In today’s times, sharing videos over and through the internet is growing popular. And so, the players needed to play those videos are also gaining popularity. A few years back, Adobe’s Flash Player was probably the most frequently used player for playing videos. Still, its popularity started declining rapidly due to the arrival of more flexible HTML5-Based Online Video Players. And slowly, these HTML5 video players became the perfect video player for websites and apps.
In this blog, we will tell you what an HTML5 video player is, its technical details, its history, and what benefits you can get from it. So, let’s begin.
What is an HTML5-Based Online Video Player?
Nowadays, many people like to share videos in embedded form. Without a video player, you might have a hard time playing these videos. That is where HTML5-Based Online video players come to play.
An HTML5 video player is a specially designed-video player that allows you to share videos over the internet so that your audience can stream the videos without any additional plugins. Hence, it makes video sharing extremely easy and customizable. And the best part is, it displays cross-device browser and platform compatibility. In simple words, it means that HTML5 video players will work on literally any device that can connect to the internet.
How Does an HTML5-Based Online Video Player Work?
An HTML5 video player uses the HTTPS Live Streaming or HLS protocol to receive a piece of video from the CDN server. That video is then played out to the viewers.
When your consumers want to play the video, the HTML5 video player instructs the browser to load the video from a specific source (most of the time this source is a CDN server) by giving its address. The HTML5 video player ensures that the appearance of your video remains consistent over all browsers and platforms.
Hence, in short, we can say that an HTML5 video player loads and displays your videos in the same way as the loading of an image file, when the image is not saved in the HTML file itself.
When Was The First HTML5 Video Player Developed?
Before 2012, most devices used Adobe’s Flash Player to stream a video. But in 2012, Apple took a big decision. Steve Jobs, the founder and then CEO of Apple announced that the Apple devices would not support Flash Players.
Hence, it created issues for broadcasters and businesses using video streaming. As Flash players used to be their go-to video players back then, most of them feared that they would lose out to a large section of consumers, as Apple was quite a popular brand for smartphones, laptops, and tablets. Hence started the search for a new video player that is compatible with all types of devices (including Apple devices).
Some time later, Apple developed the HTTPS Live Streaming (HLS) protocol. And, HTML5 video players would work perfectly with this streaming protocol. Hence, from then on, HTML5 video players replaced Flash Players to become the go-to video player for apps, websites, and all other purposes. It has many benefits over the Flash Pkayers, which makes it a preferred choice for everyone. Let’s take a look at some of its benefits.
Benefits of HTML5-Based Online Video Players
HTML5-based online video players give you some unique benefits which most other video players fail to offer. Some of its major benefits are:
- Enhanced Control
- Cross-platform and cross-browser compatibility
- Customizability
- Enhanced security
- Auto-play
- Affordability
Enhanced Control
HTML5 video players give broadcasters enhanced control over their media. Even some of the players like Muvi Flex will allow you to manage the access of your video, as you can apply geo-block to it, and decide people in which parts of the world can actually see your videos.
Not only the broadcasters, but the users enjoy enhanced control too. Quality HTML5 video players like Muvi Flex let your viewers control the playback speed by increasing or decreasing the speed of the video, resume watching the video from exactly where they left it, skip the intro, and do much more!
Cross-Platform & Cross-Browser Compatibility
Since HTML5-based online video players allow you to share the video over the internet, any device that can access the internet will be able to stream the videos. HTML5 video players work with all mainstream operating systems and browsers. It is a very unique feature that separates it from the Flach player.
Customizability
If you are using an HTML5 video player, you will be able to decide how your video will appear on the screen of your videos. You can add buttons, a company logo, manage the position of your logo, and add subtitles to cater to a global audience. This customization ensures that your video appears the way you want it to appear.
Enhanced Security
If you compare it with other players, HTML5-based Online Video Player would always offer better security to your videos, as it follows the HTTPS Live Streaming protocol. On top of that, some quality HTML5 video players like Muvi Flex offer enhanced security like built-in multi-DRM security. Hence, no pirates or hackers can get access to your videos.
Auto-Play
The HTML5 Video Players can play the video without any manual input from your users. It saves the efforts and time of your viewers, as it is often very frustrating to play the video manually.
Affordability
If you are tight on your budget, HTML5 video players are the best for you. You will get many open-source HTML5 Video Players which are free of cost. But as a side note, we would like to request you be careful while using them, as there might be security threats. So, give them a good try and test them properly before using them.
To Sum Up
HTML5-based online video players allow you to deliver the best-customized video experience to your viewers on any device and any browser. These players are usually more secure than the Flash Players, and if you are using some very good players, then you can enjoy some advanced features too!
Muvi Flex’s online video player is one of the best HTML5 Video Players out there in the market. Its powerful HTML5-based online video player ensures a fast-loading and ad-free video streaming experience. A single player supports both audio and video content, and you can embed the video and share the links on any third-party websites and apps. You can even try their service for free, by taking their 14-day free trial.
