Encoding videos for HTML5 <video> playback

MrX · 2012-10-12, 02:04 AM

First of all, does anyone else even use html5 video playback? Most sponsors seem to still use Flash (with either .flv or .mp4 files), although I noticed a sponsor FHG using html5 <video> tags the other day. I guess I decided to use html5 on my sites because I'm very inexperienced, just starting to go heavy on the video, and read some nice-sounding stuff about standards compliance and browser compatibility with html5 video tags.

This is only my second time posting here, but you all seem friendly and thought I would throw out this question. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

1. I use Handbrake(x264 encoder) to encode my .mp4s and am slowly coming to understand the tradeoff between video quality/manipulation and browser compatibility. I'm leaning toward just using the "Universal" settings at this point, as I've had a lot of trouble getting html5 playback with .mp4s in Internet Explorer. Does this resonate with anyone else's experience? I'm not too concerned with mobile and device playback since I do mostly HD videos which I believe are intrinsically incompatible ("not optimized for") with mobile. All I want is .mp4s which play via HTML5 embedding (using jsplayer or a related wordpress plugin) in all the major browsers. That is, until I just decide to scrap all this and revert to a flash player.

2. Can anyone recommend a good ogg/.ogv encoder? I've triend Miro, something by Xilisoft, and another one, and all have a low success rate (encoding fails for various reasons). The other encoders I trust (adobe media encoder, sorenson squeeze) don't have theora/ogg capability.

3. Is there really a need for .webm in addition to .mp4 and .ogg? I think this fills a small compatibility gap, but is this gap antiquated yet?

4. Am I foolish for doing this double/triple encoding and troubleshooting for html5 video playback? Is there any redeeming benefit (e.g. quality, accessibility) over Flash which justifies this hassle?

Any kind of help, insights, feedback etc... is greatly appreciated. Thanks so much for your time.
Jeff

2012-10-12, 02:04 AM	#1
MrX Internet! Is that thing still around? Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Pittsburgh, PA Posts: 5	Encoding videos for HTML5 <video> playback First of all, does anyone else even use html5 video playback? Most sponsors seem to still use Flash (with either .flv or .mp4 files), although I noticed a sponsor FHG using html5 <video> tags the other day. I guess I decided to use html5 on my sites because I'm very inexperienced, just starting to go heavy on the video, and read some nice-sounding stuff about standards compliance and browser compatibility with html5 video tags. This is only my second time posting here, but you all seem friendly and thought I would throw out this question. Any help would be greatly appreciated. 1. I use Handbrake(x264 encoder) to encode my .mp4s and am slowly coming to understand the tradeoff between video quality/manipulation and browser compatibility. I'm leaning toward just using the "Universal" settings at this point, as I've had a lot of trouble getting html5 playback with .mp4s in Internet Explorer. Does this resonate with anyone else's experience? I'm not too concerned with mobile and device playback since I do mostly HD videos which I believe are intrinsically incompatible ("not optimized for") with mobile. All I want is .mp4s which play via HTML5 embedding (using jsplayer or a related wordpress plugin) in all the major browsers. That is, until I just decide to scrap all this and revert to a flash player. 2. Can anyone recommend a good ogg/.ogv encoder? I've triend Miro, something by Xilisoft, and another one, and all have a low success rate (encoding fails for various reasons). The other encoders I trust (adobe media encoder, sorenson squeeze) don't have theora/ogg capability. 3. Is there really a need for .webm in addition to .mp4 and .ogg? I think this fills a small compatibility gap, but is this gap antiquated yet? 4. Am I foolish for doing this double/triple encoding and troubleshooting for html5 video playback? Is there any redeeming benefit (e.g. quality, accessibility) over Flash which justifies this hassle? Any kind of help, insights, feedback etc... is greatly appreciated. Thanks so much for your time. Jeff