We have waited a long time for this and we can finally report that YouTube has officially dropped Flash support in favor of HTML5 for its Web Player. Yes you read that correctly, HTML5 is now the default for the YouTube Web Player. We have all the information you need coming up in this post.
Adobe's Flash platform has been losing its appeal in the mobile and desktop arena for quite some time now. It was nearly three years ago when we saw Android pull the plug on Flash when Android 4.1 Jelly Bean was released. Apple, more specifically Steve Jobs, had always been pretty vocal about the shortcomings surrounding Adobe Flash. He often mentioned the problems with performance.
In recent years we have seen the emergence of HTML5 with many software developers, particularly in the gaming industry, opting to use this platform instead of Flash. It was the Flash based Web Player for YouTube that allowed it to skyrocket to become the top streaming company in the world today. HTML5 has been touted as a far superior technology that removes all issues that developers seem to have with Adobe Flash.
We know that YouTube has been experimenting with HTML5 for a number of years now, with the streaming giant offering playback on a number of platforms, including iOS that doesn't support Flash. However, with HTML5 not meeting the website's requirements at the time, the changeover didn't happen. Almost five years later, advancement has led to HTML5 being incorporated as the default player in most modern browsers and we are more than happy to see YouTube making their changeover official.
HTML5 is superior to Flash and if you are wondering why it has become the leading technology behind the player on YouTube, we can tell you that it offers higher video quality at a reduced bandwidth by as much as 35 percent. Also the adaptive Bitrate for streaming has reduced buffering by more than 50 percent globally and as much as 80 percent on heavily congested networks. That is quite a significant difference wouldn't you say.
YouTube will now be using HTML5 as the default player in Chrome, Internet Explorer 11, Safari 8, and the beta releases of Mozilla's Firefox browser. HTML5 is now being used in smart Tvs and other streaming devices as well and in order to reap the benefits that extend beyond modern desktops, YouTube realized that Flash has to go. What do you think of this move? Are you happy to see HTML5 replacing Flash? Let us know in the comment below.
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