... but they do not prove anything about the run-time of PS3 Hulu Plus, LoveFilm, NetFlix and MUBI. -_-
One point to add to a previous post about "Instructional Videos"; Flash not only provides adaptive streaming support but allows for an easy way to include commercials. You can choose them dynamically as files rather than having to edit the video to include a commercial. This should make it doubly attractive to Sony.
Agreed, if my speculation is correct looking forward a few months when Chrome is released on the PS3 we can look back and say; Ahh, that's why the Hulu application dropped in size and be sure we are completely correct, hindsight is always accurate. It's trying to determine the future from an incomplete data set that is difficult.
http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/29/google-tv-review/
Google's using a new Android- and TV-specific port of its desktop browser on Google TV, and yes, friends, it runs Flash 10.1 beta. In fact, from a broad perspective it's more than easy to see Google TV as one large bet on Flash content delivery, at least in the short term -- almost everything you're navigating to in Chrome is a Flash video. For example, Google's own YouTube -- one of the first sites to provide HTML5 video playback -- loads up its Flash player on Google TV, because that's the only way Google can serve ads during the content. Seriously -- that's what Google told us. YouTube LeanBack, the TV-optimized version of YouTube, is also Flash-based, presumably for the same reason. Obviously things will change once there are apps and possibly more robust HTML5 video solutions, but right now Google TV is an extremely Flash-intensive product.
PS3 Web Applications:
Netflix US widevine player may require Javascript outside the browser (HTML5) for UI or AIR
Lovefilm EU widevine player may require javascript outside the browser (HTML5) for UI or AIR
Mubi EU Flash player
Hulu US Flash player
ITV player EU Flash Player
STV EU Flash player
UTV EU Flash player
Channel Television EU Flash Player
Notice most require a Flash player and are just now being supported. Note: Besides providing DRM and adaptive streaming, Flash provides a method for including commercials.
The widevine player probably requires HTML5 support (
javascript support outside the browser) because the UI would then be totally upgradeable to FULL HTML4 graphics or degradable to min for supporting underpowered platforms depending on what the customer wants without Widevine having to produce another player. The Wii was listed as Widevine compatible and had special support for
javascript outside the browser provided by Opera but the PS3 was not listed. After 3.5 the PS3 was widevine compatible. The difference I believe is because the PS3 now has javascript support outside the browser. And
Air 2.5 runtime can support javascript outside a browser. Note: Air 2.5 requires the support of a Webkit for some HTML. As long as Netfix is not using advanced HTML menu features this should pose no problem. By the time it does, if my speculation is correct, a webkit browser will be in the PS3.
The Wii had AIR support which provides javascript support outside a browser. The PS3 not being widevine compatible and the Wii being compatible pre PS3 3.5 may have nothing to do with HTML5 javascript but with the PS3 not having Air support before firmware 3.5.
If HTML5 features or UI it may be very low tech to support the least common denominator hardware platforms. No way to tell if webkit is supported in PS3. If Adobe Air, an older version of the runtime must have been in Hulu prior to firmware 3.5 and removed when a new AIR runtime was installed in the PS3 (if that is true). Almost all platforms could now support advanced menu/UI features. It may be easier to tell if Air 2.5 is in the PS3 if we see new advanced features . IF AIR still doesn't mean webkit but porting AIR 2.5 to the PS3 is exactly the same work with much of the same source code as Flash 10.1. If you have done one you can do the other, have already just about done it.
If Sony has Flash 10, why didn't they hook it up to the existing web browser in 3.50 ? As far as I know, the PS3 web browser uses Flash 9.
Newer versions of Flash player require processes that are not supported by older browsers. Flash player 10.1 and Adobe AIR 2.5 require multi-process support, Flash player 10 I believe does not. This is the reason AIR 2.5 will not work on Android 2.1 but will work on Android 2.2.
Webkit2 browsers and Chrome which originated the idea are multi-process and separate WEB processes so that one CPU can process a part of the web page while another CPU processes another part. This results in faster web page generation. A by product of this was that there are now separate processes that can be called/used outside the browser.
