In this day and age, there is an abundance of functionality made available by modern web browsers, all of which come with engaging user interfaces and add-ons. The user has to be running the most recent version of their web browser in order to access features such as HTML5 video and audio, sophisticated JavaScript, and cascading style sheets (CSS) styling.
These cutting-edge web browsers are an essential cog in the video service industry’s content delivery chain, which extends all the way from the content developer to the end user. Unlike mobile apps, over-the-top (OTT) players such as Netflix and Amazon Prime stream content through web browsers on PCs and occasionally even on mobile devices. These web browsers leverage HTML5-based Video DRM technology to attract more end users than traditional mobile apps do. In 2017, a senior Netflix official stated that approximately 15 percent of the company’s audience accessed Netflix’s video content collection using desktop computers. [1] It is reasonable to suppose that these consumers accessed the Netflix content through their web browsers.
These browsers rely on encrypted media extensions (EME) to make it possible for the HTML5 video player to run streaming video services without the need for additional third-party media plugins such as Adobe Flash Player, Java, QuickTime Player, or Microsoft Silverlight. This capability is only available in browsers that support EME.
On the other hand, the user’s ability to promptly update their browser makes the difference between a smooth and enjoyable video viewing experience and one that is choppy and interrupted.
Bringing Old Web Browsers Up to Date
The very best web browsers and progressive web apps have native support for the video and audio codecs that are available in HTML5. These browsers come with beautiful interfaces, pre-installed packages, and upgraded resource utilisation; in addition, their cache logic can boost surfing speed. Users are able to amplify and adjust playback thanks to the plugin environment that modern browsers offer.
When it comes to watching video material, Chrome is one of the quickest browsers available. Chrome is compatible with the best video streaming services. Up until December 2015, older versions of Firefox demanded a plugin called Silverlight in order to view Netflix videos. Since then, it has evolved to become more accessible to viewers. However, if consumers had not upgraded their browser, these user-friendly features would not have been available to them. Even if Firefox’s departure from Silverlight was a significant update, online video on demand (OTT) players and users still need to be aware of the benefits that come with changes of this kind.
The auto-update options offered by Chrome and Firefox are designed to make things easier for users. These features are enabled automatically on Windows operating systems, but users also have the option to check for updates manually. On the other hand, the most recent updates for browsers like Safari and Internet Explorer are already incorporated into those browsers’ most recent operating system versions. Users are encouraged to routinely update Windows, as doing so is an integral part of the Windows system upgrades. Users should make it a habit to constantly instal the most recent Windows updates made available by Microsoft in order to have the most recent version of Internet Explorer. The Microsoft Edge web browser, along with all of its latest updates, comes bundled with Windows 10. It is compatible with every video and audio codec that HTML5 has to offer. To reiterate, in order to keep the Edge browser up to date, it is necessary to regularly upgrade Windows. In a similar vein, the majority of Linux distributions provide browser updates that may be accessed through the repositories and personal package archives that are managed by open-source communities.
The vast majority of websites, including the OTT players that enable content streaming in browsers, have transitioned to using HTML5 players to serve their video and audio content. These HTML5 players include Video.js, Shaka, Plyr, and MediaElement.js, amongst others. Despite the fact that HTML5 standards make it simple to add media files by merely adding ‘video’ and ‘audio’ tags, as opposed to ’embed’ and ‘object’ tags, as was the case previously and was more difficult to style, OTT players prefer to use media source extensions (MSEs) with HTML and JavaScript. This is because HTML5 standards make it easier to add media files. MSEs make it possible to incorporate a MediaSource object into JavaScript. This object includes a link to the video content.
With the help of this technology, OTT players are able to provide their users with a smooth video-viewing experience, without requiring users to download any third-party addons (More on How HTML5 solves the video player riddle for OTT platforms in web browsers). A video-streaming website’s only requirement of its users is that they utilise an up-to-date version of the web browser of their choosing.