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Porn Industry Ready To Drop Flash

An anonymous reader writes "Here's an interesting new angle to the ongoing Flash-HTML5 debate. Digital Playground, one of the major adult film studios, said it would drop Flash today if all browsers were HTML5-ready (*cough*, IE8, *cough*). The company's founder said, 'Flash brings everything to a crawl and has an impact on battery life. With HTML5, there is no reason to show our content in Flash.' Digital Playground also indicated that it does not expect 3-D to gain mass acceptance any time soon."

55 of 249 comments (clear)

  1. Obligatory by JustinRLynn · · Score: 4, Funny

    [insert stupid flash pun]

    1. Re:Obligatory by InsertWittyNameHere · · Score: 5, Funny

      "We're boned." - Adobe's CEO

    2. Re:Obligatory by Snaller · · Score: 4, Funny

      Insert where?

      --
      If Google really cared they would fix Android Chrome to reflow text, instead of discriminating
    3. Re:Obligatory by Captain+Splendid · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Hopefully this will not increase those guys who find it funny to watch this stuff on the train etc.

      Yeah, but this being 2010, you can just scream 'terrorist' and watch him never make that mistake again.

      --
      Linux, you magnificent bastard, I read the fucking manual!
  2. never gonna work by wjh31 · · Score: 4, Funny

    untill you can get all workplaces to upgrade their browsers, the porn industry is never gonna drop flash

    1. Re:never gonna work by yincrash · · Score: 2, Insightful

      the porn industry caters to workplace browsers?

    2. Re:never gonna work by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Think you have it the other way around ... porn has driven tech industry and consumer electronics for a very long time. No other vendor has the power that PORN does , if porn industry unilaterally decided tomorrow to adopt HTML5 .. in very short time, every computer on the planet would have upgraded their browser. period.

       

    3. Re:never gonna work by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

      the porn industry caters to workplace browsers?

      Believe it or not, there are workplaces (like mine) where the porn industry is a large part of our business...

    4. Re:never gonna work by daremonai · · Score: 5, Funny

      We're aware of that, Senator.

    5. Re:never gonna work by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

      the porn industry caters to workplace browsers?

      Believe it or not, there are workplaces (like mine) where the porn industry is a large part of our business...

      Get back to work regulating oil drilling, fucker.

    6. Re:never gonna work by Omegium · · Score: 5, Informative

      Yes. The porn factor is an urban legend. The real reason was that VHS had two hour tapes, and betamax one hour. People choose the ability to record complete sport matches over picture quality.

    7. Re:never gonna work by bonch · · Score: 3, Informative

      This is a popular meme with no factual basis. It began with the claim that the porn industry chose VHS over Betamax and that's why Betamax lost, but that is not the reason it lost. People just like to repeat this because it sounds ironic and amusing to explain to people that some taboo industry is the driver of technology, but the truth is that there is no historical basis to make that claim.

    8. Re:never gonna work by bonch · · Score: 2, Funny

      The porn industry hasn't led anyone (VHS didn't win because of the porn industry). If anything, they've always been behind the curve. Porn is about quick, ultra-cheap production--sometimes with nothing more than handheld camcorders. The industry held off on going HD for years because it was more expensive and required more work to make the performers not look horrifying.

    9. Re:never gonna work by twidarkling · · Score: 4, Funny
      --
      Canada: The US's more awesome sibling.
    10. Re:never gonna work by UnknowingFool · · Score: 2, Informative

      The industry isn't a huge driver as much as they were an early adopter of technologies that later became mainstream. Early adoption helps technologies gain the funding they need to survive until they get acceptance. For example, the industry was involved with streaming media, secure internet credit card payments before many brick and mortar stores had a presence on the internet. Granted some of the specific implementation of technologies adopted may not have survived like the general ideas were there.

      --
      Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
    11. Re:never gonna work by Lucidus · · Score: 4, Insightful

      People have somehow become confused about this over the past three decades. The correct and verifiable historical claim is that porn drove rapid initial adoption of video recorders in general. Porn has been a major factor in the introduction and acceptance of a number of technologies.

