Native MPEG-4 support is coming in the next Adobe Flash Player:
http://labs.adobe.com/technologies/flashplayer9/
http://labs.adobe.com/wiki/index.php/Flash_Player:9:Update:H.264
Consider Google just launched the "real" GData Youtube API :
http://apiblog.youtube.com/2007/08/new-youtube-api-released-into-wild.html
(still read-only for now)
Anybody think Google will start offering MPEG4 Youtube videos by default starting in early 2008? I sincerely hope so, as video quality is one of the few things "classic" Google video had over Youtube*
Also, a popular standard codec combined with a stable, straightforward and well-supported API frees Google from ever having to make custom Youtube apps or sites ever again. Any reasonably talented software team can implement a player application for any sufficiently powerful, internet connected device.
Google has already transcoded everything to h.264 for Apple, so the work is already done. H.264 is known to be higher quality than the codecs currently used for Flash video (On2 VP6 and h.263). Not to mention that it has impressive consumer electronics hardware support from Apple, Nokia, Sony, Toshiba, Microsoft(!), Creative, Archos, Motorola, etc.
I, for one couldn't be more pleased. Thanks Adobe, for the final piece of the puzzle.
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YouTube could offer better-quality videos today, like blip.tv, MSN Soapbox etc. if they upgraded to Flash 9.
http://the-ointment.blip.tv/file/262869/ |
There's no reason to upgrade to Flash 9, really. 90-95% of machines have it, I read. That would also mean the option of the more efficient ActionScript 3. |
On that note I was surprised today at the stream video quality of a new website by German's second tv channel, ZDF. It streamed without any lags or visible loading delays, in a quality much superior to anything you'd see on YouTube.
Uhm, I just checked again, and now the video doesn't play at all. Oh well.
http://www.zdf.de/ZDFmediathek/inhalt/9/0,4070,5598249-6-wm_dsl,00.html |
