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Youtube now doing H.264 beta
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Sealobo
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Jan 21, 2010, 11:43 AM
 
     
nonhuman
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Jan 21, 2010, 12:04 PM
 
I can't wait for Flash to die. YouTube, I think, could be a huge driving force behind migrating to HTML 5 from Flash.
     
mdc
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Jan 21, 2010, 12:30 PM
 
Very good news, but one issue I've noticed is that if the video is available in YouTube HD I get the regular version using HTML5.

I use ClickToFlash to block Flash and one feature it has is that on YouTube it allows you to use the QuickTime stream. ClickToFlash is able to offer you the QuickTime HD stream if it's available, so I'm not sure why YouTube HTML5 is still giving the lower quality stream. I assume it's just part of it being in beta and I'm sure i'll be worked out.

I can't wait until this and YouTube's Feather has work done on their beta and then YouTube will be rid of Flash their not-too-nice-UI. The only thing that stops me from using feather right now is that I can't find a way to watch the videos in a large video window, they all seem to take the smaller size.
All we'd have to do after that is get rid of comments and YouTube will be great.
     
voodoo
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Jan 21, 2010, 12:30 PM
 
Joined the beta, seems to be working fine.

I prefer this to Flash.
I could take Sean Connery in a fight... I could definitely take him.
     
tooki
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Jan 21, 2010, 01:50 PM
 
Now if only the HTML5 folks could finally ditch MKV and adopt h.264 across the board.
     
mdc
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Jan 21, 2010, 02:43 PM
 
Hopefully this changes Mozilla's mind and they support h.264.
     
TETENAL
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Jan 21, 2010, 03:49 PM
 
Originally Posted by tooki View Post
Now if only the HTML5 folks could finally ditch MKV and adopt h.264 across the board.
Matroska is not used at all so far.

And the HTML5 folks aren't the ones to ditch alternative codecs, since they do not specify any. Browsers can implement whatever codecs they want. It's up to the Mozilla folks to add H.264 and pony up for the royalties.
     
voodoo
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Jan 21, 2010, 06:46 PM
 
Originally Posted by tooki View Post
Now if only the HTML5 folks could finally ditch MKV and adopt h.264 across the board.
If only the world would finally ditch MKV..
I could take Sean Connery in a fight... I could definitely take him.
     
Chuckit
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Jan 21, 2010, 07:02 PM
 
Originally Posted by mdc View Post
Hopefully this changes Mozilla's mind and they support h.264.
You know Mozilla isn't rejecting h.264 just to be obstinate, right? It's because you get sued if you use h.264 without paying through the nose.
Chuck
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imitchellg5
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Jan 21, 2010, 07:13 PM
 
Hasn't the iPhone YouTube app used h.264 since the beginning?
     
Art Vandelay
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Jan 21, 2010, 09:20 PM
 
Originally Posted by tooki View Post
Now if only the HTML5 folks could finally ditch MKV and adopt h.264 across the board.
I think you mean Ogg Theora, not MKV.
Vandelay Industries
     
Art Vandelay
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Jan 21, 2010, 09:21 PM
 
Originally Posted by imitchellg5 View Post
Hasn't the iPhone YouTube app used h.264 since the beginning?
Yes.
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TETENAL
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Jan 21, 2010, 11:12 PM
 
Originally Posted by Chuckit View Post
You know Mozilla isn't rejecting h.264 just to be obstinate, right? It's because you get sued if you use h.264 without paying through the nose.
Mozilla refuses to support h.264 decoders that are already present and licensed for on the target platform (see their respective bugs for DirectShow, QuickTime, GStreamer support). They do this "just to be obstinate". Or "to support an open web" as they call it.

Meanwhile, Vimeo also adds support for the video tag:

Try our new HTML5 player! on Vimeo Staff Blog
     
analogue SPRINKLES
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Jan 22, 2010, 01:24 AM
 
I'm really glad Apple held out on adding flash to the iPhone. Flash really needs to die as it has just become an nasty marketing tool (with hidden cookies) and plays video something terrible while eating your CPU.

Die flash die!
     
voodoo
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Jan 22, 2010, 01:58 AM
 
Originally Posted by analogue SPRINKLES View Post

Die flash die!
The flash the?
I could take Sean Connery in a fight... I could definitely take him.
     
analogue SPRINKLES
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Jan 22, 2010, 02:18 AM
 
Originally Posted by voodoo View Post
The flash the?
No one who speaks German could possibly be bad.
     
Hawkeye_a
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Jan 22, 2010, 03:36 AM
 
Originally Posted by analogue SPRINKLES View Post
I'm really glad Apple held out on adding flash to the iPhone. Flash really needs to die as it has just become an nasty marketing tool (with hidden cookies) and plays video something terrible while eating your CPU.

Die flash die!
What he said... i'll add 'Microsoft's Silverlight' to that as well.
     
The Godfather
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Jan 22, 2010, 03:44 AM
 
I guess Adobe will have to innovate out if this hole:
* HW acceleration to save our precious CPU fluids
* Incursion into the 3D TV industry
     
OreoCookie
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Jan 22, 2010, 06:00 AM
 
Vimeo also offers an html5 player, yay! I went from ~85 % cpu usage playing a video to ~15-23 %! A-ma-zing!
I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy every minute of it.
     
lpkmckenna
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Jan 23, 2010, 04:15 AM
 
An excellent move by Google and Vimeo.
     
jokell82
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Jan 23, 2010, 12:48 PM
 
Originally Posted by voodoo View Post
If only the world would finally ditch MKV..
Isn't mkv just a container and not a video format?

