Little background. My work was recently bought by another company. New company is very security cautious since they were recently audited. I create training videos for our clients that we host on our web server. The new owners don't allow MP4 files on their server because there is a possibility for malicious code to be injected. I was going to use wmv because this is allowed but my understanding is HTML5 doesn't easily cooperate with wmv (Spent a long time trying to figure out why my video tags weren't working).
So my question is. What video format is secure and compatible with at least IE, but preferably Chrome and FireFox. I'm guessing that if it is compatible with HTML5 then it should work with any modern browser.
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I can't watch Periscope without flash:
Since Periscope is pretty new and hype I find it a pity flash is required. My best guess then is that they simply can't.
But what is the technical restriction if one?
I can't say for sure about their own technical restrictions but they are serving the video in chunks of .ts files. It is not impossible for HTML5-based player to handle MPEG-TS streams so I can only assume this is a temporary solution.
Example of an HTML5 player handling .ts format is THEOPlayer. Also DailyMotion released an open-source JavaScript HLS streaming client. If others can already do it now, Twitter will do it soon.
Why Flash? :
It's an easy solution that works same on all browsers that it's installed onto so Edge, Chrome, Safari & Firefox etc so it will each give a consistent result to their user base without specific browser limitations (since it's a plugin).
Why assume temporary? :
First of all as you said it's still new (growing/developing). They have a few job openings for video programmers. This particular job opening requires "Ability to create an interface in HTML, CSS and JavaScript". They are currently using a Flash-based JW Player instead of a custom-made Twitter player. That will change in time.
As I'm a bit out of tune with web programming I tried to look up what is currently being used in order to display static video files on a web page.
After google showed me either the video tag for PC or some programs for android,... I'm wondering what are really now the current methods to display such videos? Is it JUST the video tag nowadays? Or are there also other methods that are "modern"?
The latest versions of the most popular browsers already support the video tag, so it should be as modern as you expect. The problem here is rather the video format. Each browser supports different formats for different types of operating systems, so this is one thing you should pay attention for. This website should give you a quick view of the current situation.
One more thing I can point you to is the support for older browsers. You should check if user's browser support the video tag and your video's encoding. In case it doesn't -- simply add a fallback to some older technology, such as flash or something else.
I'm trying to figure out if web based audio streaming sites use the Web Audio API for playback or if they rely on the audio element or something else.
Since the user of an audio streaming service typically doesn't need more functionality than starting and stopping the audio, then I guess that the audio element is enough. If a VU-meter is required then I would guess the Web Audio API would be used since it has an built in analyser node. But since IE doesn't support the API then I suppose you'd rather use the audio element and reach the IE users than using fancy extras such as an VU-meter.
I've been looking at the source code for Spotifys web player, Grooveshark, BBC radio and the Polish public radio but I find neither audio elements or use of the Web Audio API. I did find that the Swedish public radio (sr.se) makes use of the audio element though.
I'm not asking for anyone to go through the JavaScript source code for me, but rather if someone who is familiar with the subject could point me in the right direction.
I don't know of any internet radio services playing back their streams with the Web Audio API currently, but I wouldn't be surprised to find one. I've been working on one myself using Audiocog's excellent Aurora.js library, which enables codecs in-browser that wouldn't normally be available, by decoding the audio with JavaScript. However, for compatibility reasons as you have pointed out, this would be considered a bit experimental today.
Most internet radio stations use progressive HTTP streaming (SHOUTcast/Icecast style) which can be played back within an <audio> element or Flash. This works well but can be hard to get right, especially if you use SHOUTcast servers as they are not quite 100% compatible with HTTP, hurting browser support in some versions of Firefox and a lot of mobile browsers. I ended up writing my own server called AudioPump Server to get better browser and mobile browser support with HTTP progressive.
Depending on your Flash code and ActionScript version available, you might also have to deal with memory leaks in creative ways, since by default Flash will keep all of your stream data in memory indefinitely as it was never built to stream over HTTP. Many use RTMP with Flash (with Wowza or similar on the server), which Flash was built to stream with to get around this problem.
iOS supports HLS which is basically a collection of static files served by an HTTP server. The encoder writes a chunk of the stream to each file as the encoding occurs, and the client just downloads them and plays them back seamlessly. The benefit here is that the client can choose a bitrate to stream and, raising quality up and down as network conditions change. This also means that you can completely switch networks (say from WiFi to 3G) and still maintain the stream since chunks are downloaded independently and statelessly. Android "supports" HLS, but it is buggy. Safari is the only browser currently supporting HLS.
Compatibility detection is not something you need to solve yourself. There are many players, such as jPlayer and JW Player which wrangle HTML5 audio support detection, codec support detection, and provide a common API between playback for HTML5 audio and Flash. They also provide an optional UI if you want to get up and running quickly.
Finally, most stations do offer a link to allow you to play the stream in your own media player. This is done by linking to a playlist file (usually M3U or PLS) which is downloaded and often immediately opened (as configured by the user and their browser). The player software loads this playlist and then connects directly to the streaming server to begin playback. On Android, you simply link to the stream URL. It will detect the Content-Type response header, disconnect, and open its configured media player for playback. These days you have to hunt to find these direct links, but they are out there.
If you ever want to know what a station is using without digging around in their compiled and minified source code, simply use a tool like Fiddler or Wireshark and watch the traffic. You will find that it is very straightforward under the hood.
We use Web Audio for streaming via Aurora.js using a protocol very similar to HTTP Live Streaming. We did this because we wanted the same streaming backend to serve iPhone, Android and the web.
