Prior to HTML5, there was no standard way to embed video into a web page. Just about every web video you’ve seen has been played through some third-party plug-in such as QuickTime, Flash, or maybe even RealPlayer. Most of these plug-ins are common enough that you may not even notice you’re computer is using them. Unfortunately, with new technology comes new problems.

HTML5 supports a new code to define a standard for web video: the <video> tag. Since we’ve started integrating mobile videos into our website, I’ve been doing some research of my own to see how this new tag works. There are relatively simple commands that allow you to easily change attributes of the embedded video. I got a couple test pages working and I must say, it looks clean and professional. The downfall of this tag, however, is that support for this element is pretty limited at the moment.

Although the video looks good on browsers such as Chrome and Safari and supported mobile devices like the iPhone/iPad, it won’t play at all on Mozilla Firefox. The less common video format Theora .ogv/.ogg is needed for proper playback instead of the typical h.264 video. Why? Because Mozilla can’t afford the h.264 licensing through the MPEG LA group. Internet Explorer, on the other hand, will eventually support the <video> tag in version 9 but for now IE8 users will have to deal with empty screens. What a mess!

What does that mean for us video and web developers?  Provide options- lots of them. It seems as though there has to be multiple encodings of the same video to ensure proper playback on a wide variety of browsers and platforms, at least until HTML5 gains a bigger foundation in the web world. Through tactical web coding, our web developers can have websites automatically detect what browser and platform the user is running and play the correct video.

Don’t know how h.264, Theora .ogg, or html5 works? Then perhaps your site may not be reaching your maximum audience. DDA’s new mobile divison, AppleSAVVY, can take care of all the technical garb so you don’t have to worry about it. Visit our site for more information!

A shoddy leveling of some old dirt bike jumps that were in the backyard of our new house has left us some puddling. Not really puddles I guess. It’s more like a small pond. The rain this year seems to keep filling it up again whenever it seems to be close to drying up. The effect of this giant pool of stagnant water is a horrible abundance of mosquitoes and other biting bugs.  Last year, interestingly enough, brought a plague of frogs, but this year it is biting bugs. My legs have been bit plenty of times over the past few weeks and the bug bite itch is incredibly annoying. I seem to be accosted every time I bring out a new bowl of kitchen scraps to the compost pile. I don’t know where I am going with this, but the itching is all I can think of right now.

Normally I’d try to spin this introduction story and link it somehow to DDA. I’d either say how many services we have and list a bunch of them like advanced programming, 3D animation, commercial photography, etc., or I would mention how we have videographers, copywriters, programmers, and graphic designers superior to any other advertising company and how they are all in one building without the need for outsourcing. Talking about us being a one-stop shop is common, and sometimes I tout our efforts to be a green advertising agency. This isn’t one of those times though. This time I just can’t think of a way to link my itchy bug bites to DDA other than this round-about explanation of what I normally would do. It gets the job done though. I’ll now resume thinking about scratching my bug bites.

It was already warm this morning when I walked out my door at 6:40 a.m. I knew then that the weatherman wasn’t going to be wrong. Today is going to be hot. I, despise being cold and craving warm weather, am not a fan of sticky humidity, especially when my allergies have been really bad the last few days and I already have a pounding headache.

Complaints aside, changing seasons is a natural part of life and you can either go with it or you can stomp your feet and whine. At DDA, we’re always innovating new technologies and adding onto our growing list of capabilities to offer our clients the best solutions for any problems, concerns, needs, or issues that may arise at any time. Website design and development, video production, search engine marketing (SEM), and even 2D and 3D animations are all examples of how we’ve adapted to help our clients. With AppleSavvy, our newest division that’s focused on converting websites to be iPad and iPhone friendly, we are once again fulfilling a growing need due to changing technologies.

As for the impending heat, as always I’ll just have to adjust. Before I know it, it’ll be fall again and I’ll be complaining about the crisp weather.