Friends on it, but by the time he's asking for help he's added about 50 things to my DVD queue. This happens almost every day, so whenever I drop a DVD to return in the mail I can't be sure what comes next.
- brianpan 16y agoNetflix's app is the opposite of how Gruber describes a great app: "...it should seem, when you’re using it, that the entire device was meant for it. E.g., a good chess game for the iPhone should make the iPhone itself feel like a chess playing device." [1] The Netflix app feels painfully like using a computer, not a movie-finding-and-watching device. IMO, that's why HTML is the wrong choice, at least for iOS. [1] http://daringfireball.net/linked/2010/12/03/tablets http://daringfireball.net/linked/2010/12/03/tablets
- kenjackson 16y agoIs the iPad app the same code as the PS3 or a completely different code base?
- cmelbye 16y agoProbably different. The iPad app is basically just a WebView pointing to a touch optimized site that looks basically the same as the desktop site.
- cryptoz 16y agoWait, so why can't I run Netflix on Ubuntu, then? If they're using HTML5, then shouldn't they have solved the problems with DRM preventing support for Linux?
- kenjackson 16y agoBut streaming video to a console allows them to not really have to worry abuot the DRM issues. They probably stick with a Silverlight solution on PCs until they can do DRM on HTML5.
- pornel 16y agoBTW: there are many people waiting for W3C to add DRM to HTML5 video, but: • <video> supports DRM already in shipping browsers — Safari on Mac plays FairPlay-restricted files. • DRM by definition is in opposition of being open and interoperable, so it's impossible for HTML spec to do anything about it.
- mikeryan 16y agoSo its a custom webkit build, and I'm guessing the custom part is to either add a DRM'd media player to webkit. Or make use of an underlying PS3 media player which supports DRM.
- va_coder 16y agoMy Roku box runs Netflix and I believe Roku is Linux.
- mikeryan 16y agoRoku provides a secured media player which supports the necessary DRM. Right now none of the major browsers (AFAIK) are supporting a DRM'd streaming media format for the HTML5 video tag. Note that on the PS3 Netflix isn't just providing a webpage, they're providing the whole damn browser, so they can either add DRM'd support in the browser or can extend the browser to allow the ability to call a native PS3 media player which support DRM. Neither of these two paths are feasible on your own Linux system. Note its not Linux which is the problem, its the lack of necessary support built into the media players which run on Linux which cause the problem.
- adolph 16y agoThe balance between native and web-browser controls is interesting. The author indicates a preference for native, but chose web so they can change things more quickly: This capacity for testing is so critical to how we innovate, we’re willing to forego having a native UI experience to accommodate it.
- jfb 16y agoThey ported WebKit to the PS3? Goodness gracious. That's a hack and a half right there.
- JonnieCache 16y agoNot really, considering they had millions of dollars behind them, while quake 3 was ported to android in people's spare time.
- jfb 16y agoI'm thinking more the inherent programmer hostility of the underlying platform.