New Version of JW Player Is Released

The popular JW Player has been upgraded to version 5.3, and while that might sound like a minor point upgrade, LongTail has packed a variety of major new features into it.

With this version, Flash and HTML5 video are now supported in the same player. That means that sites using the player can maintain a consistent user experience while supporting both Apple iOS and Google Android mobile devices.

"We continue to believe that both HTML5 and Flash will play important roles in the future of online video," says Dave Otten, co-founder and CEO of LongTail Video, "That's why, with JWPlayer 5.3, we created a video experience where Flash and HTML5 video work together as part of a single player. Now, users can simply embed the JW Player5.3 onto their sites and receive the benefits of both standards."

The player now includes an auto-detect mechanism so that it knows whether to serve Flash or HTML5 video. A new JavaScript API that's supported in both Flash and HTML5 modes lets JavaScript code run consistently across any device or browser.

"One of the most important features of this release allows Flash and HTML5 playback modes to share a common JavaScript API," says Jeroen Wijering, the creator of the JW Player. "This means a far broader set of developers can build customizations and interactions that work for both Flash and HTML5 and across browsers and devices."

HTML5 playback has been improved with full screen support. It also now uses the same skinning model used in the Flash playback model.

For advice on getting started with the JW Player, read "Get Online Fast with JW Player Now."

Troy Dreier's article first appeared on OnlineVideo.net