February 2015

Codecs
• The Changing Face of DRM: Where Do We Stand in 2015?
• Akamai: How MSE, EME, and WebCrypto Will Join to Kill Flash


VR
• SFHTML5 MeetUp: Browser-Based Virtual Reality in HTML5
• How to make films for VR
Magic Leap
• Project HoloLens: holographic goggles from Microsoft

<track>
Dynamically adding text tracks to HTML5 video

WebRTC
• WebRTC 1.0 Becomes a W3C Working Draft
• Screen Capture Working Draft
• Hello in Firefox 35 stable. Lots of coverage, e.g. from pcworld.com:
As the Web transitions from a place for reading pages to a platform for running apps, browsers such as Firefox must evolve into a new kind of framework.

… now that WebRTC technology has proven its worth, it’s being perceived by some manufacturers as the key to making mobile devices that are not telephones competitive with smartphones. A device running the new Firefox OS, for example, could be sold by everyday retailers without the need for carrier contracts … . 
So there’s a chance that Hello, or any future Firefox OS-based device that supports it, may appeal to a new generation of 'cord cutters.' 
• AT&T is the first US carrier to support WebRTC
• Tim Panton's summary: The worst WebRTC demo yet.
• WebRTC samples moved to github.com/webrtc

And finally...
Privileged Contexts draft: HTTPS to be mandatory for features such as getUserMedia and EME
• State of Connectivity 2014: report on global internet access from internet.org:
... the rate at which the world is connecting to the internet is slowing down and is estimated to decline for the fourth year in a row. In 2008, the number of people using the internet grew by 12.4%.
By 2014, the growth rate was down to 6.6%.

At present rates of decelerating growth, the internet won’t reach 4 billion people until 2019.

100 MB is “entry-level” internet, sufficient for text-heavy applications. 500 MB is a “maturing” internet experience, sufficient for basic multimedia content. 2 GB and above represent a “fully connected” internet experience. 
In India, for example, market forces and competition have driven the cost of data to a price point at the bottom quartile of global prices, at $2.40 and $0.80 ($PPP), for prepaid data plans of 250 MB and 100 MB per month, respectively, which isaffordable by 59% and 94% of the Indian population, respectively.
• Accessible and responsive video player
Responsive video poster images
• From YouTube to Facebook – will video be the one to watch in 2015?
• The revolution wasn't televised: The early days of YouTube
YouTube Kids app launch
• Rs5,700 (US$92) Z1 Tizen smartphone released in India by Samsung: 'The smartphone market in India is rapidly evolving with many consumers using their device as their screen of choice for content including videos, television programmes and video games.' Review from Ars Technica: 'Tizen doesn't offer any innovative ideas. It's just Android with worse design, no direction, no hardware support, and no apps.'
• Apps and Mobile Web IAB report: 12% of time on mobile devices is spent using a browser, but only 18% of mobile users say they spend 'significantly more time using apps than browsing mobile websites'.
• Digital radio overtakes analogue in UK
• Reuters TV launches 'Netflix for news': iOS app with live feeds and news programmes
• How Mail Online, National Geographic, Cosmopolitan, Vice and others use Snapchat Discover for media delivery
• New York Times becomes a video hub
The New York Times Shows How to Build a Chromecast Application
• 10x WiGig wifi in consumer devices by end 2015

• US$200 eye tracker
• Amazon moves into film production
• Netflix shares up on strong earnings
Music on Snapchat
• Samsung Smart TVs forcing ads into video streaming apps
• Xiaomi Mi Note (prices from 2,299 yuan, about US$370):
Apple would have the layman believe it engineered every component itself, but Xiaomi speaks of its sourcing with pride — it's heavily emphasizing the 1080p screen from either Sharp or Japan Display, the Sony camera sensor, the Philips two-tone flash, and the Sony or LG battery. Xiaomi is one of the first Chinese brands to successfully engender a sense of homegrown cool … .