    12. Re:never gonna work by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

      No factual basis? The porn industry did not choose VHS. Sony banned porn on Betamax. This is a known fact, and they almost did the same thing with Blu-Ray. If you think porn was not a factor, then obviously you never saw those walled off areas in just about every video rental store in the 1980s. Rows apon rows of VHS porn, and not a beta tape in sight!

      Sony on Betamax:
      http://www.mediacollege.com/video/format/compare/betamax-vhs.html

      Sony on Blu-ray:
      http://www.eetimes.com/news/latest/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=197000093
      (This one is called "Sony denies preventing porn on Blu-Ray". Uh huh, just like they denied putting rootkits on PCs.)

    13. Re:never gonna work by commodore64_love · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Can I get a job there? I'm sure I'd enjoy the work.

      But seriously, I wish people would stop overestimating porn's influence. Its annual revenue is less than 1% of total internet revenue. Its perceived impact on the world (or technology) is no more real than a 12 inch long penis, or the "18 year old" models that are actually 27.

      --
      "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - historian Evelyn Beatrice Hall
    14. Re:never gonna work by Vancorps · · Score: 3, Interesting

      The reality is that you have come to your conclusion based on something other than reality. Further reality is that porn producers online were some of the first people to introduce social media and pioneered true network security. Geeks like their porn and have found thousands of ways to distribute it and secure it with many different business models driving it's success. The very first websites online that made profit were porn sites.

      The meme didn't come out of nowhere, it is based in reality. While the porn industry doesn't have control over the development of technology they do act as a good guide for what technology will actually get deployed. Hollywood was having lots of problems going HD due to blemishes showing up that couldn't be easily airbrushed like in print media. It was the porn industry that solved the problem and propelled HD into a true platform. The industry was forced at first to adopt HD-DVD but now license restrictions from Sony have been lifted and BD production is in full swing.

      I think you are hard pressed to paint the porn industry as anti-technology as that is simply completely utterly not the case. It's a bit like trying to argue that water isn't wet. They didn't hold off HD because they didn't like the platform, they embraced it fully actually and had to wait until they could solve the problems like anyone else that went HD had to do. Even in my industry which is auctions we ran into a lot of problems going HD that held us back for a few years. We're in no way shape or form anti-technology, we just believe that the technology we deploy should help us do our jobs better and reach more people. When the technology matured enough to become beneficial we went and adopted it.

    15. Re:never gonna work by E+IS+mC(Square) · · Score: 2, Funny

      If the latest iphone feature (that the phone works only if you hold it in right hand) is any proof, whatever porn you can watch on your iphone is useless for majority. Just because you are lefthanded does not mean everybody else is too.

  3. Apple by hazmat2k · · Score: 5, Interesting

    READ: "We realise the iPhone market is massive and we want iPr0n portable"

    1. Re:Apple by Professor_UNIX · · Score: 4, Funny

      The iPad is a HORRIBLE porn viewing device. There's no easy way to set it down to view hands-free and if you're holding it... well... let's just say it's slippery enough as it is without any fluids involved.

  4. The Porn Industry is never wrong... by Pyrus.mg · · Score: 5, Funny

    So Flash really is almost dead and 3D really is a just gimmick. Now this doesn't seem like such a shitty Monday.

    1. Re:The Porn Industry is never wrong... by MBGMorden · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Regardless of what people may think of them, for some reason the porn industry does seem to have a much better picture of technology and how to utilize it versus the more mainstream market.

      Back in the days of VHS and such naturally there are good examples, but even in modern times it's clear. The porn industry was doing online distribution of content long before mainstream media was. The few porn companies that were utilizing DRM early on seem to have dropped the idea. Heck it seems like the de-facto method of distribution for porn these days has already shifted from DVD's to online subscription based website chains that release daily updates (typically a scene per day) - NaughtyAmerica.com is a perfect example. Every now and then they'll take their online content and release it in a DVD compilation for the luddites, but the main distribution method is online.

      Now, I realize that PART of this is that porn is unbelievably cheap to produce (particularly with the rise of "gonzo" style where there's no longer even any attempt at acting or a story - they usually just say "Hi!" and get down to business), but still, I think there are lessons to be learned here.

      --
      "People who think they know everything are very annoying to those of us who do."-Mark Twain
    2. Re:The Porn Industry is never wrong... by Locke2005 · · Score: 4, Funny

      On the plus side, the 3D glasses do keep you from getting stuff in your eyes!

