Some of you may or may not have noticed; Youtube has now switched to HTML5 video!
Why should I be worried?
Users are complaining about slow, laggy and glitchy experience especially with regards to HTML5 1080p videos. I was first unaware of this until of one my friends pointed this out. Turns out, he was right to be worried...
The problem is HTML5 use's up your CPU power and if you're using slower computers, laptops or devices, you won't even get the 1080p option anymore! Where as, if it was flash, you would get the full benefits of higher video quality.
Even on decent gaming systems, HTML5 video on youtube seems to add a further 2 to 4 seconds loading time.
What does this mean?
Well for those who were happily downloading 1080p videos from youtube on slower computers before, they are now left with 720p as max setting. The thing that really hits you is that most 720p videos on Youtube are worse than Youtubes Hi-Res 480p video!
Is there a solution base-god?
Firefox plugin author, Baris Derin has developed a free, yes it's free... plugin which is able to switch from Youtubes HTML5 to Flash video and vise versa. The plugin has had an overwhelming response since its initial release and currently serves over 192K users:
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-uS/firefox/addon/youtube-flash-video-player/?src=userprofile
I currently use this plugin on my netbook/tablet and the difference in performance is night and day.
Let us know of your experience and thoughts.
