Why will html5 dominate online video?

Media such as tapes, CDs, and Flash all require players. These media are dying or are already dead. Just as CDs replaced tapes as a more efficient way to play music, digital files will replace CDs. By analogy, HTML5 will also make Flash a thing of the past.

The confrontation between HTML5 and Flash has been a hot topic among web developers for many years, but no matter which side you stand on, it is undeniable that the impact of HTML5 on videos and websites is real. .

For online videos, HTML5 has two things that Flash cannot do: mobile capabilities and semantic markup. The growth of mobile engagement; the surge in interactive video for entertainment, advertising, and shopping; and the open architecture of HTML5 that combines all technologies to create the next generation of websites, Flash will finally join the ranks of "retired technologies."

　Mobile Kills Flash Stars

Since the introduction of HTML5 to the industry, mobility has been touted as one of the biggest advantages of this publishing language. Since many iOS and Android devices do not support Flash, Flash is more restricted by PCs. According to a market survey data, PC shipments fell by 10% between 2011 and 2013.

　 Data from IAB.net shows that half of the population in the United States has a mobile phone with Internet access, and 1/5 of web browsing is completed on a mobile device. These data will continue to grow every month. In contrast, companies that make Flash interactive videos are losing a lot of users because they can't make the videos run on mobile devices.

For example, singer Bob Dylan’s popular interactive video “Like a Rolling Stone” was released in November last year. Millions of PC viewers shared the video through a TV-like interface. However, the user experience of opening videos on mobile phones or tablets is not so pleasant. Android users received a reminder message asking them to experience the full video on their PC; while iOS users were asked to download an app. And this video cannot be played repeatedly in web browsers on mobile phones and tablets.

　 If 1/5 of web browsing occurs on mobile clients, it means that 1/5 of users have to endure a fragmented user experience when logging into video websites on mobile devices.

The advertising and shopping industries have also begun to take notice. The importance of mobile and the limitations of Flash technology in online video.

The U.S. Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) recently issued an open letter to advertisers. This letter was also signed by several companies including AOL, Conde Nast, Forbes, Google, the New York Times, and the Wall Street Journal. Co-signed by major publishing houses and companies. They are asking marketers to implement HTML5 standards in mobile ads so the ads can run on different platforms. To ensure paid ads "display flawlessly on all screens," the letter said, ads should be developed in technical formats that are compatible with mobile devices. "And the open, industry-standard universal format is HTML5." The letter reads.

　 Sizmek’s annual global benchmark report “Breaking Boundaries: User Engagement Goes Global” stated that the shift to mobile-friendly formats using HTML5 technology was one of the most important changes in the digital advertising industry in 2013.

This report reveals important trends in mobile advertising by investigating 913 billion ad impressions worldwide in 2013. The report also stated that digital advertising in HTML5 format is expected to continue to grow in 2014 as the industry adopts more stringent publishing standards to ensure seamless switching between screens.

　 Playing advertisements on various platforms is not only very important for mainstream publishers, but also for users, making it convenient and convenient for them to click on advertisements to purchase goods without any trouble. However, due to the limitations of Flash technology, users sometimes feel uncomfortable.

In a recent frustrating online shopping experience, our VP of Marketing tried to find a vacuum cleaner on Amazon using his iPad. Just when he was about to buy a product that cost more than 400 US dollars, the video of this product could not be played due to the lack of Flash plug-in. Amazon also lost an order for this.

So, why doesn’t Amazon’s video use HTML5 technology?

　 Yes, developers may be struggling to adapt to this new standard, and there is no doubt that Flash development is far less difficult than HTML5.

　A digital transformation trend

Market research company Forrester mentioned in a report titled "Improving Enterprise Mobility: Future Technologies for Future Development, Delivery and Engagement Needs" that HTML5 applications require more development time than It is expected to be 59% more, and the extra time will mainly be used to test or solve some technical problems.

　HTML5 itself is not perfect yet and is still in the early stages of development. Fortunately, talented technology companies are focusing on solving these technical problems-using SaaS platforms, developers only need to focus on their creativity.

Even if there are technical difficulties, they cannot stop the enthusiasm of companies and game developers. A report released by Sencha, an open source web application framework provider, stated that more than 60% of enterprise application developers have begun to shift to HTML5 and hybrid technologies, and more than 70% of HTML5 and hybrid technology developers are adopting more HTML5 technologies this year.

　Mobile video is not the only beneficiary

In the gaming industry, games based on HTML5 technology are also booming. Spil Games in the Netherlands takes the HTML5 technology route. The company plans to launch more than 1,000 HTML5 games by the end of this year. Spil Games has published more than 5,000 Flash games on the website, but they cannot run on tablets or mobile phones.

According to data released by the blog Digital Buzz, 32% of the usage time of iOS and Android devices is spent playing games.

　With HTML5 technology, developers can create games that can run on all devices. Look at what Google has created with its Google Chrome experiments and website technologies like Canvas.

Another advantage of HTML5: Search engine optimization

Mobility is the most significant advantage of HTML5 over Flash, but the functional advantages of HTML5 in semantic structure are equally important for interactive videos.

　 Web crawlers and search engines cannot see the inside of Flash. Flash is a sealed container, no one can peek inside it,

Why is this important? With the semantic structure of interactive video, you can leverage HTML5 to create projects that web crawlers can understand. But Flash can only give you a black box, a Flash video without any extra information.

　Creating videos according to semantic structure allows web robots to crawl any distinctive video clip. It will obtain the information that any standard web video has, such as tags, and will be easily crawled. Correspondingly, the video will rank higher and higher in the search results.

Content creators who have not adopted HTML5 technology are already falling behind. If they do not implement the HTML5 standard, they will soon be buried in the dust. The good news is that some companies are focused on unlocking the greatest benefits of HTML5 without any technical obstacles. Those manufacturers who still think Flash is the mainstream technology for online video should really think carefully.