HTML5 replaces Flash as default player on YouTube

[Shawn Knight]

HTML5 is now the default setting for video playback on YouTube when using Chrome, IE 11, Safari 8 and beta versions of Firefox. If you needed any more evidence to support the claim that Flash is dead, it doesn’t get much more damning than this.

YouTube has actually supported HTML5 for years, having first introduced support for the standard way back in 2010. Of course, it was extremely limited at that time and lacked support for several key features like adaptive bitrate (ABR).

This feature, one of many now supported by HTML5, helps reduce buffering and enables livestreaming on game consoles, devices like Chromecast and in web browsers.

HTML5 also lets users take advantage of the VP9 codec which YouTube used to showcase 4K streaming video at CES 2014. This codec from Google reduces bandwidth by 35 percent, allowing for wider access to 4K and HD at 60FPS videos. Videos also start anywhere between 15 to 80 percent faster according to YouTube engineering manager Richard Leider.

Last but not least, a bit of advice for those that embed video. YouTube is deprecating the “old style” of Flash < object > embeds and is instead encouraging all embedders to use the < iframe > API as this method will use whichever technology is best suited for the client.

Up to this point, Adobe Flash was the default for videos on YouTube. If you wanted to use HTML5 on the site, you had to go manually enable it.

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/59545-html5-replaces-flash-default-player-youtube.html

 

[cliffordcooley]

and beta versions of Firefox

Starting with which version of Firefox?

 

[RustyTech]

Very good news! Now we only have Java to deal with.

 

[madboyv1]

Very good news! Now we only have Java to deal with.

Commercial use, both in various appliances of different genres as well as 1st party software will keep it long relevant and most damningly, vulnerable. Because of the manufacturer's terrible programmers, we're still stuck using Java 6.20 < 6.45 if we want the ~least~ buggy rendering of their software. Technically it works on 7.25 < 7.50 but the interface is glitchy at best, and simply fails to start beyond that. =/

 

[Guest]

Great, less plugins to update and care about

 

[amstech]

Pretty big kick in the face to Adobe, even though it was freeware its still another entity of business that helped their overall business model.

 

[BlueDrake]

and beta versions of Firefox

Starting with which version of Firefox?

35 has support for HTML5 (need to visit /html5 part of YouTube), 36 is the latest in beta and 38 is the latest nightly build. There's better support in the beta. I've found if I paused any HTML5 videos it locks up randomly, so I went back to flash for now. (Using Firefox 35 now, was using 34 previously)

 

[Puiu]

and beta versions of Firefox

Starting with which version of Firefox?

it should come out with version 36 if all the bugs are ironed out (if not, then 37 for sure)

 

[Tekkaraiden]

Pretty big kick in the face to Adobe, even though it was freeware its still another entity of business that helped their overall business model.

Actually when they bought Macromedia the first think I was hoping for was for them to dump flash.

 

[Guest]

HTML5 is hysterically PC incompatible. Working on 10 video from 100 maybe, Flash 50 or more.

 

[Dustyn]

HTML5 is hysterically PC incompatible. Working on 10 video from 100 maybe, Flash 50 or more.

Hysterically?

Tell me more...

 

[BlueDrake]

HTML5 is hysterically PC incompatible. Working on 10 video from 100 maybe, Flash 50 or more.

Hysterically?

Tell me more...

I'd like to know also. I only found it's kinda buggy, depending on browser. Mostly prefer Firefox but.. it's kinda slow to the HTML5 party, and often locked up on videos when pausing / unpausing. Other than that it's pretty nice, I'm hoping to see it rolled out sooner or later with better support.

 

[Guest]

HTML5 radically faster than flash its not question but so buggy,
other
Youtube tell for latest flash beta from adobe labs is outdated please update.
So its Google as always.

 

[cliffordcooley]

HTML5 radically faster than flash its not question but so buggy,
other
Youtube tell for latest flash beta from adobe labs is outdated please update.
So its Google as always.

Translator please.

 

[Guest]

This is bullshit! Now I've gotta upgrade all my computers just to run the damned site...
#RIPFlashPlayer
(n)

 

[cliffordcooley]

Someone only visits Youtube with outdated devices.

 

[slamscaper]

Adobe sealed the flash format's fate when they decided to stop support mobile devices. Apparently they wanted this to happen.

 

[SNGX1275]

What happened in this thread? So many incoherent comments.

HTML5 is hysterically PC incompatible. Working on 10 video from 100 maybe, Flash 50 or more.

HTML5 radically faster than flash its not question but so buggy,
other
Youtube tell for latest flash beta from adobe labs is outdated please update.
So its Google as always.

This is bullshit! Now I've gotta upgrade all my computers just to run the damned site...
#RIPFlashPlayer
(n)

 

[ITdan]

Adobe sealed the flash format's fate when they decided to stop support mobile devices. Apparently they wanted this to happen.

Amen. With todays increasingly mobile web, particularly for entertainment platforms and such as Youtube, mobile device compliance is key. Google owns Youtube, and when Adobe dropped formal flash support in all the Linux derivatives including Android, they essentially gave Google the finger. They also gave them business, since Google's browsers were capable of HTML5 access to YouTube already, it gave incentive for people on non-Windows devices to switch to a Chrome flavor.

 

[loading]

Hmm... the article left out a bit of important information. HTML5 has DRM built in through Encrypted Media Extensions (EME).

I guess we'll all see how HTML5 pans out.

 

[DAOWAce]

"YouTube has actually supported HTML5 for years"

And Mozilla never bothered to have proper support for it all this time; instead rushing to support it when it finally became standard, and it's still not out in the stable build yet.

I won't use anything else but Firefox (or at this point, Palemoon, since Australis is god awful and I'm still running v28 because of it), but Mozilla really have been on a downward spiral for a long time now.

 

[SNGX1275]

Hmm... the article left out a bit of important information. HTML5 has DRM built in through Encrypted Media Extensions (EME).

I guess we'll all see how HTML5 pans out.

The capability perhaps... but your statement is a half-truth trolling for someone to argue with you. This might be all you get.