HTML5 - What You Need to Know

Unless you've been in a cave for the last year, you've heard there's a new web language called HTML5 and that it seems to be the future of web page creation and video delivery. Like most, you're probably confused as to what it means for your website and for your future web video. Well, let not your heart be troubled because I have all the answers right here in my Blog. Or not. Sorry. In fact, the subject of HTML5 video is as complicated as it is compelling and there's not a soul - including me - who truly understands where this new technology is headed. I did, however, find two articles on the web that should help you understand a lot more about HTML5 video.

The first, Video on the Web - Dive into HTML5 - written by Mark Pilgrim, reads like an HTML5 for Dummies and is well worth reading. Mark covers everything web video from codecs, containers, players, encoding, licenses, as well as browsers and smart phones like Apple and Android Devices. He relates all of it to HTML5 in a way that makes sense.

The second, HTML5: What you Need to Know, by Jan Ozer, is another must-read. Jan provides a behind the scenes look that goes a little deeper into the economics of HTML video and the players (no pun here) who are driving the bus.

The common theme among both authors is this: HTML5 has a future on the web, but the shape of that future is very unclear. As Jan writes "....until that point, which is clearly well off in the distance, the burdens of supporting HTML5 outweigh the benefits.......general support for HTML5 on your primary website doesn’t need to be a priority."

Happy reading!