Microsoft Looks to a Future of H.264-Based HTML5 for Web Video Content
Stepping into the Flash debate just hours after Apple CEO Steve Jobs issued his "Thoughts on Flash" letter discussing why Apple has elected not to include support for Adobe's Flash on its iPhone OS devices, Microsoft general manager for Internet Explorer Dean Hachamovitch noted this his company is throwing its weight behind the H.264 standard promoted by Apple for future HTML5 video content.
The future of the web is HTML5. Microsoft is deeply engaged in the HTML5 process with the W3C. HTML5 will be very important in advancing rich, interactive web applications and site design. The HTML5 specification describes video support without specifying a particular video format. We think H.264 is an excellent format. In its HTML5 support, IE9 will support playback of H.264 video only.
Hachamovitch goes on to acknowledge that video on the web today is primarily Flash-based, and while Microsoft continues to work with Adobe on Flash, he also notes that it carries some issues related to reliability, security, and performance.Hachamovitch's comments suggest that while Microsoft recognizes the dominant role played by Flash, it is also looking ahead to the future, where it sees a much more prominent role for HTML5 and H.264, a view shared and being pushed forward by Apple in its decisions and communications.
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23 months ago
Seems like Microsoft is agreeing with Steve Jobs, but phrasing it so as to be more polite towards Adobe.
So, the two major desktop OS developers (Microsoft and Apple) are both pushing to move the internet away from Flash. Hopefully, that also means the end of Microsoft's Silverlight (a plugin which I've so far refused to install; Flash gives me enough trouble as is).
This is great for the future of devices. Flash, being a proprietary technology, is entirely reliant on Adobe's implementation. If Adobe can't get it to perform well, it won't. Thus, Flash for Macs has run terribly for years, and Flash for mobile devices has been endlessly delayed over the past year. The beauty of open standards like HTML5 and the H.264 video codec is that, since they are open, others are free to compete for implementations! Apple's now open-source WebKit rendering engine is one HTML rendering engine (used by Chrome, Safari, and Android's browser), Microsoft's IE is another, Mozilla's Gecko is another, and everyone can compete to make it faster and lighter and run on more platforms.
Meanwhile, every video player competes to play H.264 with less overhead, and video card manufacturers now build hardware acceleration into their cards, allowing H.264 video to be played with absolutely minimal overhead (which is why it works so well on the iPhone without impacting battery life).
Open standards result in competition to increase performance and usability. Flash has simply gotten bulkier and slower over time, because Adobe had no motivation to improve it (as no one else can build a better Flash player) and continued to cram in features. Then when called to port it to mobile devices, suddenly, they're facing a major challenge.
Kudos to Microsoft.
I wonder how Shantanu Narayen will respond to this.
So, the two major desktop OS developers (Microsoft and Apple) are both pushing to move the internet away from Flash. Hopefully, that also means the end of Microsoft's Silverlight (a plugin which I've so far refused to install; Flash gives me enough trouble as is).
This is great for the future of devices. Flash, being a proprietary technology, is entirely reliant on Adobe's implementation. If Adobe can't get it to perform well, it won't. Thus, Flash for Macs has run terribly for years, and Flash for mobile devices has been endlessly delayed over the past year. The beauty of open standards like HTML5 and the H.264 video codec is that, since they are open, others are free to compete for implementations! Apple's now open-source WebKit rendering engine is one HTML rendering engine (used by Chrome, Safari, and Android's browser), Microsoft's IE is another, Mozilla's Gecko is another, and everyone can compete to make it faster and lighter and run on more platforms.
Meanwhile, every video player competes to play H.264 with less overhead, and video card manufacturers now build hardware acceleration into their cards, allowing H.264 video to be played with absolutely minimal overhead (which is why it works so well on the iPhone without impacting battery life).
Open standards result in competition to increase performance and usability. Flash has simply gotten bulkier and slower over time, because Adobe had no motivation to improve it (as no one else can build a better Flash player) and continued to cram in features. Then when called to port it to mobile devices, suddenly, they're facing a major challenge.
Kudos to Microsoft.
I wonder how Shantanu Narayen will respond to this.
23 months ago
They're pushing Silverlight heavily in their Home Server products. You can stream your media over the internet but you'd be limited to Windows or OS X for decent Silverlight support. I don't know much about the Linux variant(s).
The Internet Explorer 9 preview had some colorful features and "better" standards support but it's not going to replace Chrome or FireFox for me.
h.264 playback via dedicated low power hardware is a big must for me.
The Internet Explorer 9 preview had some colorful features and "better" standards support but it's not going to replace Chrome or FireFox for me.
h.264 playback via dedicated low power hardware is a big must for me.
23 months ago
Ouch! that must hurt for Adobe. site developers will slowly begin to move away from flash for their video content I'm sure.
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