In this day and age, there is a wealth of functionality supplied by modern web browsers, each of which comes with interesting interfaces and add-ons. These features include: The user has to be using the most recent version of their web browser in order to make advantage of HTML5 video and audio, advanced JavaScript, and cascading style sheets (CSS) for formatting.
These cutting-edge browsers are an essential link in the content delivery chain of video services, and their importance 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 desktop computers and occasionally even on mobile devices. These web browsers leverage HTML5-based Video DRM technology to attract more end users than mobile apps do. A senior official at Netflix stated in 2017 that only roughly 15 percent of the company’s audience accessed its video content collection using desktop computers. [1] It is reasonable to presume that these consumers accessed the content on Netflix through their web browsers.
These browsers rely on encrypted media extensions (EME) to enable 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 is made possible by these browsers’ support for encrypted media extensions.
The user’s ability to swiftly update their browser is, however, the single most important factor in determining whether or not they have a smooth video viewing experience.
Web Browser Upgrades and Updates
The very best web browsers and progressive web apps support video and audio codecs for HTML5 right out of the box. These browsers come with pre-installed packages, improved resource consumption, and attractive interfaces. Additionally, their cache logic can help improve browsing speed. The ecosystem of plugins that is built into modern browsers makes it possible for users to enhance playback and customise it.
Chrome is one of the most efficient web browsers for watching online video content. Chrome is supported by the most popular video streaming services. Up until December 2015, earlier versions of Firefox required a plugin called Silverlight in order to play Netflix videos. Since that time, it has evolved to become more user-friendly. On the other hand, this user-friendliness would not have been possible if users did not update their browser. Even though Firefox’s departure from Silverlight was a significant update, both OTT players and users need to be aware of the usefulness of such updates in order to take advantage of them.
Even though users have the option to manually check for updates, Chrome and Firefox both include an auto-update feature for the user’s convenience. This feature is enabled automatically on Windows operating systems. However, the most recent updates for browsers like Safari and Internet Explorer are bundled together with the most recent versions of those operating systems. Users should make it a habit to regularly update Windows, as doing so is a component of the Windows system updates. Users need to ensure that they are always running the most recent version of Windows in order to have the most recent version of Internet Explorer. Windows 10 comes preinstalled with the Microsoft Edge browser and all of its most recent updates. It supports every video and audio codec that is available for HTML5. To reiterate, in order to update the Edge browser, Windows must be updated on a regular basis. In a similar manner, the majority of Linux distributions include browser updates that can 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 shifted to using HTML5 players to deliver their video and audio content. These HTML5 players include Video.js, Shaka, Plyr, MediaElement.js, and 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 style ’embed’ and ‘object’ tags. The addition of a MediaSource object into JavaScript, which includes a link to the video asset, is made possible by MSEs.
With the help of this method, OTT players are able to provide users with a seamless video-viewing experience, without requiring users to download any third-party extensions (More on How HTML5 solves the video player riddle for OTT platforms in web browsers). The only expectation a video-streaming business has of its viewers is an updated browser of their choice.
