HTML5 ARTICLE

January 27, 2014

Vimeo’s New Player is Faster, More Elegant Thanks to HTML5


It seems that HTML5 is well on its way to being the go-to option for video streaming sites. After all, Google (News Alert) has been in the process of migrating YouTube to HTML5 for some time now, while Dailymotion has doubled down on the markup language as well. Now, Vimeo (NewsAlert) has also joined the HTML5 party.

Vimeo’s new HTML5 player has been said to provide a faster and more elegant viewing experience, which isn’t surprising considering it was built from scratch and has been in development for 14 months.

Proudly described by Vimeo as being its most responsive player yet, it defaults to HTML5 on all devices — desktop, smartphone, tablet or otherwise — to provide the same familiar experience regardless of the platform. Even better, the player is capable of dynamically loading elements based on the device being used in order to ensure optimal efficiency.

Image via Vimeo

That said, regular Vimeo users likely won’t notice much of a difference since the player sports the same visual design as its predecessor. For many, this will come as good news since the Vimeo player’s modern, minimal design is well regarded. This also means that the streaming site’s policy regarding advertising hasn’t changed; you will not being seeing ads placed before, after or on top of videos.

This doesn’t mean the player’s improvements begin and end with under-the-hood performance tweaks, either. New tools have also been introduced, allowing users to like videos or watch them later, as well as share them much more easily. As for content creators, they will now be able to change the size of videos with greater ease and add a logo, along with a handful of other new customization options.

In other words, this isn’t just a big day for HTML5, it’s also noteworthy for Vimeo viewers, uploaders and the site itself. The new player is now live, so get watching!




Edited by Alisen Downey





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