      --
      I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
  5. No 3d? by Talderas · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Why would 3D gain faster acceptance? Who wouldn't want tits to basically jump out of your screen and nearly hit you in the face?

    --
    "Lack of speed can be overcome. In the worst case by patience." --Znork
    1. Re:No 3d? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      For tits, yeah, that'd be great. But there are often also dicks.

    2. Re:No 3d? by ProppaT · · Score: 5, Funny

      It's not the boobs we're worried about...

      --
      Wise men say, "Forgiveness is divine, but never pay full price for late pizza."
    3. Re:No 3d? by SolemnDwarf · · Score: 4, Funny

      Why would 3D gain faster acceptance? Who wouldn't want tits to basically jump out of your screen and nearly hit you in the face?

      I'm already going blind. I don't need a migraine to go with it.

    4. Re:No 3d? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      As someone who has actually seen a 3-d porn movie (in the theater, no less), let me assure that 3-d "money shots" are REALLY NOT something you want to experience.

    5. Re:No 3d? by NFN_NLN · · Score: 4, Insightful

      For tits, yeah, that'd be great. But there are often also dicks.

      You're over thinking it. From now on all 3D porn is limited to lesbian orgies, I think everyone can agree on that.

    6. Re:No 3d? by luder · · Score: 3, Funny

      You crazy? Some people already got pregnant because of 3D porn! Won't you think of the children?! So much for abstinence...

  6. Yeah that sounds nice - but using what codec? by Superken7 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Yeah, everyone seems to be ready to drop flash for video playback, but what codec will their videos be encoded with?
    As it stands today:
    - Use h264 and all firefox users will be left off
    - use theora and almost everyone will be left off
    - use VP8 and most browsers won't support it
    - use X and Y browser will not support it.

    use flash and... 99% browsers will support it. Having said that, I hate flash, but I guess the world is not ready for HTML5 just yet, mainly because of the codecs issue.

    Lets hope VP8 is a success! :-)

    1. Re:Yeah that sounds nice - but using what codec? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      You realize that HTML5 allows a content provider to provide his videos in *all* formats at the same time? The browser decides which one it picks and plays.
      Granted. This consumes more space on the server and costs time for encoding. But should it really be that much of a problem?

    2. Re:Yeah that sounds nice - but using what codec? by ahankinson · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Easy. Use h264, with a fallback to using a Flash player to play the same MP4 file. Firefox will be the only browser that will fall back to Flash, while all the others will present theirs in h264.

    3. Re:Yeah that sounds nice - but using what codec? by jonbryce · · Score: 3, Funny

      You will be able to install a third party theora codec for ie. You will presumably be able to get a firefox plugin for h.264. Chrome supports both. Opera users can install a different browser.

    4. Re:Yeah that sounds nice - but using what codec? by spitzak · · Score: 2, Funny

      Both IE and Firefox are pulling asshole arrogant moves by not making their HTML5 video playback call a library where codecs can be added. In both cases it is an attempt to promote their codec of choice by making alternatives impossible.

      Although we are used to Microsoft doing this crap, it is annoying to see the supposedly "open" Firefox do it too.

    5. Re:Yeah that sounds nice - but using what codec? by Randle_Revar · · Score: 2, Insightful

      WebM+Flash fallback

  7. One has to wonder by cognoscentus · · Score: 4, Funny

    What the batteries are for...?

  8. I thought I heard Jobs say... by tomcode · · Score: 5, Funny

    That the iPad would revolutionize online porn as we know it.

    Also, it wipes clean with a damp cloth.

    --
    f u cn rd ths u cn gt a gd jb n cmptr prgmng
  9. One guy says... by sweatyboatman · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Wikipedia says this company is pretty influential in the porn industry, though not the only player. I suppose it's sort-of interesting to hear what he thinks. Though there's no real meat to the article, it's almost like an anti-Flash astro-turf.

    I think all content producers are generally looking forward to moving to HTML5 video. That doesn't mean that Flash is dead. It could potentially mean that in 3-5 years Flash will not be used for video. Right now, Flash is pretty much the only option. In a year or two, HTML5 video will be a reasonable competitor. After that, well I guess it's up to Adobe to figure out ways of making their product more appealing than the baseline (which is HTML5). But they have a dominant position now, support of major players, and seem committed to improving their product. It's hard to discount them on the word of one porn producer.

