How Revision3 Made the Switch to HTML5
In November, 2011, online video network Revision3 made the decision to improve its HTML5 video player and make HTML5 video its primary streaming method, simultaneously stopping development on its now fallback Flash player. At the recent HTML5 Video Summit in Los Angeles, Revision3's CTO, Rob DeMillo, explained what went into that decision.
"The mantra of the company really is 'Put the video anywhere.' If it has a screen, it can play anything that comes off of Revision3 -- until the iPad came along. When the iPad came along ... Revision3 content was really not available on that device. We scrambled very quickly. We put together an HTML5 player that presents our views inside of the iPad, but it's sort of a crippled-down player. It doesn't do everything that our Flash player can do," said DeMillo.
Showing some of the advanced features of the Flash player, DeMillo demonstrated how users could jump to different segments in a video.
"We had an issue where we were literally just ignoring the iPad until the summer of 2010, when we put out a very quick HTML5 player. That player is still running right now on the iPad, so if you got to the Revision3.com site the videos that show up come through that HTML5 player, but there are limitations -- you can't do the segments, we can't get the ad tags in there in a completely acceptable fashion. Viewers were demanding a better solution, so that was where we were," DeMillo said.
With both the Flash and HTML5 players needing improvements, Revision3 was forced to make a tough decision.
"At the beginning of this year, we were faced with a choice: the choice was take Revision3's engineering team, which is scrappy but small, and have them improve the Flash player, add additional features that the sales team was requiring and that our users were requiring, or we could take those same people and put them on an HTML5 player and try to get an HTML5 player that came up with parity of what we had for the Flash," DeMillo explained.
Seeing that HTML5 was going to grow in importance, Revision3 chose to build up its HTML5 player. To hear more about the decision, watch the video below.
HTML5 Video Content Showcase
While many publishers have yet to fully embrace HTML5 video, plenty of leading media companies and small publishers alike have made the transition. This session will present three publishers who have successfully deployed HTML5 video, and they'll talk about the challenges they faced during the transition and share what they've learned along the way.
Moderator: Eric Schumacher-Rasmussen, Editor, Streaming Media
Speaker: Kulin Strimbu, President/CEO, TripTV
Speaker: Rob DeMillo, CTO, Revision3
Speaker: Tony Walt, 3D/Motion Design Team Lead, Effective UI, Blue Angels (download a PDF of the Blue Angels presentation)
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