Launching RemObjects TV

jim -

Hopefully everyone has had a chance to check out our new RemObjects TV we launched with the Summer 2010 release of our products.  The goal with RemObjects TV is to create short (10 minutes or less) training videos covering the topics of interest to developers.  The videos are divided into channels based on products.  Each channel has a feed available as RSS or via iTunes, and there is a main feed for all the channels.  Each channel has its own color theme.

One of the objectives in creating this video resource was to make it available on as many platforms as possible.  For us, that meant using the latest HTML 5 Video tag support, so we are not dependent on Flash to play the videos.  This means it will work on iPhone and iPad and other platforms that do not support Flash.  Unfortunately the current status of HTML 5 Video tag support requires encoding the videos with two different codecs.  We currently have h.264 MP4 videos, which work in Chrome and Safari, and the Ogg Theora Vorbis OGV videos for Firefox.  Internet Explorer doesn’t support HTML 5 yet, so it gets Flash, which displays the MP4 file. All the videos are 1280×720 for that 720p HD experience.

What we learned along the way:

  • OGV is not as efficient as MP4 – slower, poorer quality and larger file size, but hey, its free!
  • iPad and iPhone seem to like specific encoding for the MP4.
  • iPad doesn’t support the poster property on the Video tag (makes it not play).
  • HTML5 means you are browser depended for if it offers full screen viewing.

Tools we used:

Hopefully that satisfies your curiosity.

We are curious what everyone’s experience is with RemObjects TV.

  • Does the HTML5 embedding work for you, or do you prefer Flash still?
  • Suggestions for future videos?
  • Do the videos stream for you (bandwidth, etc.)?

We may not be able to implement everything suggested, but we will be improving and optimizing the process and experience in the near future, so any feedback you give us now can greatly impact that.