The popular web video management service, Brightcove, has announced they are now offering HTML5 video support for the forthcoming iPad, due to be released April 3rd. The iPad doesn’t support Flash for technical and political reasons, which excludes the vast majority of web videos from playing on the iPad. By offering the HTML5 video option to it’s customers, Brightcove is bringing more online video to the iPad.
Brightcove’s HTML5 video delivery option is only available to their premium customers (i.e. those web video producers paying Brightcove $500+ a month). And because HTML5 doesn’t natively support many of the basic player functions that Flash does (full screen mode, playlists, advertising, etc.), Brightcove’s first HTML5 video player will be very basic. They do plan to offer Flash-like functionality by the end of the year though.
The addition of Brightcove support for HTML5 adds to a growing list of HTML5 adopters who have developed custom solutions for iPad-like devices, like Ooyala, CBS.com, YouTube and Vimeo. However, all of these companies have chosen to support the H.264 codec for HTML5, which means Firefox users will still be left out (Firefox does not support H.264 for HTML5 video…Safari (browser on iPhone and iPad), Chrome and IE9 do/will).
At this point, it’s all speculation on how popular the iPad will be, meaning it’s all speculation on how important HTML5 video solutions will be for the iPad. But most pundits agree that the iPad won’t sell as many units as the iPhone. And the iPhone, while extremely popular, only has about 10% of the smartphone market.
In any event, you can learn more about Brightcove’s HTML5 video offering by clicking here.