A new survey carried out by video search engine MeFeedia of some 30,000 video sources has found that more than a quarter of web video is now playable through HTML5 using the H.264/MPEG-4 AVC video codec.
From just 10% in January 2010, the amount of H.264-encoded video has risen to 26%.
According to the results, most sites that support HTML5 will automatically detect Apple iPads and switch to a compatible video format.
Given the recent open spat between Apple and Adobe, the rapid growth will lend support to Apple’s argument that Flash video on the iPad is not necessary.
Apple released the iPad tablet computer on April 3. After 28 days, the company stated that it had sold more than one million units within the US.
The iPad supports H.264, MJPEG and MPEG-4 video formats. It does not support flash video.
While H.264 appears to be the current defacto standard for online video, it is a closed, proprietary format controlled by the MPEG Licensing Authority (MPEG LA) and although no royalties are being charged for H.264/AVC web video at the moment and for the next licensing period starting 1 January 2011 to 31 December 2015, there are no guarantees beyond that period.
While it means the web is moving away from Flash video and for some that may be a good thing, it may also be simply shifting the problem until the end of 2015. If the MPEG LA decide the charge a royalty fee for online video, content producers will either be stuck between a rock and a hard place by user demands for H.264 content and so, have to pay the fee, or the search will begin sometime in early 2015 for a new no-cost alternative.
By early 2015, it should be known whether the MPEG LA has decided to introduce a royalty payment for the January 2016 to December 2020 license period. That will likely make 2015 an interesting year as a new standard video codec is located.