-
HTML5 Playback Now Up to 69% of Online/Mobile Video
MeFeedia released its latest analysis of HTML5 playback adoption, finding that 69% of H.264 (the dominant video format) video is now available for HTML5 playback. As the chart below shows, that's roughly 7x the level it was in Jan. '10, although adoption appears to be slowing a bit since Feb. '11 (see chart below). Separately, MeFeedia found that WebM, Google's open source format accounts for less than 2% of video, though that will increase as YouTube converts its videos to WebM
Categories: Technology
-
63% of Online Video Now Available in HTML5
MeFeedia released some interesting research this week, reporting that the universe of online video it indexes (30 million videos at 30,000 sites), shows the percentage of video that is HTML5 compatible is now up to 63%. The key HTML5-compatible formats are H.264, WebM and Ogg. Video formats were already a confusing terrain before Google jumped into the mix by acquiring On2 Technologies and open-sourcing its VP8 codec as WebM. Then, earlier this year it announced that its Chrome browser would drop support of H.264, in favor of WebM. Meanwhile, the iPad, which doesn't support Flash has sold 15 million units in the past year, putting even more pressure on content developers to work outside of Flash. The 63% figure, up from 10% a year earlier, suggests that is indeed happening.Categories: Encoding
-
Encoding.com Now Offering Expanded Codec Support for HTML5
HTML5 is gaining further momentum today as leading cloud encoding provider Encoding.com is now supporting the WebM and Ogg Theora video codecs,
adding to its longstanding support for H.264. As a result, customers can now choose "presets" for these codecs so that all browsers and devices supporting HTML5 will be able to seamlessly playback video.
Topics: Encoding.com, HTML5
-
Ooyala Supporting Monetization of HTML5 Video
Online video platform Ooyala is announcing this morning that its HTML5 video player is now supporting dynamic ad insertion for IAB-standard ads. This
means that content providers using Ooyala's Backlot platform will be able to monetize video consumed by iPads and iPhones.
Categories: Advertising, Technology
-
MeFeedia Unveils HTML5 Analytics for All Player
Search engine MeFeedia is announcing this morning a new real-time analytics suite for HTML5 video viewed using the company's All Player.
Content providers using All Player will be able to track a variety of data for video consumed across all devices supporting HTML5 - iPads, iPhones, Android phones and the web. They can view data by summary, recent, popular, devices, videos and channels to monitor an individual or group of videos' performance. Data can also be exported for offline analysis and viewing. The type of data tracked includes view-through rates, time watched, impressions and the viewing device.
As with the All Player itself, the analytics package is free.
The analytics release follows MeFeedia announcing support for HTML5 advertising just before the iPad's recent launch. MeFeedia CEO Frank Sinton explained to me yesterday that though it's still early for HTML5, the company is committed to building out further HTML5 features for the All Player.
For those not familiar with All Player, which MeFeedia launched last June, it's targeted primarily to small and mid-sized content providers who want to improve their ad monetization. All Player's value prop is that it has integrated with key video ad networks, so that once an All Player content provider is approved, it can add or improve monetization immediately. Content providers can use All Player stand alone or in conjunction with their OVP.
All Player has moved MeFeedia from being solely a video search engine to also being a monetization partner. Frank explained that numerous providers now partner with MeFeedia, in some cases simply syndicating a feed of their content, which MeFeedia offers and monetizes through All Player, in turn sending a revenue share back to the content provider. Frank says MeFeedia is fully ad supported and is now profitable. As HTML5 emerges, adding complexity in the short-term to content providers' work flow, tools like All Player look even more important.
What do you think? Post a comment now (no sign-in required).Categories: Advertising, Analytics
-
How to Navigate the Video Format Battlefield
Today I'm pleased to offer a guest post from Jeff Malkin, president of Encoding.com. With all the recent news around video codecs, formats and corporate battles, the world is getting increasingly complicated for content providers looking to benefit from the shift to online video. Encoding.com is in the middle of this action and today Jeff cuts through the noise and provides some recommendations for success.
How to Navigate the Video Format Battlefield
by Jeff Malkin
For content publishers and consumers, there is chaos in the video ecosystem, and it's going to get worse before it gets better. No doubt you've been reading about HTML5 vs. Flash vs. Silverlight (and recently, WebM), Apple vs. Adobe, H.264 vs. VP8, iPhone vs. Android, Do-it-Yourself vs. OVP.
Whether serving tens or thousands of videos, maximizing viewership with reasonably high-quality videos across web and mobile devices is the new imperative. With so many permutations of video codecs, formats, containers and features, it's confusing to design a video workflow that's cost-effective, flexible to change with the evolving formats and scalable to meet your growth requirements. With this post, I offer a couple of recommendations to help simplify the array of options currently available.
Case in point: Just when it appeared that H.264 was emerging as the video codec leader, primarily because of YouTube support and strong backing by Apple on its devices, Google went and threw an open-sourced VP8 codec into the ring via the recently announced WebM project, a new video format launched by Google with support from other leading industry players such as Mozilla, Opera Software, Brightcove and Encoding.com.
While both H.264 and VP8 are good quality codecs, only VP8 is currently royalty-free and therefore has a great opportunity to emerge as the new leader within the next year or two. However, for web distribution today, we recommend encoding your videos using the H.264 video codec in an .mp4 container. This is a high-quality output format already supported by Flash, and the leading HTML5 browsers including Firefox, Chrome, Safari and Internet Explorer v9.
Categories: Technology
Topics: Apple, Encoding.com, Flash, HTML5, Silverlight, WebM
-
New Clicker.tv Raises the Bar on Online Video Navigation
Want to see what navigation will look like in the online video era? Then head over to Clicker.tv, which unveiled its new look today at the Google I/O conference. I hesitate to call Clicker.tv a "web site" because 15 years into the Internet age the term has a "point-click-scroll" connotation to it. Conversely, when you arrive at the new Clicker.tv you realize you can now set your mouse aside as you won't be needing it. The whole site can be navigated with your Up/Down/Side arrow, Enter and Backspace keys. Clicker's CEO Jim Lanzone gave me a sneak peek last week and pointed out its key differentiators.
Jim proudly pointed out that while it will feel like you've downloaded a plug-in or an app because of the richness and responsiveness of the site, in fact you haven't; this is the power of HTML5. What you see displayed are four columns. At the left is a tools bar with simple icons prompting search, browse, playlists plus links to display TV shows, web-only shows or movies. In default mode the next 3 columns show "headliners," trending shows and trending episodes. You can rearrange these views via the icons, browsing or setting up playlists.
If for example you see a large thumbnail for "The Hills," when you click on it all the recent episodes are exposed, which you can scroll through with just your arrow keys until finding the one you want and selecting it with the Enter key. Or if you select the movie "The Hurt Locker" Clicker will show you that it's available for download on Amazon and iTunes. If it had been available on Netflix too, you would have been exposed to that option and been able to seamlessly connect and watch at Netflix if you had previously linked your account to Clicker (same way as Netflix works with other devices).
Something else you'll notice is that there's no search bar. So how do you search for a TV show or movie? You simply start typing and your letters appear on screen. It's pretty cool. But in a nod to how different navigation on Clicker is, it offers a handy overlay screen when visiting so you know how to get around.
As Jim put it, Clicker also begins merging the browser and the app worlds (for more on what Google thinks about this idea see, this good post on TechCrunch), and moves the paradigm away from having set-top boxes in order to do robust navigation. Clicker's big opportunity comes as convergence takes off. It's 10-foot UI makes it a natural to be included in various connected devices that are looking to bridge broadband to the TV even as smaller scale version could work really well on mobile devices. In addition, as Jim pointed out, because this is HTML, social and other features can be added easily. The destination is still in beta and it's still pretty early days for Clicker's business model, but Jim sees two opportunities: bounties from aggregators it sends users to and apps that would be created and uphold. Playing around with Clicker you can't help thinking how far the web has now advanced.
What do you think? Post a comment now (no sign-in required).Categories: Technology, Video Search
-
Brightcove, FreeWheel to Launch HTML5 Video Ad Solution
Building on the momentum around HTML5 and all things iPad-related, online video platform Brightcove and video ad management firm FreeWheel are announcing plans today to launch an HTML5 video ad solution this summer. The companies are already partners and share many mutual customers; the new solution means that customers using both platforms will be able to insert ads on HTML5 compatible devices like iPads, iPhones and iPod Touches when it is available. The move is a positive step for content providers who have rolled out iPad apps but not necessarily with monetization included.
Earlier this year Brightcove unveiled its "Brightcove Experience for HTML5" which auto-detects HTML5 devices, in turn delivering compatible content. Now with the FreeWheel piece, in-stream video ads will be delivered as well. No doubt, as Apple and other non-Flash devices continue to proliferate additional HTML5-focused platform/ad solutions will follow.
What do you think? Post a comment now (no sign-in required).
Categories: Advertising, Devices, Technology
Topics: Brightcove, FreeWheel, HTML5
-
Kaltura Gives HTML5 Another Boost
HTML5, the next version of HTML, which seeks to make video more open and flexible, got another boost this week as Kaltura, the online video platform company, and its partners unveiled two new initiatives. Kaltura made available its HTML5 Video and Media JavaScript Library and also launched HTML5Video.org, a site that includes demos and related news.
Ron Yekutiel, Kaltura's Chairman and CEO explained to me that given the company's emphasis on open source, it was a natural to embrace HTML5. Ron sees HTML5 as allowing developers to treat video just like text and freeing video to run across platforms, devices and browsers without needing any plug-ins. One of HTML5's biggest benefits is that it works on the iPhone, which means developers using it avoid Apple's anti-Flash bias, while also gaining access to other smartphones. Still, Ron says Kaltura is "pro-choice" so if its customers want to use Flash or Silverlight, it will support those as well. Separately, HTML5 got another boost this week as Microsoft made available the first developer preview of IE9 (the next version of its widely-used browser) that offers extensive HTML5 support.
What do you think? Post a comment now (no sign-in required)Categories: Technology
Topics: HTML5, IE, Kaltura, Microsoft, Open Video Alliance, Wikimedia Foundation
|
