The HTML5 web standard is still some way from widespread adoption - and completion, we might add - but that isn't stopping some of the web's biggest names from showcasing what it can do.
Showing off HTML5's media potential, search-giant Google has launched a HTML5-based video player for its hugely-popular video-sharing website, YouTube.
The player, described by Google as "experimental", allows users with an HTML5-compatible browser to watch YouTube videos without the need to download a third-party browser plugin, namely the ubiquitous Adobe Flash Player.
At present, supporting browsers are few and far between. With the HTML5 standard yet to finalise specified audio and video codecs, browser compatibility remains hit or miss. YouTube's experimental player makes use of HTML5's video tag and the h.264 video codec - resulting in compatibility with just a handful of browsers; Chrome, Safari and ChromeFrame on Internet Explorer.
In addition to the lack of browser support, YouTube's HTML5 player doesn't yet support the playback of videos with ads, captions or annotations, and doesn't allow for full-screen viewing.
Google expects to introduce "new and improved versions" in the coming months, but for those interested in seeing what a HTML5-based player can do, point your supporting browser to youtube.com/html5 and opt in to the HTML5 beta.
We've given it a whirl, and though CPU usage whilst viewing video on the HTML5-based player remains impressively low, both the quality and the functionality of the player still needs a lot of work.
