YouTube Launches HTML5 Video Beta

YouTube looks to be expanding beyond its Flash-based video foundation with the addition of HTML5 video support. The HTML5 standard supports video and audio playback without requiring users to install Adobe Flash on their computer.

"This means that users with an HTML5 compatible browser, and support for the proper audio and video codecs can watch a video without needing to download a browser plugin," the company said on its blog.

YouTube's HTML5 support is in a beta phase right now, so there are some limitations. It requires Web browsers that support h.264 and video tags, but doesn't support videos with ads, or captions and annotations.

Compatible Web browsers include Safari, Internet Explorer with ChromeFrame, and Google's Chrome. Users interested in trying out Flash-free YouTube videos need to join the YouTube HTML5 Video Player beta program.