Safari for Mac to Support WebM Video Playback 11 Years After Its Launch

[MacRumors]

Safari features support for WebM video playback in the second beta of macOS Big Sur 11.3 Beta, indicating that Apple's browser will finally support the format after failing to do so for almost 11 years.

The added functionality, first spotted by The 8-Bit, allows users to play WebM videos in Safari for the first time.

WebM is a video format designed to be a royalty-free alternative to the H.264 codec used in the MP4 format. WebM allows video files to remain small without sacrificing quality excessively, and can be played with little processing power, making it ideal for webpages and browsers.

WebM was launched by Google in 2010, but has never been supported in Safari. This meant that Safari users have been forced to download WebM content and play it in a compatible media player, or simply use another browser such as Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox.

Today, WebM is among the more niche video formats, primarily being used on sites such as imageboards and forums. It is also often chosen for its support for transparent video playback.

In 2010, Steve Jobs implied that WebM was "a mess" and "not ready for primetime." It is unclear why Apple has finally deemed WebM a format worth supporting 11 years after its launch, but it may be partially due to the fact that Apple officially backs the H.264 codec.

WebM also has a sister project called WebP for images. Last year, Apple added support for WebP in Safari 14, so the company's approach to more niche media formats appears to be softening. WebM support still appears to be unavailable on iOS, but in light of these developments it would be unsurprising if Apple's WebKit engine added support for it too in due course.

Article Link: Safari for Mac to Support WebM Video Playback 11 Years After Its Launch

 

[gotluck]

whoa whoa, is this for mobile safari too?

 

[dukebound85]

about time

 

[wilhoitm]

Like we need another format?

 

[mdnz]

4chan users are rubbing their hands together now

 

[Jezak]

whoa whoa, is this for mobile safari too?

Agreed, this would be a massive improvement for me.

 

[Bokito]

The webm version 11 years ago was based on VP8 or maybe even an earlier codec. Today's base codec is VP9. That's a big difference. I think Apple is just forced by Google's dominance with YouTube and users wanting 4K video. People don't accept running 1080p on their 5K iMac anymore.

 

[ArPe]

4chan users are rubbing their hands together now

They don’t have Macs. They spent all their money on cheese pizza webm format videos, over priced GPUs and lost their money on pump n dumps. Elon and his Bois took the money and ran laughing...and they will do it again and again

 

[apparatchik]

This might also mean a recognition that H.265 might not be the future and VP9 a needed format.

I wonder if Apple Silicon will be providing hardware decoding/encoding for this as well, now that Apple controls the full stack.

 

[leman]

Interesting development. Either Apple is acknowledging that Google has won the codec wars or they simply decided that this kind of squabble is petty and below them. HEVC is still a better codec, but I guess it's good for the customers to have both...

 

[Xenomorph]

browsing 4chan is about to become more spicy

 

[biffuz]

Like we need another format?

Yes, we need open formats.

 

[citysnaps]

Oh...did I just feel the Earth suddenly tilt a few more degrees?

How did I get through life without this?

 

[Fishing Rick]

Interesting development. Either Apple is acknowledging that Google has won the codec wars or they simply decided that this kind of squabble is petty and below them. HEVC is still a better codec, but I guess it's good for the customers to have both...

Was thinking exactly the same, Apple has been pushing hard for HEVC and it seems like an unusual move from them to suddenly start supporting something like this. What I find interesting is that Jobs was saying the exact same thing about Flash, which almost instantly died after.

But the more I read I think that they are just supporting it out of redundancy or for political reasons...

 

[FasterQuieter]

Are the latest Macs capable of decoding this format in hardware? I hope so, or we'll be back to sizzling hot Macs like in the Flash video days. Or with the M1, slightly warmer than room temperature Macs.

 

[ArtOfWarfare]

Like we need another format?

The format already existed and is used. Just Safari was a crippled browser that couldn't view it. Now that's been fixed.

I'm curious what objections Jobs had 11 years ago. Does someone more in-the-know about the format know of improvements that have been made since then?

 

[Lemon Olive]

Like we need another format?

Like you have any idea what you're talking about.

 

[gnomeisland]

Is it cynical to wonder if this is partly in response to the growing anti-trust sentiment in the USA? Personally, I don't really care, although I do appreciate the VP9 support for 4K YouTube.

 

[Lemon Olive]

This might also mean a recognition that H.265 might not be the future and VP9 a needed format.

I wonder if Apple Silicon will be providing hardware decoding/encoding for this as well, now that Apple controls the full stack.

AV1 is already ahead of all this. I'm hoping that is the future.

 

[gnomeisland]

Are the latest Macs capable of decoding this format in hardware? I hope so, or we'll be back to sizzling hot Macs like in the Flash video days. Or with the M1, slightly warmer than room temperature Macs.

If WebM is really a wrapper for VP9, then there has been hardware support since ~A10—hence the AppleTV 4K supports 4K YouTube now.

 

[genovelle]

Interesting development. Either Apple is acknowledging that Google has won the codec wars or they simply decided that this kind of squabble is petty and below them. HEVC is still a better codec, but I guess it's good for the customers to have both...

Considering I have never come across this format and needed to download a player in 11 years is telling.

 

[MauiPa]

Wow. I literally never knew I couldn’t play that video format in safari Niche is right, I have never encountered it

 

[MauiPa]

Is it cynical to wonder if this is partly in response to the growing anti-trust sentiment in the USA? Personally, I don't really care, although I do appreciate the VP9 support for 4K YouTube.

Yah pretty cynical, because it has nothing to do with it. You could always use another browser if you were one of the 12 people it impacted

 

[leman]

Was thinking exactly the same, Apple has been pushing hard for HEVC and it seems like an unusual move from them to suddenly start supporting something like this. What I find interesting is that Jobs was saying the exact same thing about Flash, which almost instantly died after.

But the more I read I think that they are just supporting it out of redundancy or for political reasons...

Well, Flash was a different story. Everybody hated Flash (and for good reasons) — the only exception being flash animators and people making dysfunctional websites.

The format already existed and is used. Just Safari was a crippled browser that couldn't view it. Now that's been fixed.

Not more crippled than Chrome not supporting HEVC... it's just that YouTube is really big

I'm curious what objections Jobs had 11 years ago. Does someone more in-the-know about the format know of improvements that have been made since then?

The objections are still the same. HEVC is being promoted by Apple, WebM/VP9/AV1 is being promoted by Google. Google obviously has an upper hand since they have Youtube.

 

[Mr. Retrofire]

Considering I have never come across this format and needed to download a player in 11 years is telling.

Modern webbrowsers decode this in the background. You do not download the file.