iPod touch Can IPod Touch play on-line video in Safari

[jim4spam]

I am really keen to get an iPod touch, but I was disappointed when playing with one in the store that it didn't seem to be able to play video streamed on-line from on-line websites. The exceptions were Youtube (via it's own App) and H.264 content. Does anyone know why it can't play all?

Websites like the BBC seemed to be diverted to their mobile content website rather than the normal content. On the adverts, it seemed that Safari on the iPod touch would capable of displaying the same content as a desktop/laptop.
Am I doing something wrong? Have I misunderstood?

Thanks for your help!

 

[mooblie]

Currently, the iPod Touch (and iPhone) can't play online video intended for playback in Flash Player. You see a small blue lego brick instead. This is a pain, but many fanbois here will tell you it's not good for you to be able to view many respected news websites that use this mechanism to show video clips, like BBC News, New York Times, Le Monde, CNN, CBC, ABC News, Welt Online, El Pais, etc.... (and hundreds of others).

However, thankfully some video sources are re-encoded in iPod friendly formats (i.e. not Flash): e.g. try using Safari on your iPod Touch to view:

(a) live UK TV on iphone.tvcatchup.com

(b) BBC iPlayer on www.bbc.co.uk/mobile/iplayer/

NB: Both those addresses assume you're in the UK, and are NOT the normal addresses for desktop computer use, but neither requires jailbreaking.


Also investigate the (free) "netTV Lite" app. which works anywhere.

 

[Night Spring]

Websites like the BBC seemed to be diverted to their mobile content website rather than the normal content. On the adverts, it seemed that Safari on the iPod touch would capable of displaying the same content as a desktop/laptop.

Yes, the Touch is capable of displaying websites in the same format as a desktop, but some websites are set up to detect mobile devices and redirect them to their mobile-format pages. On some sites, if you look around, there is a link to get back to their regular pages. Other sites, you get their mobile version and you are stuck there. Currently, there's no way to get around this unless you jailbreak your ipod.

 

[jim4spam]

Thanks for the suggestions.

Does anyone know why this functionality is excluded from iPT Safari? It would seem to me (not being a programmer) that one would just write a flash player plug-in thingy. The hardware is capable of doing it (otherwise that YouTube app wouldn't work) so why would Apple limit this?

 

[mooblie]

.....Does anyone know why this functionality is excluded from iPT Safari? It would seem to me (not being a programmer) that one would just write a flash player plug-in thingy. The hardware is capable of doing it (otherwise that YouTube app wouldn't work) so why would Apple limit this?....

Jim!!! Oh no!!!!!! Duck and take cover......!

 

[jim4spam]

Thanks Demi-God.. I did browse the other threads before starting this one..apologies.

"Other sites, you get their mobile version and you are stuck there. Currently, there's no way to get around this unless you jailbreak your ipod."​

So how would that be? If you jailbreak the iPT do you install another browser?

 

[Night Spring]

(otherwise that YouTube app wouldn't work)

I believe the YouTube app is playing the videos in mp4 format, not flash.

 

[Night Spring]

"Other sites, you get their mobile version and you are stuck there. Currently, there's no way to get around this unless you jailbreak your ipod."​

So how would that be? If you jailbreak the iPT do you install another browser?

Once you jailbreak, you can get the Touch to pretend to be a desktop -- that is, it can tell websites it is a desktop, not a mobile device.