HTML5 is still not ready for prime time, according to You Tube - indisputably a key arbiter of video technology that works well on the web. Kuan Yong, platforms product manager for Google's YouTube, has weighed in on the debate of which video technology standard will dominant the web and mobile devices, throwing his support behind Flash - for now. Simply put, Yong says in a blog post, while HTML5 meets basic video delivery and display requirements, it's not yet sufficient for the high-volume, high-value video that YouTube serves.

Areas where Flash outperforms HTML5, he writes, include:

• It delivers the video to the browser better. "Simply pointing the browser at a URL is not good enough, as that doesn't allow users to easily get to the part of the video they want. As we've been expanding into serving full-length movies and live events, it also becomes important to have fine control over buffering and dynamic quality control."

• It helps prove the IP protection YouTube needs to promise its posters. "For YouTube Rentals, video owners require us to use secure streaming technology, such as the Flash Platform's RTMPE protocol, to ensure their videos are not redistributed. Without content protection, we would not be able to offer videos like this."

• It makes it easier to embed YouTube video in other web sites. "Web site owners need to ensure that embedded content is not able to access private user information on the containing page, and we need to ensure that our video player logic travels with the video - for features like captions, annotations, and advertising. While HTML5 adds sandboxing and message-passing functionality, Flash is the only mechanism most web sites allow for embedded content from other sites."

• Flash Player provides controls for enabling fullscreen displays. "While WebKit has recently taken some steps forward on fullscreen support, it's not yet sufficient for video usage - particularly the ability to continue displaying content on top of the video."

• It offers camera and microphone access. "Flash Player has provided rich camera and microphone access for several years now, while HTML5 is just getting started."

Why Bother?

Given this indictment, one wonders why Apple CEO Steve Jobs has made such a fuss about HTML5 - and his distaste for Flash. Some of it is political, writes the Economist  Apple does not want apps written on cross-platform programming tools such as Flash because they can then can easily migrate to other smartphone devices.

An online video environment built on HTML5, though, may benefit the entire industry - not just Apple. Jobs views Flash as a rat's nest of buggy software that "hogs processor cycles, drains battery life and causes needless crashes," the Economist also noted. Eventually HTML5 will be able to handle audio and video internally, without the need for browser plug-ins such as Adobe’s Flash or Microsoft’s Silverlight and Oracle's JavaFX, it said.

Eventually - but as YouTube makes clear - that day is not here yet.