Downloading Podcast?

Wed Jan 3 05:18:00 PST 2018

From: Jeremy Nicoll - ml gip
Sent: Tuesday, January 2, 2018 11:05 PM

>On 2018-01-02 21:15, I wrote:

>> The Times has recently started including video clips.  So far I have
>> been unable to play them.  I don't know if they are using Flash.  I do
>> not know enough to be able to tell from a web page whether it is using
>> HTML5 or Flash.

>If you right-click over a video you can tell from what's offered whether
>it is Flash; Flash videos have the word "Flash" mentioned in their menu
>(or did last time I did this) and IIRC offer one the chance to run the
>Flash Settings dialogue.

Now you mention it, I do remember that.  I think the one with the Flash 
settings dialogue preceded the one which gave information about the clip 
like bit rate.  If I right click on Alastair's clip I get

2.16.27.1838333.u.x
1500kbps | RTMP  (limelight) | p0081fsr
Error: 1058

If I right click on a video clip in The Times I just get the same drop down 
list as from any other web page.

Since I made my comment I have found a page which says that a HTML5 page 
will begin

<!DOCTYPE html>

instead of a DOCTYPE which refers to a DTD.  According to that test both 
Alastair's clip and the clips in The Times are HTML5.

>What's harder (impossible?) to see is whether the server might have
>offered you a Flash video in other circumstances but has chosen to send
>you an HTML5 one because it thinks that suits your browser/platform
>better.

That is where my knowledge breaks down.  I have no idea what the code to 
decide whether to offer Flash or HTML5 looks like.

Best wishes
Richard