Latest Trends
Sooner or later media outlets will face a decision, whether to stick to Flash or embrace HTML5. We talked to Gary Kahn, President of Zeitbyte, a company which provides digital media services like media encoding & streaming and custom media players, to get to know the trend.
What’s your view in this HTML5 vs. Flash debate?
The war between HTML5 and Flash is similar to the browser wars of the 90′s. Zeitbyte doubts that one will become the “industry standard.” Similar to the browser wars, the best tool needs to be selected on a project basis depending on the needs and goals of a client. This forces developers to spend more time making sure a feature will work with both Flash and HTML5, which is tedious work, but financially rewarding.
Both Flash and HTML5 have their own advantages and drawbacks:
Despite these initial hurdles, Zeitbyte remains confident that HTML5 has the potential to reach similar functionality to Flash. Javascript and CSS programmers are easier and cheaper to hire. With so many people working on implementing players in HTML5, there could be a new generation of player design. This could prove to be a very interesting time in the evolution of the media player.
Have you started development with HTML5?
Zeitbyte is currently conducting internal research and experimentation using HTML5 for its players. ZB has set up basic, prototype video players using HTML5 and was successful in streaming non-live content. The question is, when is this the better solution to use for clients? There are different protocols for streaming live video using HTML5. There currently are not any live apps for this service, and Zeitbyte is currently doing research and experimentation to see if this is possible. The company is also working with an iPhone/iPad app developer to create an app for live streaming video. Zeitbyte is also working on putting content on Android based phones.
At this point, in Zeitbyte’s opinion, the streaming of video using HTML5 on the iPad is more of a promotional and marketing tool for companies. The consumer and business demand is not yet there requiring this format. Zeitbyte has no plans to abandon Flash, and will continue to operate as a “platform agnostic” shop. Clients are not yet requesting one format or the other, but are instead inquiring about both.
Would HTML5 help standardizing web? What needs to be done to ensure it does?
HTML5 will help standardize the web, but a standard does not guarantee that each browser will obey the standard and not fall prey to the temptation to ‘extend’ the standard. We saw this a lot in the late 90′s where each browser manufacturer was trying to improve their browser and did not want to wait for their new feature to be included in the official standard (i’m looking at you Microsoft).
Regarding video, many of the solutions depend on a mixture of javascript and css. The javascript engines of the different browsers are not the same, so you will see differences in behavior. We try to use jQuery as much as possible, but another javascript library could pass it.
I do not think that the big businesses who drive (and fund) most browser development want to see one standard. They each want to have features that show that their browser is better than the competition. Microsoft, Apple and Google all have a lot riding on their browsers and it is hard for me to imagine that they will not try to push the boundaries of what is accepted in the HTML5 standard. It is worth mentioning that the HTML5 standard is currently a ‘draft’ and is still evolving.
What role would Flash play in the future?
Depending on how Flash (Adobe) plays their cards I think they will play a large role in future video player development. One place they can really make a difference is in secure streaming and DRM. But I think there will always be a place at the table for Flash. A lot of work has gone into making Flash and there are many skilled developers out there who can make it sing. One of the advantages of using Flash for a development house is that they do not have to expose their source code with Flash. If you where to develop in javascript/css anybody can look at your source code and steal it. Advertising agencies and cutting edge Flash shops have a vested interest in keeping their trade secrets secret.
What would happen to less popular plugins like Silverlight?
It sounds to me like Microsoft is giving up on Silverlight. I was very surprised to read about their support for html5 and h264. http://blogs.msdn.com/b/ie/archive/2010/04/29/html5-video.aspx
What would developers prefer?
It is difficult to answer this for ‘all’ developers. A flash developer is going to prefer something much different than a Python developer. In general though I think most developers would like to develop new features rather than adapt current feature to the specifics of multiple browsers. Anybody who has ever had to deal with writing CSS so it can be views in Firefox and IE will backup how horrible and unsatisfying that process is. Developers by their nature want to tackle new problems. HTML5 will give a whole generation of open-source developers the ability to try their hand at video and audio players. This could usher in a whole new generation of players, which is a very good thing.
Developers also have to be concerned with money. It still remains to be seen if clients will pay extra to have their players done in Flash and HTML5. Will they expect the developer to do the same work for both environments at what used to be paid for one player? If the budgets don’t expand it is hard to see how the players will improve. What we have seen so far is that clients will pay for a full featured flash player and be happy with a basic HTML5 player. It remains to be seen how this will play out.
Zeitbyte (www.zeitbyte.com) provides digital services including live event webcasting, video production services, custom media players and media encoding/management/streaming to clients including Kenneth Cole, Tommy Hilfiger, Universal Music, Neiman Marcus, UBS and AIG.
Related posts:
