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Comment by coolnow | Hacker News Reader

Sorry if this is always brought up (i haven't seen an Apple stream since the iPhone 4 event), but we /still/ need Quicktime to stream this? What the hell?

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Google wants their own protocol to succeed, Mozilla wants a different video codec to succeed[1], Microsoft probably wants to own both. It's very easy to cache HLS, which makes distributing high definition to a large number of people much cheaper. Is Apple supposed to spend more money on lower quality steaming just because their competitors don't want to play nicely?

VLC is capable of playing HLS if you can get it the correct URL. Some other browsers can play it, but the web has an unfortunately long history of browser detection.

[1 https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=577084]

I don’t think this is about wanting protocols to succeed, or at least not primarily. Every iOS or OS X device Apple sells (so pretty much any of their products) can play this. No need to install anything. Why should Apple do any special extra work to make it work elsewhere without a bit of hassle?

Also, it’s just a fucking PR event. Why do people want to watch it? That’s just weird.

No, Mozilla is working on implementing Media Source Extensions API [1] which is the same as Google Chrome and Chromebooks [2].

[1] https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=778617 [2] http://techcrunch.com/2013/04/15/netflix-html5-chromebooks/

I've just spent this morning setting up an Apple HTTP Live Stream to other platforms with a flash player. It's not too difficult to do, so I assume the reason for not doing it is Apple's unwillingness to use 3rd party technology.

In their defence, the technology is open, and the only reason Mozilla/Google etc aren't implementing support for HLS is that they are betting on their own technology instead of using HLS, which is currently far ahead.

> In their defence, the technology is open, and the only reason Mozilla/Google etc aren't implementing support for HLS...

Android, for one example, does support http live streaming (since Honeycomb). Try it: Apple's own demonstration sample HLS stream[1] plays fine on Android. (I think VLC does too now, etc.)

Of course, Android users are still blocked from this event, the page won't show you the stream unless it detects you're using an Apple product, even if you could play it fine. This was a deliberate restriction by Apple, not a technical limitation.

[1] http://devimages.apple.com/iphone/samples/bipbop/gear1/prog_...

Does it work if you spoof your user agent? Just curious.

Nope! http://i.imgur.com/kwxQTDc.png

I presume they're using their HTTP Live Streaming (hack with chunked video for variable framerate). It's supported by VLC and a few other players, but not natively in browsers yet.

It's supported natively by Safari, Mac OS and iOS. And it's not a hack, it's a specified protocol that a few media companies seem to be taking up now.

When I view the page in FF24, it says "Live Streaming video requires Safari 4 or later on OS X v10.6 or later; Safari on iOS 4.2 or later."

I'm just as surprised that it "requires Safari" which is just ... silly.

The iPod didn't take off until the release of the Windows version. I wonder if that lesson has been lost.

I don't know that this lesson applies now. Apple occupied a tiny niche at the time the iPod gained Windows compatibility. Now there are the better part of a billion Apple devices out in the world that can view this stream.

It's a live stream of a marketing event of a company. In an ideal world, no one besides die hard apple fans should be interested in watching it live as it happens.

I don't remember the iPod with Windows video event being streamed live as well but yet, as you say, it was a success.

The video is almost always immediately available for everyone after the event. What does anyone gain by watching (or providing) what is widely speculated to be an announcement of a new iteration of an existing product live ?

http://www.ustream.tv/ltktv

That's live coverage, not the event itself. Last time I saw one of these they were shambling trying to get video from people's iphones inside the hall and a couple of their guys got caught and were asked to leave.

Nope, this time they're streaming the actual event (Apple's providing it, they can just re-stream).

But they do editorialize on top (and cough and sniffle)... fortunately, only occasionally.

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