Brightcove recently announced the release of Brightcove 4.2, a substantial revision to our platform. Among the product changes (which you can read about here), there’s one in particular that is tremendously valuable for Express customers: HTML5 smart players.
HTML5 smart players automatically detect when a viewer is on a mobile device (like an iPhone, iPad, or Android device), and dynamically change the embed code to be compatible with those devices. All that's required on your part is to log in to the Studio and click one button to turn the setting on. Brightcove’s easy, automated HTML5 solution is important to you for three reasons: Reach, Experience, and Control.
Reach
I own a smartphone, and I’m a huge mobile web user. I read news articles on the train to work, check sports scores when the game isn’t on TV, even look up facts when I’m arguing about something or other with friends at a bar. And like most web users (mobile or otherwise), I’m constantly on the lookout for video content – it’s more engaging, more exciting, and more effective than text or images.
In Q1 2010, smartphones accounted for 23% of all mobile handsets in the US (up from just 16% in Q2 2009). At the current rate, smartphone penetration will reach 50% in just 3 years, according to a recent Nielsen report.
The iPhone OS (supported by our HTML5 solution) accounts for over 58% of all mobile web traffic. This might change soon, though, as Google announced recently that at least 65,000 Android phones (also supported) are being shipped every day.
The key takeaway from this? Our new release enables you to reach millions of consumers, wherever they may be – at home or on the go.
Experience
At Brightcove, we realize that your brand is everything. We know our users sometimes spend hours developing a player that fits seamlessly into the design of their site. As such, we’re committed to providing a consistent experience across all video delivery methods.
The three players that currently work with HTML5 – the video player, chromeless video player, and video player with logo - will look the same when rendered on different devices. For the video player and chromeless video player, this includes the size and the coloring/styling of the player. In the case of the video player with logo, if you’ve added a clickable banner image and/or a related link, those will appear as well.
Control
We also understand that not all customers want to have their players HTML5-enabled. For that reason, you have the ability to turn on and off HTML5 compatibility at will. Simply navigate to Account Settings from the Studio homepage and click on “HTML5 Player Delivery.”
You can also decide whether to enable HTML5 on a per-player level. Simply select your player in the Publishing module and, in the “Global” tab, look for the “Enable HTML5 Delivery” checkbox.
Resources
To learn more about smart players, their capabilities, and how to migrate to our new solution if you were previously using the MobileCompatibility.js method to deliver HTML5 video, check out these great articles:
http://support.brightcove.com/en/docs/setting-your-html5-video-delivery-options
http://support.brightcove.com/en/docs/delivering-video-html5-and-smart-players
http://support.brightcove.com/en/docs/transitioning-mobilecompatibility-smart-players