In an always-on, broadband-prevalent digital world shaped by the likes of YouTube, video on the web is commonplace. We interact with video in its various online varieties everyday. However, before the end-user can experience the video it must be sent to them in one of many digital formats using a specific delivery methods. How this happens is currently evolving in order to provide the best quality video to the most people with the least effort.

Whether the delivery method is live streaming, on-demand streaming, or canned progressive download, there has traditionally been a wide array of formats in which the video can be encoded, each with a different browser/OS/platform for which they were designed. For example, Windows Media Player works best in, you guessed it, Windows.

Flash Video Content

For a long time, web types had been looking for that single format that will readily play a quality video to all web users independent of browser or platform. Enter Macromedia (now Adobe) Flash and the Flash Video Format (FLV). The Flash plugin, love it or hate it, is running on 99% of internet browsing desktop computers. This incredible penetration effectively solves the accessibility problem as sites such as YouTube can serve up video in FLV format and be confident that nearly all internet users can easily view it. Today, Flash remains the best solution due to its high level of compatibility as well as its ability to handle high quality videos.

HTML5 Video

The HTML5 Specification, which defines the future of in-browser web technologies, introduces a native video tag that will allow for easy delivery of video content. Moving forward this is the way to go as it works towards every goal of web video usability. The quality of video with HTML5 video is unmatched as it uses newest video formats and the latest in compression technology. Implementation calls for the least effort — it is as simple as dropping in a simple HTML tag. No more building a player and figuring out how to embed it into a page. This aides web developers certainly, but also the web content editor as a Content Management System will be more capable of handling video. Finally, because it is a web standard rather than relying on a plugin, it will have support across platforms and devices. This means videos will be served on mobile devices such as cell phones and tablets that do not support certain plugins (read: iPhone and iPad).

The Future of Video

The future of video will use the HTML5 video spec exclusively, but it won’t happen overnight. The solution will be excellent for content providers, web developers and web consumers alike, but the journey there will not be easy. Many things must happen first.

1. Browsers need to evolve: the support for HTML5 is growing, the latest versions of Opera, Safari, Chrome, and Firefox all support some form or another of the <video> tag. The nightly builds of IE9 also provide support for HTML5 video. But, the compatibility needs to continue to increase.

2. Old browsers must be phased out. It doesn’t matter how advanced new browsers become if they don’t get widespread adoption. Flash has been such a boon to internet video because of its 99% market penetration. If people still use old browsers the compatibility issues will continue.

3. A single video format must prevail. We are almost seeing a small step backward in terms of video encoding. Presently, there are three common HTML5 video formats (OGG, MP4, and WebM), one of these must prevail (or at least gain support from all major browsers) if HTML5 video is to succeed.

Either way, it is exciting to think of a web where video is as simple to implement as a static image.

Examples and Resources

Several major players are already experimenting with HTML5 video. We’ve been playing around with HTML5 video a little bit ourselves, but presently there are many hoops to jump through to keep the video playing correctly in all browsers with HTML5. Here are some links to examples and resources if you’re interested.

• HTML5 Working Draft
• Wikipedia HTML5 Video
• YouTube and HTML5
• CBS Publicly Testing iPad-Ready Video
• Video for Everybody

Dynamit was honored as one of the “Best Places to Work” in 2010 & 2011 by Columbus Business First newspaper and Interactive Agency of the Year. Times are even better in 2012 and we’re hiring a Web/Graphic Designer for our aggressively growing team.

This is an exciting opportunity to work on cutting edge projects for well-known brands in a dynamic, entrepreneurial and highly creative environment. Please email resumes/cover letters and portfolio information (documents or links to online examples) to Gary Moneysmith via gmoney@dynamit.us.

A web/graphic designer on the Dynamit team will:

• Be well versed with Adobe Creative Suite: Strong knowledge of Photoshop, experience with Illustrator and InDesign.
• Have a strong understanding of Usability & Web Trends: Experience with user interface design, knowledge of best practices & examples of this in a portfolio or live site/application design. They will also be up-to-date on web trends and design tactics with examples.
• Have experience in user experience design (UXD) designing application and system interfaces. This experience is crucial for this position.
• Have Basic Programming Knowledge: We’re not looking for a developer here, but the designer should have the ability to design for web with a knowledge of the boundaries and how to design for execution by a programmer.
• Have a Strong Portfolio: We’d like to see much more web work than print.
• Be eager to learn, with a passion for design & the web. The designer should have a strong internal drive for industry knowledge and be committed to furthering the craft.

Experience is important, but personality is key. Our culture is what drives us, and we’re looking to build our team with someone who both fits and contributes to it.

The position is full time at our office in the Arena District in Columbus, Ohio. We offer a competitive salary and benefits package as well as a fun, high-energy, intellectually-stimulating work environment.

Benefits Include

• Competitive salary (compensation will be based on skills and experience)
• Fully paid medical/dental insurance for employees
• Paid parking
• Unlimited vacation time (within reason)
• Office bar + climbing wall — not recommended together

Don’t sit back. If you want to work in a fast paced work environment with great people who love what they do, apply today.

About Dynamit
Dynamit is a digital agency based in the Arena District in Columbus, Ohio. We work with clients and brands on digital initiatives that include strategy, design, user experience and development. We influence communication and commerce. Client work includes Hilton Worldwide, Charley's Grilled Subs, McGraw-Hill, British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), E-Z-GO, American Electric Power (AEP), Columbus College of Art & Design and the Ohio State Medical Center (OSUMC) to name but a few.