Say farewell to Flash on YouTube.
Four years after the Google-owned video site started playing around with HTML5, YouTube now uses HTML5 by default in Chrome, Internet Explorer 11, Safari 8, and beta versions of Firefox.
In 2010, "there were limitations that held [HTML5] back from becoming our preferred platform for video delivery," YouTube engineering manager Richard Leide wrote in a blog post. "Most critically, HTML5 lacked support for Adaptive Bitrate (ABR) that lets us show you more videos with less buffering."
ABR lets YouTube easily adjust resolution and bitrate as network conditions change, like heavy usage during peak evening hours. "ABR has reduced buffering by more than 50 percent globally and as much as 80 percent on heavily congested networks," Leide wrote.
YouTube also pointed out that HTML5 supports the open VP9 codec, "which gives you higher quality video resolution with an average bandwidth reduction of 35 percent." The files are smaller, so more people can access 4K and HD content, with faster video start-up times.
Flash is not exactly a favorite among Web users, and is famously not supported on iOS. In 2010, Adobe Flash provided the best platform for YouTube's video distribution requirements, so its primary video player was built using Flash. But that is no longer the case. "Given the progress we've made with HTML5 video, we're now defaulting to the HTML5 player on the Web," according to Leide, who encouraged embedders to use the < iframe > API.
"These advancements have benefitted not just YouTube's community, but the entire industry," he said, pointing to Netflix, Apple, Vimeo, and Microsoft. "By providing an open standard platform, HTML5 has also enabled new classes of devices like Chromebooks and Chromecast."
For more, see Adobe Flash Meets Its End.