We take a look back at what was happening to video and Flash Player in a blog from 2011. We’ve included a few updates and links to keep things current.
In November of 2011, Adobe announced that it would stop developments of Flash Player plug-ins for mobile devices. This confirmed rumours that the computer software company was bowing to pressure from the up-and-coming HTML5. The announcement will have a big effect on the industry. Apple led the charge against Flash when they said iOS devices wouldn’t use the software platform. Let’s give this all a bit of context with an explainer on how cell phones work.
Fading Flash Player
The Flash Player has been the standard for some time. It was critical to the explosion of videos on the internet. Before Flash Player, computer users needed several different programs to watch online videos. Even then, the quality wasn’t very good.
If Flash was such a big deal, why has HTML5 taking over? The problem is that Flash can be a difficult program to work with—using it to get web content onto mobile devices can be a big pain. Some also feel that Flash doesn’t have the same capacity and quick loading time of other programs.
HTML5 to the rescue?
HTML5 was Flash Player’s main competition and it has now become the standard. Most would say that it was Apple’s use of HTML5 on its iPhone and iPad that accelerated development. Steve Jobs was even quoted as saying, “Flash simply isn’t reliable, secure or fast enough to be used on mobile devices”.
So is HTML5 really better than Flash Player? It has its own issues as a video player, such as how different browsers support different HTML5 video formats. And HTML5 doesn’t include digital rights management technology, which means it can’t prevent copying. Because of that shortcoming, many content owners prefer protective formats such as Flash or Sliverlight. Wait. What’s Silverlight? We think an explainer is a great way to answer your question.
The Future, Including 5G
Even without Flash Player, the future of online video is looking pretty darn good. A Cisco study predicts that by 2020, 84% of all internet traffic will be video. At Key West Video, we can format videos in any way a client requests. However, we typically provide MP4 files. These are standard for any kind of use from website to mobile. Speaking of mobile video, 5G is just around the corner, so video on your phone will be looking better than ever! Make sure you don’t miss out on the future. Call us today to talk about your options for creating a great online video.
