Brightcove has announced wide-ranging new features for its Video
Cloud online video platform Smart Players that help customers
overcome inconsistencies in HTML5 video playback across devices,
which enables more reliable cross-platform analytics and
integration with third-party services, such as ad serving
solutions.
Brightcove today also announced that the Video Cloud Smart
Players support the VAST 2.0 advertising standard for HTML5 video
and provide turnkey integration with Google's DoubleClick™ ad
serving solutions. As a result, publishers are able to monetize
video content and drive revenue across HTML5-compatible devices and
take advantage of this fast-growing audience to generate more value
from their online video initiatives.
"The complexity associated with publishing video across
HTML5-compatible devices continues to grow, as the distribution of
operating systems and browsers used by these devices has become
increasingly fragmented," said Ashraf Alkarmi, director of
product management at Brightcove. "Our Video Cloud Smart
Players ensure that content is accessible across all devices and
operating systems without sacrificing the stability and consistency
required for reliable advertising and analytics."
Popular smartphones and tablets access HTML5 video using a
variety of different versions of the WebKit open source browser
technology, but the way WebKit browsers render HTML5 video varies
depending on the WebKit version. This results in
inconsistent behavior across devices running different
versions of the iOS or Android operating systems. These
inconsistencies can prevent smooth video playback and block
reliable ad delivery and analytics capture, resulting in poor user
experiences and ineffective content monetization.
Brightcove has developed a new framework for using the HTML5
video tag that not only helps ensure consistency, but also allows
Brightcove to rapidly deploy new player innovations that work
regardless of operating system version and without the risk of
breaking backwards compatibility with older versions.
The new Video Cloud Smart Players implement a series of
innovations that overcomes these limitations to provide a reliable
and effective video experience across devices:
- A new HTML5 Abstraction
Layer automatically adapts the video experience to
account for operating system and browser inconsistencies, allowing
reliable playback and execution of advertising and analytics logic
across both current and future operating systems and browsers. As a
result, Video Cloud customers can enjoy broader reach and higher
business impact for their video content.
- A new Universal Player API presents
a set of software interfaces that are consistent across video
experiences implemented in HTML5 and Adobe® Flash®. This enables
developers to create highly customized video experiences and
plug-ins that will behave the same way across both Flash and HTML5
environments.
- Video Cloud Smart Players now also include support
for the most recent Android and iOS operating system
versions to ensure content is being delivered to
these devices reliably and consistently.
- HTML5 Analytics provide deep insight into
how viewers are engaging with content across every device and
playback environment. Now, Video Cloud analytics cover both Flash
and HTML5 to give customers a comprehensive view into audience
behaviors and device-specific engagement.
- New customization features, including
Brightcove Experience Markup Language (BEML) support for HTML5,
ensure video experiences play appropriately and gracefully handle
situations where unsupported custom components cannot successfully
render in an HTML5 video player. Customers can also use the
Universal Player API and existing Media APIs to create custom
experiences and playlists.
Additionally, the Video Cloud Smart Player enables Google's
DoubleClick ad management technology to serve ads to Brightcove
customers for both HTML5 and Adobe® Flash®, regardless of the
device or operating system version a consumer is using to access
the content. Customers will be able to ensure the reliability of
their advertising policies and monetization initiatives across
Flash and HTML5 video experiences, while also taking advantage of
the expanded reach to consumers on popular smartphone and tablet
devices.
"Google believes in the growing importance and evolution of
HTML5 to enable distribution across multiple devices and browsers,"
says Rany Ng, group product manager at Google. "We're particularly
excited to partner with Brightcove to offer an integrated and
efficient HTML5 video monetization experience for publishers. This
is one of the many areas where Google is investing to help
publishers deliver more engaging advertising experiences and
increase the value of their video content."
For more information on Brightcove's HTML5 video solutions,
visit the Brightcove Learning Center HTML5
video page. Brightcove will also be hosting a special
webinar,
"What You Need to Know About HTML5 Video Performance and
Compatibility" on November 2nd where you can learn more
about the new features announced today and the company's overall
HTML5 video strategy.