All glory to the hypnotoad.
     
- - e r i k - -
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Jan 24, 2010, 02:56 AM
 
Goodbye full screen

It's really up to Apple and browser makers to provide this I guess.

[ fb ] [ flickr ] [] [scl] [ last ] [ plaxo ]
     
- - e r i k - -
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Jan 24, 2010, 03:00 AM
 
Also it still appears to use Flash player on profile pages.

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TETENAL
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Jan 24, 2010, 07:50 AM
 
Originally Posted by - - e r i k - - View Post
Goodbye full screen

It's really up to Apple and browser makers to provide this I guess.
WebKit nightly builds have fullscreen for HTML5 videos. It works with the native controls only though. I don't know whether there is a JavaScript command to trigger fullscreen, that Youtube could use for their JavaScript movie controls.

But I guess Youtube wants to fullscreen a whole webpage or a canvas, so that they can also overlay comments, advertisement, and render their similar movies list at the end of the video.
     
Oisín
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Jan 24, 2010, 09:57 AM
 
Joined. Left.

Great idea, implementation not quite there yet. I’ve never had CPU usage issues with YouTube’s Flash player, but the HTML5 player stutters something horrible. And no fullscreen = no YouTube.

One annoying thing, though: after switching back to the Flash player, I now seem to have to choose the highest definition of a video every single time. It used to be that once I clicked the HD icon, it tried to fetch the HD version of every clip, always playing the highest resolution there was. Now, it invariably chooses 360p, rather than 480p or 720p, for each and every clip. That is annoying.
     
TETENAL
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Jan 24, 2010, 11:37 AM
 
Originally Posted by Oisín View Post
I’ve never had CPU usage issues with YouTube’s Flash player.
Youtube Flash video (SD):



Youtube HTML5 video (SD):



I would say that 13% vs. 44% is a significant performance improvement. That's more than 3 times faster! Also note that Safari needs more CPU resources to simply host Flash than it needs decoding the video itself. That makes it almost insane to use Flash for video over the build in decoder.
     
Cold Warrior
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Jan 24, 2010, 12:22 PM
 
For longer videos (more than a few minutes) I tend to download them using Firefox's addon Flash and Video Download regardless of type (h264, flash, etc.) and watch them with VLC full-screen. That's a habit I likely won't change even when YT HTML5 matures. It works well for me, because I can download the video while I do other stuff, then watch it a few minutes later stutter-free with real controls in VLC.
     
macintologist
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Jan 24, 2010, 02:28 PM
 
I just ClickToFlash and force Youtube videos to show up in native HTML 5 automatically. It also overrides ads and those stupid annotation boxes.
     
analogue SPRINKLES
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Jan 24, 2010, 03:02 PM
 
Originally Posted by Oisín View Post
I’ve never had CPU usage issues with YouTube’s Flash player
Then you haven't been paying attention. The movie may play fine but if you watch your CPU it will shoot up something fierce as will your laptop fans when watching any flash video.

Even all that aside what in the name of sweet Baby Jesus is wrong with the progress slider in Flash videos. It never jumps where you want it to and often gives up totally if you jump around to much. Sad that they have never thought to improve this 5 years later.

It is absolute garbage.
DIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!
     
imitchellg5
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Jan 24, 2010, 03:25 PM
 
It's so much better now. Flash player went from using around 30-40% CPU while watching an HD YouTube vid to only 6-10%.
     
Oisín
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Jan 24, 2010, 07:45 PM
 
Originally Posted by turtle777
I would say that 13% vs. 44% is a significant performance improvement.
I would, too. I wouldn’t say 44 per cent constitutes CPU usage issue, though.

Originally Posted by analogue SPRINKLES View Post
Then you haven't been paying attention. The movie may play fine but if you watch your CPU it will shoot up something fierce as will your laptop fans when watching any flash video.
No, I have been paying attention. You obviously didn’t.

I said I’ve never had CPU usage issues with YouTube’s Flash Player. Meaning it’s never caused me any trouble, unstabilities, or laptop fan craziness. YouTube rarely makes the CPU go above 40 per cent for me (on both computers, stationary and laptop), and it’s never made the fan in my laptop start up in a situation where it wasn’t to be expected, like sitting with my laptop on a blanket in my lap, even when playing fullscreen—which is how I play about 90 per cent of the YouTube videos I watch.

As such, the spikes in CPU usage while watching YouTube videos have never bothered me. While I agree the HTML5 solution is far cleaner and a lot better, ideologically, I’m not going to switch to stuttering video that I can’t even watch fullscreen just because the code behind the player pleases the geek in me.

Once the HTML5 player is on par with the Flash player in terms of functions and video stability, switching over will be a given. But not as it is now.
     
imitchellg5
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Jan 24, 2010, 08:01 PM
 
You may be taking it way too seriously if you bring ideology into this thread.
     
Oisín
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Jan 24, 2010, 08:05 PM
 
Originally Posted by imitchellg5 View Post
You may be taking it way too seriously if you bring ideology into this thread.
Sorry, typo/brainfart. Meant to say ‘idealistically’, not ‘ideologically’.
( Last edited by Oisín; Jan 24, 2010 at 08:14 PM. )
     
   
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