But there must be support for multi-processes and CPUs in the Operating system. Android 2.2 has those multi-processes and Android 2.1 does not. This is also another thing that must be supported in a PS3 firmware upgrade which I think was done in 3.5.
So Sony could port 10.0 in the Netfront browser but why would they spend the effort when I believe they are currently porting a Chrome browser that will have 10.1.
You sound young and have abundant energy.
If you keep shouting "Fire !", people will discredit you quickly next time.
I did not know Hulu was flash based rather than HTML5. It appears Flash is used because of the ability of Flash to enable commercials in stream. My previous statements speculating that a javascript engine was in the Hulu application and after firmware 3.5 included in the PS3 and removed from Hulu and now speculating that Air 2.5 which is an engine that supports javascript outside the browser was what was ported to the PS3 not a HTML5 javascript engine appears to make me less believable. Both are engines with apx the same size serving similar functions....it's hard from the outside to know the color of the rose from the smell.
I am 60 and have been a diagnostic technician for most of my life. I.E. I speculate based on symptoms then try to confirm to find the problem with testing. Same process here but with fewer ways to test or confirm. I am slightly outside my field in this discussion and appreciate corrections.
We are using the scientific method in these discussions:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_method
A scientific method consists of the collection of data through observation and experimentation, and the formulation and testing of hypotheses.[3]
Although procedures vary from one field of inquiry to another, identifiable features distinguish scientific inquiry from other methods of obtaining knowledge. Scientific researchers propose hypotheses as explanations of phenomena, and design experimental studies to test these hypotheses. These steps must be repeatable, to predict future results. Theories that encompass wider domains of inquiry may bind many independently derived hypotheses together in a coherent, supportive structure. Theories, in turn, may help form new hypotheses or place groups of hypotheses into context.
The process has another step; publishing for peer review, which readers in this forum are providing. In the process at least I am learning about browsers and web applications, and I'm sure others are too as this field is evolving so fast that 6 months is a generation.
http://www.sidequesting.com/2010/11/is-google-tv-due-for-ps3/
Rumor: From word “close to the project”, Google TV is pegged to arrive on the PS3 sometime early next Spring.
Not Rumor: Sony already has a GoogleTV connected Blu-Ray player.
When we reached out to Sony on the subject, they have provided us with a “Sony does not comment on rumor or speculation” response. But, there is mounting evidence to suggest that something may be going on.
With the speculation surrounding the Playstation Phone and Sony already dabbling in Android OS/GoogleTV inclusion on Sony hardware and televisions, it’s safe to assume that the OS usage will be extended to other Sony products. The PS3 needs to further leverage the OS’ ability to be flexible across platforms and combat the upcoming 3DS and the XBox 360′s addition of ESPN and several other new features.
Sony currently provides both Netflix and Hulu Plus apps to its users, as well as Sony Pictures films over PSN. The PS3 also allows for networked streaming. It is clear that not only does Sony want the PS3 to be a gaming hub, but the premiere multimedia hub of the home as well. GoogleTV provides the ability to view any media at any time, web or live, something that few other devices accomplish effectively and no other gaming device can do. This is a huge advantage for Sony of they can extend Android’s reach.
With Google TV having the ability to include apps, this provides a quicker method of acquiring many of the same apps that the Xbox has (Last.fm, Twitter, Facebook) and more. The PS3 can more accurately become an “everything to everyone” product if it has access to all of the apps that we like to use already.
But why should we believe that GoogleTV will come to PS3? Besides the factual and statistical notes, it comes down to it just making sense. It’s already happening on Sony TV and Blu-Ray products, and the PS3 is considered the cornerstone of Sony’s electronics business. It could very well be educated guesswork, but the addition of any such app now proves advantageous for both Sony and Google, who want the product in as many homes as possible early on to help it gain footing.
It is unlikely that any official acknowledgement will come from Google any time soon, so it falls square on Sony’s shoulders to announce the update possibly after the holiday season, as a way to continue the growing positive sales numbers of the PS3.
