Netflix plans to drop Silverlight, move to HTML5

Netflix is working to test various HTML5 video extensions as it plans to switch from Microsoft’s Silverlight plug-in to HTML5 in order to deliver video in the coming years.

In a post on the Netflix Tech Blog, the video-on-demand service cited Micorosoft’s decision to only support Silverlight 5 until 2021 as a reason to “find a replacement.”

Netflix said that over the last year it has been collaborating with industry leaders on initiatives designed “to solve this problem of playing premium video content directly in the browser without the need for browser plug-ins such as Silverlight.”

It added that it had already been working with Google to implement support for the HTML5 premium video extensions in the Chrome browser and has started using this on certain Samsung Chromebooks. It aims to test its HTML5 video player on Windows and OS X in the future.

Listing the disadvantages of using plug-ins like Siilverlight, Netflix said that users must first install the plug-in, not all browsers support them and some web users view browser plugins as a security and privacy risk and choose not to install them.

“We’re excited about the future of premium video playback on the web, and we look forward to the day that these Premium Video Extensions are implemented in all browsers,” Netflix said.