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SciTech

YouTube dumps Flash, adopts HTML5 as default video format


Move over, Adobe Flash. Video-sharing giant YouTube is now adopting HTML5 as the new default format for its videos.
 
Engineering manager Richard Leider said that while there were initial limitations to HTML5, these have been addressed in the last four years or so.
 
"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, Internet Explorer 11, Safari 8 and in beta versions of Firefox," Leider said in a blog post.
 
While Flash had been the default video format in past years, its popularity has made it a springboard for attacks by cybercriminals.
 
Meanwhile, Leider said HTML5 is used not only in browsers, but also in smart TVs and other streaming devices.
 
He also cited key technologies that allowed YouTube to choose HTML5 as the default video format:
 
  • MediaSource Extensions: Adaptive Bitrate (ABR) streaming allows YouTube to quickly and seamlessly adjust resolution and bitrate amid changing network conditions. ABR reduced buffering by more than 50 percent globally and as much as 80 percent on heavily congested networks.
  • VP9 video codec: gives higher quality video resolution with an average bandwidth reduction of 35 percent. The result is smaller files with 4K and HD at 60FPS. Videos start 15 to 80 percent faster.
  • Encrypted Media Extensions and Common Encryption: these 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.
  • WebRTC: allows YouTube to build on the same technology that enables plugin-free Google Hangouts to provide broadcasting tools from within the browser.
  • Fullscreen
  • Moving to <iframe> embeds: Using the <iframe> API can allow one to use whichever technology the client supports.
 
Other companies' support
 
Leider also cited support for HTML5 by companies like Microsoft and Apple.
 
"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," he said. — Joel Locsin/VC, GMA News
Tags: youtube, flash, html5, internet, technology
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