The future of video on the internet changed yesterday when Google launched The WebM Project and open sourced the VP8 codec. Effectively this puts us on a trajectory where broad support for browser-native video (usually called HTML5 video, which is a terrible term) will be a reality in about 6-9 months. That is huge.
For the geeks in the audience, Robert Nyman has a nice recap of the current state of things and Jason Garrett-Glaser goes into exhaustive detail with the codec.
Yes, we have already added support for WebM and VP8. So you can upload the new format to your 23 Video site and it’ll work perfectly.
No, but we’re committed to bringing video to the web, and we’re committed to HTML5 video (see, terrible term). Today, this is achieved with H.264 and Flash combined with HTML5 where Flash isn’t available (for example, on the iPhone and iPad).
As the web and the world of web video evolves, 23 Video will too — so today we’re committing to extend support for WebM and browser-native playback.
(This project internally, by the way, is called Eingebaut and we’ll be doing a Request For Comments-type session in June for developers to ensure its technical foundation. Also, I’ll probably be showing off the prototype at VideoDay, which is shaping up nicely.)
First, 23 Video now supports WebM and VP8: You can upload .webm files and have them played and distributed with 23 Video. Second, we’re committing to support video playback in both H.264 and VP8 very soon through the mysterious Eingebaut project.
It is huge, thank you Google :)
 | The Visual Sharing Company |
We create tools allowing individuals and organizations to unleash the power of visual sharing.