NetFlix is not going to use HTML5 for video playback, period. Unless they want to give away free copies of their movies...
That's not going to work, and doesn't make any sense. It won't work because the StageWebView control in AIR 2.5 for TV doesn't facilitate communication between Actionscript and the Browser. It doesn't make sense, because if you have to use it anyways for video playback, you'd just build the entire app in AIR.
LMAO. Where do you get this stuff? This is just nonsense...pure nonsense.
1. Flash is NOT multithreaded, period. There is no support for multiple threads, ie having a thread for your UI, and a seperate thread for processing. A tiny caveat, is that you can use PixelBender to run chunks of math in a seperate core, but that's it, and extremely limiting.
Yes, there tutorials on how to fake threading, ie "Green Threading", but it's a hack because we don't have true support. (This is coming soon though likely in the next major release 10.5 or 11)
2. Android is a Java virtual machine, running on C++ OS. I'm pretty sure it was pretty much always multithreaded... I could be wrong though, not a Java expert.
3. Flash supports 2.2 because of additional API hooks that were not available in 2.1, simple as that. And that comes straight from the Director of Engineering for Adobe AIR.
If you had followed this thread you would have a better understanding of what I am attempting to say.
This thread was an attempt to determine how Sony was going to and then how they supported the New IPTV applications like Netflix, Hulu, Lovefilm as well as EU TV sites like the BBC.
It starts with quotes from Netflix stating that they were going to a
HTML5 UI and were supporting
ultraviolet DRM. HULU and Mubi stating they were using
Flash media server version 3.5 streams.
Given some conditions:
1) The PS3 does not have a desktop home screen or many of the routines to support a windows like desktop. So products that are normally used like Air would need custom wrappers to support them. (This also applies to a Webkit port, many of the PD libraries and screen support libraries were missing from the PS3.)
2) It has no web browser or version of Flash (10.1 or Air 2.5) needed to support Flash Media server 3.5 streams or desktop applications.
3) Sony has access to source code for Webkit and most likely Flash 10.1 and Air 2.5; this because Adobe will not port to Power PC platforms and Sony must port the product themselves. There are several versions of Air for different platforms.
4) Multi-threading requires, as does good practice, Webkit and Flash to have separate easily callable routines that could be used by other applications. For Webkit, there is a process built in to do this. For Flash, since Sony has the source code, they can use, maybe with slight modifications to index useful routines, Flash code to custom support the Media server 3.5 streams.
5) Sony is going to port a Webkit WebGL HTML5 browser to the PS3 to display 3-D and support WebGL games. (This from multiple comments of different Sony employees.) Efforts to insure a very fast generic-universal javascript engine is a given for the above. This may be why webkit's rather than Google's V8 was chosen.
Now comes the speculation, how will Sony do this given they don't want to duplicate effort or code. Duplicating code as in Webkit contains a Javascript engine and Air or Flash also contains the same Javascript engine.
Remember the PS3 is limited as to memory so eliminating duplicate routines in memory is a must.
1)
Javascript HTML5 engine Since they are already planning on porting a Webkit browser to the PS3 and the HTML5 javascript engine is a separate callable set of routines they can port it first to provide the UI for these new IPTV applications.
This was my first choice but there was much criticism for this theory on this and other forums. There still is as the JIT javascript engine is considered difficult to implement. Note: there are 217 changes to the Webkit cairo/posix port of the javascript engine. This however has been confirmed.
2)
For the player which needs code and hooks built into it to support DRM and adaptive streaming they can use the same cell optimized H.264 codec and modify it with the Free Adobe supplied code to enable the player to support ultraviolet DRM and Flash media server 3.53 streams which also now support trick playing (REW-FF-Chapter) and instant start -Adaptive streaming without hiccup. They are already doing this for Sony blu-ray players so I expect the same Adobe provided code is used for all Sony products.
3)
They still need a DRM tool like Access or Marlin. They can use Air 2.5 for TV since it is designed for blu-ray players and TVs and the PS3 is a blu ray player. Air for TV requires the platform to supply the player and javascript engine. This would eliminate duplicate code. Or since they are eventually porting Flash 10.1 or higher to the PS3 with the coming webkit they can also port a partial Flash 10.1 for the tools in it.
Arguments about Flash StageWebView and the level of hardware support built into current Flash versions are irrelevant as Air for TV requires Sony to provide what is usually SOC hardware with Sony provided javascript and H.264 codec/player. Also a custom wrapper to define the screen and provide an interface is needed because the routines to do this are missing from the OS. StageWebView would not work without custom support in any case.
Your first criticism about the level of support in the current version of Air 2.5 had me do research and I discovered Air 2.5 for TV which would answer your points and more closely match the conditionals above (duplicate code)
IF we can determine how Sony did the above we might be able to determine if Sony will be supporting cross platform javascript applications and widgets. I.E. if they used Air for TV they might be supporting more powerful cross platform widgets if they used Flash 10.1 then they could still implement widgets but the choice would tend to indicate that they are not.
Side notes: Google is more tightly integrating Flash into Chrome. Perhaps to reduce duplicate code like the javascript engine. The same design goals for the PS3 because of limited memory apply to cellphones/handhelds.
RE HTML5 and the PS3: to continue this thread would be about further uses for HTML5, like for example; widgets on the XMB screen and HTML5 used for UIs in parts of the XMB. Cloud computing and using HTML5 for email and editing with server-cloud supplied UIs.
The original OP post has been confirmed:
Quote of AzBat:
Looks like the Xbox 360 will be getting HTML5 support with their upcoming dashboard update. Evidently that's how ESPN is bringing it's streaming content to the box.
The concession by Microsoft is very intriguing because it signals to content providers that they're really serious about providing their content on the 360. I wouldn't have expected them to go beyond their own streaming tech and Silverlight to support HTML5 (confirmed, Silverlight 5 to be released in 2011 and in the Xbox) . Like the article mentioned it looks like Microsoft have now opened the door to more custom HTML5 apps like Major League Baseball. Who knows maybe the NFL will be next? (The current HTML5 support in the Xbox is most likely a HTML5 javascript engine.)
What about the PS3? It seems the new Netflix app on the PS3 might require HTML5 too (Confirmed). So Microsoft definitely won't be the only one. The PS3 could even get there first if the Netflix app comes out in October like it's been rumored.
The continuing evolution of these 4+ year old systems is amazing. At this rate we might never need new consoles.
