(Page 2 of 2 pages for this article  <  1 2)

Filed under: *VIDEO* •compression •Distribution •Mobile Devices •Web Video •

Vimeo finally goes mobile + adds 1080p and HTML5 (ßeta)

Embedding details and current workaround for mobile auto-detection when embedding

Like many video gallery sites, Vimeo offers you copyable HTML code to paste in websites and blogs. If you are a Vimeo Plus member, you see a preview of how the embedded video will look, based upon all of the settings you set above. This facilitates editing those settings and previewing the results before you actually put the embedded video “live” somewhere.

As of the publication date of this article, the embedded code supplied by Vimeo does not yet support HTML5 (see more about that later in this article) or mobile devices. However, this mobile limitation when embedding is not a limitation of the Vimeo server itself, but of the HTML code automatically supplied by Vimeo. Fortunately, a Vimeo Plus user named Jovani González has already published the minor HTML tweaks necessary to the code supplied by Vimeo to make this work in the Vimeo forum. It is likely that by the time you read this, Vimeo will already have updated the automatic embed code generation to make the tweaks unnecessary.

HTML5

You have probably been reading about HTML5, which makes embedding video a browser-based standard, and no longer requires any plugin like Flash or QuickTime. Currently, the browsers that support HTML5 are Chrome, Safari, and even Internet Explorer with a Chrome plugin. Both YouTube and Vimeo are currently offering HTML5 in ßeta. Currently, you can’t request an HTML5 video to go full screen. According to Vimeo, this is currently a limitation in the browsers, and is expected to be resolved soon. It is likely that Apple’s iPad will support HTML5’s video feature to allow embedded video. But whether the iPad supports HTML5’s video feature at first or not, this point is not a make-or-break issue to have web video played on the iPad. It only affects whether video will be visible while embedded. If it is not embedded, an H.264 video file can simply be linked from text or from a graphic, which is the way it is done today on the iPhone.

Is 1080p web video a wise choice?

Both Vimeo and YouTube now offer the option of 1080p web video. Fortunately, this option only appears when you actually upload a 1080p video… and even if you do, a viewer can downshift to 720p if desired. I have long been a fan of full-raster HD 720p for the web, and I have given several seminars and webinars about the best ways to accomplish it. Here are some reasons why 1080p may not be such a good idea today:

• Many computer screens have less than 1920x1080 resolution.
• At the same bit rate, 1080p web video will be compressed more!
• At a higher bit rate, it will take longer to begin playing!

I am certainly not bothered by the fact that Vimeo and YouTube are giving us the 1080p option. It makes sense to use it if all of the following are true:

• You know or imagine that many of your Internet viewers will be using a computer, set top box, or other device connected to a large 1080p screen (at least 24 inches diagonal).
• Your video has little or no fast motion (or you are sure that your viewers will wait longer).
• You know or imagine that many of your viewers’ 24-inch (or larger) 1080p screen is only a few inches away, or over 60 inches diagonal if to be viewed at couch distance.

Otherwise, I would stick with 720p for now for the web.

Vimeo’s advantages over your own server

If you become a Vimeo Plus member, you have less work, and less decisions to make. You encode your video to a single spec at a very high bit rate and upload it, and make your settings on the Vimeo control panel. If you embed the video on your own site(s) or blog(s) and (for now) use Jovani González’s workaround, you upload a single file and Vimeo makes it play everywhere, including mobile and desktop browsers. Vimeo does all of the time-consuming and brain-consuming work for you.

Vimeo’s few remaining Achilles’ heels, compared with your own server

• HD videos take much longer to begin playing from Vimeo’s server then let’s say, the server that TecnoTur uses (when both use H.264 embedded in a Flash player).
• Purists will correctly state that with Vimeo, there is one extra encode generation, as opposed to using your own server.
• Despite Vimeo’s generous offer of space and bandwidth/traffic, you currently can’t get unlimited space or bandwidth/traffic from Vimeo (as we do at the server we contract).
• If you upload your video to Vimeo, in some circumstances, you lose leverage or bargaining power when later selling the video or concept. See the upcoming related article When using Vimeo or YouTube can jeopardize your own content rights, leverage, and bargaining power.

Allan Tépper’s articles and seminars

Get a full index of Allan Tépper’s articles and upcoming seminars at AllanTepper.com. Listen to his podcast TecnoTur, together with Tanya Castañeda, Rubén Abruña, and Liliana Marín, free via iTunes or at

TecnoTur.us.

(Page 2 of 2 pages for this article  <  1 2)

Name:

Email:

Location:

URL:

Smileys

Remember my personal information

Notify me of follow-up comments?

Submit the word you see below: