LongTail Video Releases First-of-Its-Kind Web Video Player

Seamlessly Integrating Flash and HTML5 into the JW Player

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Oct 12, 2010, 12:22 ET

NEW YORK, Oct. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- LongTail Video (www.longtailvideo.com), the leading provider of affordable, self-serve video solutions for web publishers, today announced the release of JW Player 5.3, which seamlessly integrates Flash and HTML5 playback modes into a single video player. Using a powerful, new and unified JavaScript API, JW Player 5.3 enables web sites to maintain a consistent user experience across all platforms supported by HTML5 and Flash, including the iPhone, iPad and Android-based devices.

"We continue to believe that both HTML5 and Flash will play important roles in the future of online video," said Dave Otten, co-founder and CEO of LongTail Video, "That's why, with JW Player 5.3, we created a video experience where Flash and HTML5 video work together as part of a single player. Now, users can simply embed the JW Player 5.3 onto their sites and receive the benefits of both standards."

Key features of the JW Player 5.3 include:

Auto-Detect Browser/Device Support for Flash and HTML5. Enables users to embed videos using the same code for both Flash and HTML5. The player will auto-detect support for the chosen playback mode and fallback to the other when necessary.
New JavaScript API. Supported in both Flash and HTML5 modes, allows any JavaScript code that integrates the player to run consistently across any device or browser.
Updated Features for HTML5 Playback. Includes full screen support and the same skinning model supported by Flash playback mode.

"One of the most important features of this release allows Flash and HTML5 playback modes to share a common JavaScript API," said Jeroen Wijering, the creator of the JW Player. "This means a far broader set of developers can build customizations and interactions that work for both Flash and HTML5 and across browsers and devices."

Today's release of JW Player 5.3 follows LongTail Video's recent release of the Open Video Ads (OVA) project, an open source initiative dedicated to enabling the delivery of IAB VAST-compliant advertisements into any player, including the JW Player. Since its release, OVA quickly gained support in the marketplace among leading ad servers and thousands of video publishers.

LongTail Video is headquartered in New York City with an office in the Netherlands. For more information, see www.longtailvideo.com or contact Sylvia Paull at [email protected] or at 510.388.8932.