    --
    It breaks my pluginses, my precious!
    1. Re:One guy says... by Rockoon · · Score: 3, Interesting

      I think all content producers are generally looking forward to moving to HTML5 video.

      Without DRM, most content producers arent even entertaining the thought.

      --
      "His name was James Damore."
  10. Fortunately by spamuell · · Score: 5, Funny

    the two minutes of battery life that my N900 can run flash for have so far proven sufficient.

    1. Re:Fortunately by TheRaven64 · · Score: 2, Funny

      Okay, seriously, do N900 users have some inferiority/persecution complex that compels them to crowbar the fact that they use an N900 into every topic they can, regardless of whether or not it actually even vaguely fits the discussion at hand?

      Nope, actually both N900 users are very quiet and restrained people. The N900 fanboys who can't afford it but pretend they've own one are quite obnoxious though.

      --
      I am TheRaven on Soylent News
  11. ..Nonsense by Archon-X · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Seriously, this is just nonsese.

    1. Digital Playground are nobodies in the online porn market. Yes, they produce a lot of content, but it's all for the DVD market.
    2. One studio saying something isn't representative of an entire industry. It's actually called a 'Press Release'
    3. The vast majority of adult sites allow you to pick your poison in terms of video. Streaming is normally done via flash [.x/h264 mp4 being the norm], and allowing downloads in AVI/DivX/WMV/MPEG formats.
    4. What porn does provide is a solid statistics cross-section of internet users - and from the figures I see, flash usage is 96% or higher. The vast majority of purchasing users aren't high tech, they don't use noscript, they don't think flash is evil.
    5. Porn (and any commercial) sites aim to make their sites as available to as many people as possible. Forcing users to upgrade browsers, attempting to change browsing habits, etc, is only going to lower the bottom line.

  12. And if my aunt had a dick she'd by my uncle... by DarkHelmet · · Score: 5, Informative

    I work in the Adult Industry on a Content Management System for paysites. We just demonstrated support for the iPad at the recent Xbiz show using H.264.

    It's fine and dandy that one company has proclaimed that they'd get rid of Flash given the chance. That doesn't say much for the rest of the industry, now, does it?

    I know there are a lot of Open Source Advocates on Slashdot, but let's face it: Paysite operators are in the game to maximize their profits. This is done by:

    a) Reaching as many people and devices as possible.
    b) Decreasing bandwidth
    c) Minimizing disk space and hardware.

    They don't care about the war between WebM and H.264. They only care about having their sites work with as many people as possible. In this case, HTML5 brings iPad support to their sites.

    The problem here ultimately is that the codec war with HTML5 is still undecided. If you're going to use HTML5's video element exclusively, you're going to end up being FORCED to use two formats of video for all the browsers - one for WebM and one for H.264.

    That's all well and good, but multiple formats takes up space. Granted a lot of pay sites offer multiple download options like WMV, DivX and Quicktime, but when it comes to watching a full movie in a browser, only one format is needed here - H.264. Let the browsers that support H.264 use the video tag. Let browsers that don't use a Flash player backup.

    This still won't change after WebM has support within Flash because of the iPhone and iPad. As the mobile arena heats up, WebM will start to appear lacking without Apple support. Even though the iPhone is a small percentage of the total phone market, it says a lot when the CEO has one and wants his websites to work on it.

    So in sum - flash isn't going anywhere. It will remain as a backup player for 5 years mininum.

    --
    /^[A-Z0-9._%+-]+@[A-Z0-9.-]+\.[A-Z]{2,4}$/i
    1. Re:And if my aunt had a dick she'd by my uncle... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      Flash could disappear in a couple of months with a couple of browser rollouts.

      And the simple task of converting all the current Flash developers to HTML5.

