YouTube Replaces Flash With HTML5 Video

By Kamal Nayan - 27 Jan '15 23:59PM

YouTube now uses HTML5 <video> by default in Chrome, IE 11, Safari 8 and in beta versions of Firefox, the company announced in a blog post. It added that a few years ago, HTML5 lacked support for Adaptive Bitrate (ABR) - a technology allowing more videos with less buffering - so it had to stick with flash.

HTML5 is not just for web browsers but also for smart TVs and other streaming devices.

With the development, YouTube will be deprecating the "old style" of Flash <object> embeds and advises embedders to use the <iframe> API, which can intelligently use whichever technology the client supports.

These advancements have benefitted not just YouTube's community, but the entire industry. Other content providers like Netflix and Vimeo, as well as companies like Microsoft and Apple have embraced HTML5 and been key contributors to its success. By providing an open standard platform, HTML5 has also enabled new classes of devices like Chromebooks and Chromecast. You can support HTML5 by using the <iframe> API everywhere you embed YouTube videos on the web, YouTube wrote in a blog post.