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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.

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> 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

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