It was all a very long and painful process that took over 6 months of effort, but now that its all finished, its all good.
Have a look at http://radioflote.com and feel free to shoot questions or clarifications regarding anything. Go ahead and disassemble the code if you want to. Not a problem.
I'm developing a webapp for a client that requires compatibility across most modern browsers (Chrome, Safari, Firefox), plus IE 7 and up. Thus HTML5 is not an option. The webapp needs to display videos at times, and the videos must be embedded (the user cannot download them and use an external player). We can ask the client to provide these videos in whatever format is best. Regarding access, the videos may be local files or they may be hosted on a server somewhere; we're not sure yet.
With HTML5 gaining support, I haven't been able to find much information about the best way to embed videos in HTML4. Is there a particular encoding format that is best? I've seen some information about using FLV, but is that the only (or best) option? I'd prefer to stick to 1 format that works for all browsers if possible.
the <video> tag was introduced in HTML5. If you are looking for the best compatibility with older browsers, you are probably best off just using flash/flv.
I want so serve some videos on my site. They are available as .MP4 files gotten from a FlipShare camera.
Now I tried converting them to WMV (which succeeded, but when embedded in html in a <object id='mediaPlayer' width='320' height='285' classid='CLSID:22d6f312-b0f6-11d0-94ab-0080c74c7e95' etc' tag, users have to install an addon and the user experience of 10 Windows Media Players on the site isn't just so good.)
So then I looked at youtube and wondered how they do it, but I can't figure out what format they convert the video to.
So my question is: What format do I have to convert my video to, to show it in a player which does not need to be installed in the users browser. What tool do i need and what is the html code to embed such a video?
As you can see: starting from scratch.
PS: I often hear: This or that file extension is just a container, there can be anything inside. If you're using this in your answer, can you explain this to me, because I never understood this. For me a .cs is a c# file and a .doc a Word file, and not 'a container'.
This isn't an easy question. The basic answer is that you need to use a format that the user's computer already supports. There is no one answer to this question. YouTube encodes videos as MP4 and embeds them in the page with a Flash-based movie player, and Flash is pretty widely supported, but you'll notice that Flash isn't available on a lot of mobile platforms — so anybody using an iPhone is shut out if you go the Flash route.
HTML5 introduces the video tag, which is meant to solve this problem once and for all, but there's still a hiccup even there — most HTML5-enabled browsers support h.264-encoded video, but Mozilla supports Ogg Theora instead. YouTube is currently experimenting with a <video>-based player, so this does seem like the future.
I believe the current best practice to support the most people possible is to encode as h.264, try to serve as a <video> element, and have a Flash-based player as a fallback if that doesn't work (which can play the same h.264 file).
I'd say the most popular solution at the moment - utilized by YouTube and other major video portals - is H.264 encoded Flash-based Video. Flash can play Video since... I think Version 8 or 9, and has since gained significant market share.
My personal favourite Flash player is LongTail Player, but it isn't free for commercial use.
Here's a SO question with a list of Flash based players including open source ones.
Flash won't play on iPhone and iPad, though.
If you want to support computers with Flash Player 9 (I've seen some around, but I don't have any hard numbers) you will need to encode FLV files (which use a codec named Sorenson I think).
The upcoming alternative is HTML 5 Video but suport for that in browsers is nowhere near a major market share.
This question requires a re-answer now that it's no longer 2010 and HTML5 videos (as utilized by most video hosting sites) and chunk-based videos (sent as responses to periodic XHR requests - as utilized by Youtube) are the norm. While there is no best way to add video to your site, Flash is definitely nowhere close to even being good as of the time of writing of this answer.
The simple un-researched answer is: Just use a video tag and it'll work out!
This is simple and intuitive, and should work fine in many of your use-cases.
The researched answer is: Unfortunately, upload the video on Youtube and embed it on your site.
The pros and cons of embedding on Youtube over just having a video tag:
The pros:
Allows you to offer your video in a multitude of qualities.
Very bandwidth efficient. Youtube is bandwidth efficient for your users since it reencodes videos, and is also bandwidth efficient for you since you'll no longer be serving your videos off your own hosting.
Offers features like closed captions, automatic subs, playing at multiple speeds, full screen player, etc.
The cons:
It's a very heavily monetized service, chances are they'll want to put ads on your video if any of its content isn't 100% originally yours.
It has very strict laws/terms and conditions that you need to adhere to, at least in my opinion.
It tracks your users. If your application requires privacy and you can't rely on your users to protect themselves, then Youtube isn't ideal.
Other alternatives that mix the pros and cons of those two options are:
Using a Javascript video library to get HTML5 video along with some of the pros of using youtube, but none of its cons.
Using FFMPEG on the server side, for bandwidth issues.
Using some CDN that supports video to deliver the video, for reliability and bandwidth issues. My current favorites are ones that rely on service workers and the bittorent protocol, to stream from users to each other, but whether that suits you or not depends on your application.
Using AWS storage services to store the video, and AWS gateway/CDN services to serve it, which might be a great solution cost-wise and efficiency-wise if you don't want youtube but don't want to store videos on whatever infrastructure is serving your website.
Sources of this answer: Personal experience. As much as I didn't want to answer from experience, this question really needed a new answer! Feel free to edit it with something more concrete.
Converting your video MPEG-4 with H.264 will get you 97% coverage on current browsers across desktop and mobile, although some Android devices don't support hardware acceleration for this format. To address that you could also serve WebM with VP9 codec.
I wrote up a summary of browser support that might be useful: https://stuartk.com/posts/whats-the-best-html-video-format-to-serve/