      I know! It all sounds so simple, doesn't it? That's the beauty of the whole idea: All we need to do is get the decade or so worth of Flash game websites out there (Armor Games, NewGrounds, Kongregate, etc) and Flash-based cartoons to just suddenly convert their entire libraries to another language, architecture, set of art tools, set of resources, and set of formats. And for the lazy ones, we can easily run them through a JS Flash emulator at roughly 5% of the speed and zero hardware acceleration, because seriously, who needs it to run that fast? Should be all done in a couple hours, globally, once I say so, starting......... now! Go!

  13. Re:Porn Industry Ready To Drop Flesh by Americano · · Score: 2, Informative

    Hopefully never, at least fully. I'd much prefer real, natural-looking girls to the cosmetic surgery-enhanced freaks that some of the porn stars have turned into today, and would be very disappointed to see it turn into a bunch of Sims-style "animated" bullshit.

  14. Insightful, as well as interesting by jamrock · · Score: 2, Interesting

    "We realise the iPhone market is massive and we want iPr0n portable"

    Spot on. Start-ups are already advertising for girls for iPhone 4 FaceTime video sex chat services. From a Craigslist ad:

    iPhone 4 FaceTime Video Sex Line Chat - free iPhone 4 (NYC/LI) Date: 2010-06-27, 12:06PM EDT Reply to: job-dqsyj-1813619670@craigslist.org

    Starting an online interactive pornography firm where woman will use the iphone 4 to video chat with potential customers on a pay as you go basis. Hours are flexible, pay will increase as the business builds. Woman will receive a free iphone 4 to use as personal time when not working. Woman will talk to potential clients and chat with them and perform various acts as desired by clients. All information will be confidential.

  15. iPad ready porn by gig · · Score: 2, Informative

    Many porn sites are already iPad ready. I've heard (cough cough) that the experience is much better.

    http://youporn.com/

    http://pornhub.com/

    http://extremetube.com/

    A big part of this is how cheap and easy it is to do HTML5+H.264 video. The video editing tools all have H.264 encoders, including batch encoding at least in Final Cut, and a standalone encoder is $29. Of course any HTML coder can learn the video tag. Flash is unreasonably complicated by comparison and also $599 a seat.

    1. Re:iPad ready porn by nyctopterus · · Score: 3, Informative

      Looking at it the other way, Flash SWFs import the very same h.264 file that you can serve raw. Adding h.264 support is as easy as serving up the file you already had without the Flash wrapper. It's a no-brainer.

  16. Re:I still don't get it by ledow · · Score: 2, Informative

    Because instead of having a Turing-capable, complete independent virtual machine sitting in a browser just to look at a few pictures, I can just have a "link" to a bog-standard video that plays just like the old "embed" tags for a standardised video codec that people can include direct in the browser. Instead of the security nightmare of constant Flash updates, forced toolbar installations, breakage of old Flash sites just because you upgrade to new Flash versions, integration with webcams, microphones and other shit I can just have: a "video" tag that specifies... well.. the URL of a video, that any player *I* choose can integrate with my web browser and play.

    It also doesn't slow to a dead crawl just because you load up a couple of sites that have video on them because everything is fighting to run its own code to show a "play" button on top of the video in a fancy 3D, alpha-blended, anti-aliased, sound-effect generated way. Basically, it makes everything simpler, like back in the day when you could just say "embed this MIDI" (although that was a hideous disaster, admittedly) and stops relying on the need for a non-portable, third-party, closed source plugin that spends 90% of its time NOT showing video.

  17. Re:Wow... by Locke2005 · · Score: 2, Funny

    Sure, but then all your porn is in 30-second out takes, which leaves little room for clever dialog, plot development, character development, or artistic camera work!

    Wait... am I the only one that actually watches these movies all the way to the end?

    --
    I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
  18. Re:Porn Industry Ready To Drop Flesh by sleeping143 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I don't care if I sound like a troll: Fuck Avatar.

  19. Re:Porn Industry Ready To Drop Flesh by Archades54 · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Not sure if you realize but amateur porn has taken off quite a bit, they're as real as you can get, actual couples having sex in loving relationships (but of course they are still voyeurous and adventurous for letting you watch). It's far better than the shit the pro's have, and with easier access to higher quality cameras it's getting even better in quality.

    What scares the producers is that people release it for free, for the love of sharing it so expect more and more in the future as attitudes are more relaxed and accepted.

    --
    If your neighbours roof is flying past your window, you know it's cyclone season.