YouTube Ditches Flash For HTML5 Video By Default

An anonymous reader writes: YouTube today announced it has finally stopped using Adobe Flash by default. The site now uses its HTML5 video player by default in Google's Chrome, Microsoft's IE11, Apple's Safari 8, and in beta versions of Mozilla's Firefox browser. At the same time, YouTube is now also defaulting to its HTML5 player on the web. In fact, the company is deprecating the "old style" Flash object embeds and its Flash API, pointing users to the iFrame API instead, since the latter can adapt depending on the device and browser you're using.

Comments

Now if only...

[msobkow]

Now if only Bell Media/CTV here in Canada would do the same. They are the ONLY family of websites I know of that won't work with the Linux versions of Flash, complaining that you need an update because they check for the WINDOWS version numbers.

Re:Now if only...

[Zombie Ryushu]

I had that issue with Pogo Srabble, there are a few work arounds:

1. Use a Hex editor and edit the Version number to one the site likes
2. Use FreshPlayerPlugin with the Chromium version of Flash. That really does work.
3. Use Google Chrome/Chromium.

flash updates

[crgrace]

But, but, who is going to remind me every 36 hours that a new version of flash I need to download (along with crapware) is available?

Re:flash updates

[Mr D from 63]

Java will work hard to make sure you stay annoyed.

3, 2, 1...

[sribe]

Just uninstalled Flash minutes ago. I'd been thinking about it for a while, but this pushed me to take action.

Now if I run into any site that requires it, I'll just go away.

Re: Finaly.

[Midnight Thunder]

Javascript and SVG. How good the authoring applications are for them, on the other hand, I am not sure. Flash, may still have the better authoring tools?

Re:Adobe

[AmiMoJo]

I care. The death of Flash will be celebrated by many. Once YouTube stops using it there will be no reason to even install it any more. No more annoying updates, no more vulnerabilities.

Re:About D%^& time.

[kosmosik]

> Now if google would just announce no more flash allowed in ads, we'd be set.

If you are using Chrome you can set "Click to play" policy for all plugins in chrome://settings/content - as result you won't see any Flash ads (or any other plugins) without clicking on the placeholder. This way you get rid of Flash ads and it is also way more secure to just do not run plugins if you don't explicitly want to. You can also turn on plugins on a white list per site basis.

Re:Adobe

[r1348]

There's still one: porn.

So they've finally fixed Pause & Resume?

[CrashNBrn]

Every time I've tried the "HTML5 video" on YouTube, it would:
1) lose sync, or just stop loading,
2) wouldn't let you pause/resume, and
3) didn't properly cache so you could "rewind" without streaming (download the same bits) again.

Or is YouTube yet another site that's now "Best Viewed in Chrome" (TM) ?

Re:So they've finally fixed Pause & Resume?

[Anonymous Coward]

No, this is Google we're talking about here.

Fantastic Ideas, Half-Assed Implementation, Terrible Follow-Thru, Limited Product Lifetime.

Re:So they've finally fixed Pause & Resume?

[MartinD]

I dunno, the HTML5 feature in my Chrome is so CPU intensive that html5 video stops & stutters constantly. I had to disable html5 in Chrome just to be able to use the utoobz HTML5 isn't old-hardware-friendly. Nevermind that Google keeps taking the useful (for me) features out of chrome.

Re:Adobe

[epyT-R]

Anyone dumb enough to depend on cloud services for critical workflow deserves what they get.

their IDEs (revenue) switching to HTML5

[raymorris]

Adobe doesn't sell the plugin, they sell their development tools. Those development tools are slowly being switched to html5, so Adobe's customers can continue to use them as always.

Re:Anything like Flashblock for HTML5?

[mojo-raisin]

https://chrome.google.com/webs...

Magic Actions for YouTube
Check box the following:
        Stop Autoplay
        Don't stop when in a playlist
        Speed Booster - Better video preloading / buffering

Re:Adobe

[Anonymous Coward]

Porn and girlfriends / boyfriends are not mutually exclusive. Because, y'know, they are people too and might not want to exist simply to replace porn whenever you are in the mood.

Come again?

[SeaFox]

[YouTube] now uses its HTML5 video player by default in Google's Chrome, Microsoft's IE11, Apple's Safari 8, and in beta versions of Mozilla's Firefox browser. At the same time, YouTube is now also defaulting to its HTML5 player on the web.

You mean the web you browse with Google's Chrome, Microsoft's IE11, Apple's Safari 8, and in beta versions of Mozilla's Firefox?
Am I missing something here, or are these sentences completely redundant?

Re: Adobe

[Anonymous Coward]

You comment that the parent is narrow minded and yet your view is equally narrow minded. I'm happily married (10 years now), together 17 years. I enjoyed porn before my marriage, and still enjoy it during my marriage. My wife enjoys it too, often times she'll watch it without me. We have an amazing sex life, but there is no reason that enjoyment of porn can't be a part of that. It provides ideas, fantasy, additional stimulation, an element of "dirtyness" and other elements that should always be welcome in a loving bedroom.

Re:Ads

[mjwx]

All I care about is can we lose the ads?

Actually this is going to make things worse.

When the annoying, music playing, flashing punch the monkey ads were in flash, it was trivial to block them using something like flashblock because you simply stopped the plugin from running.

Now adblockers are going to have to parse the code making it very easy for ads to avoid detection and masquerade as content.