March 29, 2024
YouTube Now Defaults to HTML5 Video Player Instead of Flash

YouTube Now Defaults to HTML5 Video Player Instead of Flash

Posted January 28, 2015 at 4:31pm by iClarified
YouTube has announced that its now defaulting to its HTML5 video player instead of its Flash player.

The site first implemented a HTML5 player four years ago but HTML5 was missing support for certain features such as Adaptive Bitrate (ABR); however, thanks to browser improvements many of the technical hurdles have been overcome.

Over the last four years, we’ve worked with browser vendors and the broader community to close those gaps, and now, YouTube uses HTML5 video by default in Chrome, IE 11, Safari 8 and in beta versions of Firefox.


Here are some of the key technologies that were necessary to make this possible:

MediaSource Extensions
Adaptive Bitrate (ABR) streaming is critical for providing a quality video experience for viewers - allowing us to quickly and seamlessly adjust resolution and bitrate in the face of changing network conditions. ABR has reduced buffering by more than 50 percent globally and as much as 80 percent on heavily-congested networks. MediaSource Extensions also enable live streaming in game consoles like Xbox and PS4, on devices like Chromecast and in web browsers.

VP9 video codec
HTML5 lets you take advantage of the open VP9 codec, which gives you higher quality video resolution with an average bandwidth reduction of 35 percent. These smaller files allow more people to access 4K and HD at 60FPS -- and videos start 15-80 percent faster. We've already served hundreds of billions of VP9 videos, and you can look for more about VP9 in a future post.

Encrypted Media Extensions and Common Encryption
In the past, the choice of delivery platform (Flash, Silverlight, etc) and content protection technology (Access, PlayReady) were tightly linked, as content protection was deeply integrated into the delivery platform and even the file format. Encrypted Media Extensions separate the work of content protection from delivery, enabling content providers like YouTube to use a single HTML5 video player across a wide range of platforms. Combined with Common Encryption, we can support multiple content protection technologies on different platforms with a single set of assets, making YouTube play faster and smoother.


WebRTC
YouTube enables everyone to share their videos with the world, whether uploading pre-recorded videos or broadcasting live. WebRTC allows us to build on the same technology that enables plugin-free Google Hangouts to provide broadcasting tools from within the browser.

Fullscreen
Using the new fullscreen APIs in HTML5, YouTube is able to provide an immersive fullscreen viewing experience (perfect for those 4K videos), all with standard HTML UI.

Moving to iframe embeds
Given the progress we've made with HTML5 video, we’re now defaulting to the HTML5 player on the web. We're also deprecating the "old style" of Flash object embeds and our Flash API. We encourage all embedders to use the iframe API, which can intelligently use whichever technology the client supports.

YouTube notes that these technological enhancements have been beneficial to others including Apple.

Other content providers like Netflix and Vimeo, as well as companies like Microsoft and Apple have embraced HTML5 and been key contributors to its success. By providing an open standard platform, HTML5 has also enabled new classes of devices like Chromebooks and Chromecast. You can support HTML5 by using the iframe API everywhere you embed YouTube videos on the web.

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YouTube Now Defaults to HTML5 Video Player Instead of Flash
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Comments (9)
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MarcC
MarcC - February 18, 2015 at 1:30pm
Yeah, really, who doesn't love losing 1080p and up resolutions and full screen display on Firefox. Google needs to get a clue.
gamerscul9870
gamerscul9870 - February 18, 2015 at 4:03pm
Yeah, the app needs work. One of the biggest issues is commenting force closes the app and in landscape mode, part of what you comment you can't see.
matrixmaniac
matrixmaniac - January 28, 2015 at 5:44pm
finally!!! what took them so long?
gamerscul9870
gamerscul9870 - January 28, 2015 at 4:52pm
Now if online games can run html5, this will come to a full circle of using html5.
aangela.bennett
aangela.bennett - January 28, 2015 at 4:44pm
steve jobs was right! he was absofuckinglutely right: flash is garbage.
Anonymous
Anonymous - January 28, 2015 at 9:20pm
Dam! His visions of the technological world are so impressive! I wish he's still alive right now.
gingerninja
gingerninja - January 28, 2015 at 4:37pm
welcome to 2007 youtube
chingchong
chingchong - January 28, 2015 at 8:57pm
Your telling me that the ads are gone too?!
Omar.nsy
Omar.nsy - January 30, 2015 at 5:23pm
No, but now you can use Adblock without interfering with youtube video while playing .
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