YouTube Software Engineer Weighs in on Flash and HTML5
Balancing the need for an open web and user needs.
John Harding, Software Engineer for YouTube, threw has hat into the Flash/HTML5 debate giving a point-by-point breakdown of the advantages and disadvantages of the free and open <video> tag provided within HTML5. His conclusion: HTML5 is the way of the future, but the format has a ways to go before it can be fully adopted by YouTube.
Harding's first issue with HTML5 video is the lack of a standard format. YouTube uses h.264, but the licensing issues have limited browser support. This led Google to create the WebM project, which uses the recently opened VP8 codec as a new open standard, but the codec is in its infancy, in need of more support and additional improvements and optimizations before it can become viable.
Harding's second issue with HTML5 is the lack of fine control over buffering and self-adjusting video quality based on connection speed. HTML5 doesn't address streaming protocols, yet.
"Flash Player addresses these needs by letting applications manage the downloading and playback of video via Actionscript in conjunction with either HTTP or the RTMP video streaming protocol," Harding said.
Furthermore, HTML5 doesn't offer content protection, something that Flash offers through the RTMPE protocol. And Flash packages and embeds content securely, something HTML5 has yet to fully accomplish and therefore limits it from being embedded on other sites.
Harding's final two issues are relatively small. HTML5 doesn't support fullscreen mode and is just beginning to offer camera and microphone access. He ends his post by championing HTML5's cross-platform compatibility and championed Flash as the best platform for YouTube's video distribution requirements.
Issue 268/2023
Buy this issue as a PDF
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Find SysAdmin Jobs
News
-
LibreOffice 7.5 has Arrived and is Loaded with New Features and Improvements
The favorite office suite of the Linux community has a new release that includes some visual refreshing and new features across all modules.
-
The Next Major Release of Elementary OS Has Arrived
It's been over a year since the developers of elementary OS released version 6.1 (Jólnir) but they've finally made their latest release (Horus) available with a renewed focus on the user.
-
KDE Plasma 5.27 Beta Is Ready for Testing
The latest beta iteration of the KDE Plasma desktop is now available and includes some important additions and fixes.
-
Netrunner OS 23 Is Now Available
The latest version of this Linux distribution is now based on Debian Bullseye and is ready for installation and finally hits the KDE 5.20 branch of the desktop.
-
New Linux Distribution Built for Gamers
With a Gnome desktop that offers different layouts and a custom kernel, PikaOS is a great option for gamers of all types.
-
System76 Beefs Up Popular Pangolin Laptop
The darling of open-source-powered laptops and desktops will soon drop a new AMD Ryzen 7-powered version of their popular Pangolin laptop.
-
Nobara Project Is a Modified Version of Fedora with User-Friendly Fixes
If you're looking for a version of Fedora that includes third-party and proprietary packages, look no further than the Nobara Project.
-
Gnome 44 Now Has a Release Date
Gnome 44 will be officially released on March 22, 2023.
-
Nitrux 2.6 Available with Kernel 6.1 and a Major Change
The developers of Nitrux have officially released version 2.6 of their Linux distribution with plenty of new features to excite users.
-
Vanilla OS Initial Release Is Now Available
A stock GNOME experience with on-demand immutability finally sees its first production release.