News and updates from the Video.js open-source video player project
HTML5 video reaches a turning point as browser support surpasses 50% of web users in early 2011, driven largely by Firefox and Chrome adoption, though the MP4/h.264 vs WebM/VP8 format war continues to complicate widespread adoption.
Mozilla showcases creative HTML5 video capabilities with an Indiana Jones-inspired demo that synchronizes video playback with animated route visualization on Google Maps in real-time.
Video.js 2.0.2 delivers performance improvements with a completely rewritten subtitle parser, fixes a Safari fullscreen bug on Mac OS X Leopard, and adds volume range validation to prevent playback issues.
Video.js 2.0.0 introduces a groundbreaking "behaviors" system for creating custom controls, unified APIs for HTML5 and Flash fallback players, configurable fallback order, and switches from list-based to div-based controls for better style portability.
John Gruber demonstrates how to access HTML5 video in Safari by masquerading as Mobile Safari, revealing how many sites unnecessarily require Flash when they already support HTML5 video for iOS devices.
Video.js 1.1.5 introduces HTML5 track element support for WebSRT subtitles, adds a pluggable players system for defining fallback order, fixes Android playback issues, and includes a major code reorganization for better maintainability.
The most notable update in this version is a loading indicator spinner, for when the video is buffering or seeking.
Version 1.1.3 introduces a big play button on first load to fix Safari bugs, adds width/height functions for player resizing, and includes improvements to control bar behavior and event handling.
Facebook introduces HTML5 video for iPhone and iPad playback as part of their mobile HTML5 implementation, though Flash still outperforms HTML5 on other mobile browsers at this early stage.
Video.js 1.1.2 fixes critical iOS 3 bugs on iPad and iPhone where poster attributes and JavaScript placement broke video playback, using a new approach to programmatically set video sources and trigger loading.