RipCode is butting its head in Steve Jobs’ war on Flash, as the transcoding company is helping content providers bring Flash videos to the iPad.
The company said it will work with web sites to create a transcoding layer that can enable users to view Flash videos on their iPads. They’re betting that many video sites are not quite ready to switch fully to another technology like HTML5 and RipCode said its product is essentially a video-transaction layer in the cloud. This means it won’t involve long load or buffer times for the end user. Because it’s done in the back end, companies won’t have to worry about upsetting Apple’s new terms of service for iPhone 4.0.
“The ‘Flash on iPad’ dilemma is really just the latest in a long line of speed bumps on the road towards ‘any-content, any-time, any-place, any-device’ that we all desire,” said RipCode CEO Brendon Mills, in a prepared statement. “Fortunately, our technology removes this barrier in a way that is attractive to content hosters, a key device manufacturer, a key video player provider, and the end user alike.”
It’s cool beans but I’m wondering if the lack of Flash is just making publishers adapt to the somewhat-inevitable HTML5 future. Netflix, The New York Times and other heavy hitters have already adopted to reach the highly-coveted iPhone OS demographic. Well, regardless, RipCode’s solution is an interesting twist in the story.
[Via RipCode]