ScreenTalk

The entire NZ On Screen team is thrilled to announce that the HTML5 player launched today. Essentially it means that NZ On Screen is now iPad, iPhone and iPod compatible. If you’re on an iDevice then jump straight into the Apple Ready videos and enjoy. If you’re interested in the details of our HTML5 programme then read on…

“HTML5 player?” you ask? We agree. It’s an odd term which needs a little more explanation.

HTML5 is the latest version of the language that websites are made with. It’s a big deal, both for those of us who make websites and for everyone who visits them.

Using HTML5 means that we no longer need to rely on Adobe’s Flash software to play videos. Web browser manufacturers have decided that something as popular as playing video should be the job of the browsers themselves, rather than relying on a plug-in such as Flash. Makes sense, right?

However, the HTML5 specification is still in its infancy. There are still a lot of grey areas about how some of the trickier things will work. We wouldn’t normally jump on a bandwagon so quickly, but in this instance there’s a major influencing factor: Apple. Apple has decided that they’re not going to enable Flash on their handheld devices. Ever. They’re pushing HTML5, CSS3 and JavaScript as the modern, accessible alternatives.

This is a tough stance from Apple and it is just the start. NZ On Screen has decided to stay at the forefront of website evolution, prompted by the intense popularity of iThings, other touchscreen devices and mobile computing in general. Today’s release of our HTML5 player is the start of this ongoing project. As always – we value feedback so please let us know what you think of the new functionality by replying below.

If you're visiting NZ On Screen on your computer, we’re only able to offer our HTML5 player to those of you using recent versions of Apple’s Safari or Google’s Chrome. This is because of the type of video compression we use. It’s a VHS vs. Beta kind of thing.

For Apple iDevice users – things will just work. You’ll see a new style of video player and you can play clips in full screen mode. They look great. We’re in the process of making all our videos ‘Apple Ready’ (this is another thing entirely), so for now not all videos are available. All the Apple Ready videos we prepared earlier are available here. We’re working on the rest.

Not all web video is created equal, and unfortunately the file format of NZ On Screen videos (H.264/AAC) won’t work when other browsers attempt to play the clips. We’re looking to adopt the WebM video format in addition to H.264. When everything is in place, we’ll be able to offer the HTML5 player to Firefox and Opera as well as WebKit browsers. Internet Explorer lovers – your time will come, hopefully in the next version. For now, you’ll continue to use our regular Flash player.

You’ll notice the HTML5 player looks a little different. We’ve widened it to a ‘16:9’ dimension. The regular Flash player is ‘4:3’, a much squarer shape. A lot of the films and TV shows on NZ On Screen were filmed when 4:3 was all the rage. Just like televisions have progressed from being fat squares to wide flat panels, we have updated our player to reflect the growing number of wide-format clips on the site. If you’re using the HTML5 player you’ll see a lot of older clips with thick bars along either side. Do not be alarmed. This is normal.

We’ve also added a handy feature that will let you auto-advance through all the clips of the programme you’re watching. This means you can watch a full feature without having to select each new clip.

If you’d like to give the HTML5 player a test drive, please find the instructions here. If you’re using a compatible browser, you’ll see an HTML5 player switch on every video page – click away. You can always change back. It’s a small taste of the future and we’d love to hear what your thoughts are about it, so reply away!