Will Adobe and Microsoft now start sweating over HTML5?
Vimeo are now http://vimeo.com/blog:268) following YouTube (http://youtube-global.blogspot.com/2010/01/introducing-youtube-html5-supported.html) and testing a HTML5 video player. ‘So what?’ you may say. Well, this is bad news for both Adobe and Microsoft. It draws people away from the reliance upon Flash to deliver video. It is also challenging Microsoft’s Silverlight technology. I’ve spoken before about how Silverlight has great potential when it comes to video over Flash, but if you throw HTML5 and H.246 into the mix then there’s now an even better reason to question online interactive technology such as Flash and Silverlight.
The YouTube HTML5 Beta loads faster, scrubs better and there are no ‘buffering’ issues. Ok, you’re losing some of the functionality – you don’t get any ads (few people sighing there) and there’s no full screen (which only looks good at a distance) but it’s only a matter of time before those arrive.
I think I like it.
Still, have to bear in mind that you cannot yet write video games in HTML5 but then, you barely could in Flash 1-4 anyway.
Watch that space.