Flash video to HTML5 video

Planning

Planning your transition from Flash video to HTML5 video

Transitioning from Flash to HTML can take several months and may require new skills and software. This guide shows you how to plan for that transition, and contains two main parts, Content audit and Decision points.

Process

File format conversion

Once you've planned out what you want to do, the first step is to convert your video files into formats compatible with HTML embedding.

DRM and authentication

If your media requires authentication/rights to access, you'll need to work out how to hook up the necessary DRM and authentication mechanisms.

Video advertising

You may also want to incorporate advertising into your video delivery system, via an ad network.

Distribution

A CDN is a popular choice for effective delivery of media content.

Video and audio players

There are a number of ways to play back web media depending on the scale of your needs and whether you need ad integration and digital rights management.

Subtitles and captions

Just as audio and video may need transcoding for the web, subtitles and captions may also need to be converted and made available.

API reference

The <video> and <audio> elements

The basic elements that allow embedding of media into web apps.

HTMLMediaElement API

The HTMLMediaElement API provides all the functionality you'll need for implementing basic media controls, e.g. playing and pausing media, returning the current time elapsed, etc. See also HTMLVideoElement and HTMLAudioElement.

Encrypted Media Extensions API

The Encrypted Media Extenstions API provides interfaces for controlling the playback of content subject to a digital restrictions management scheme.

Media Source Extensions API

The Media Source Extensions API (MSE) provides functionality enabling plugin-free web-based streaming media. Using MSE, media streams can be created via JavaScript, and played using <audio> and <video> elements.

Credential Management API

The Credential Management API lets a website store and retrieve both user and federated credentials. These capabilities allow users to sign in without typing passwords, see the federated account they used to sign in to a site, and resume a session without the explicit sign-in flow of an expired session.