When asked what “designed for Apple TV” meant, Moody said that YouTube will soon be encoding videos in the H.264 streaming-efficient compression format preferred by Apple TV, and that all new videos submitted to YouTube as of the mid-June launch of the AppleTV update will be playable by the device. From then until fall, YouTube will be encoding its entire back-catalog in H.264 format, adding videos in chunks until everything is accessible to Apple TV users.
When I first heard the news that the Apple TV would be supporting YouTube video, I thought it was another huge win for Flash video. Oops.
May 31st, 2007 at 12:24 am
From my understanding… the ONLINE version of youtube will still use the flash player with FLV …. it’s the Apple TV that will use the H.264
I don’t see many people running out to the store to get the Apple TV anyway so the fact that FLV’s aren’t playing on that system really doesn’t seem like so much of a loss for Adobe.
May 31st, 2007 at 2:55 am
That’s right, Mike. I was just disappointed to see that they’d go through all that work to switch formats for the Apple TV instead of just using Flash. It would’ve been a nice win for Flash. So, it’s less of “a loss” than a missed opportunity.
And the Apple TV rocks
May 31st, 2007 at 3:24 am
Plus, Apple TV might not seem like a big deal right now, but think about it: YouTube (Google) is going through the trouble of creating H.264 versions for *their entire* library! Obviously, they think Apple TV will be a big deal because that is a major undertaking.
May 31st, 2007 at 3:30 am
And at least they’re not using SilverLight
May 31st, 2007 at 7:31 am
If I had to bet, I’d say that the .h24 transcoding also has something to do with YouTube video on the iPhone… which seems like a bigger deal than Apple TV
May 31st, 2007 at 8:29 am
Bryan, that’s a great call. I agree.
May 31st, 2007 at 9:54 am
That’s true Tom .. I see your point now. And I definitely agree about the IPhone (maybe it’s because I actually want one).