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by dperfect 3804 days ago
> Gif lags on mobile internet, and MP4 requires that we explicitly hit the play button on mobile browsers.

Wouldn't the more obvious choice be simply adding an option in browsers to not require hitting the play button (perhaps for MP4 that has no sound)?

Even with browser support for BPG, MP4 has the huge advantage of hardware acceleration in almost all modern devices[1].

[1] In theory, BPG may be able to take advantage of similar hardware acceleration, but why not just fix the user experience around an existing format rather than implement yet another format?
2 comments
CaptSpify 3804 days ago
Honestly, I view the need to hit the play button as the right user-experience. Sure, a user-defined option to turn that off would be cool, but I'd never use it. I wish GIFs had that option as well, actually
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dperfect 3804 days ago
I agree - I wouldn't enable that option either, but at least it'd offer a better alternative for people who do like GIFs / GIF-like animations.

It's a bit ironic that the autoplay functionality of BPG is touted by some as a major advantage, yet the only reason it autoplays is because it currently has to be implemented in Javascript (bypassing the normal push-to-play behavior of web video).

If the people pushing for native BPG browser support get their way, the most likely outcome will be BPG implemented with the same push-to-play UX as any other kind of web video.

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JadeNB 3804 days ago
> I wish GIFs had that option as well, actually

They do, in Firefox! http://kb.mozillazine.org/Firefox_:_Tips_:_Animated_Images

(I know this is really late, but HN has been really aggressive about "submitting too fast" lately, and a half hour's wait didn't convince it to let me try again.)

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CaptSpify 3804 days ago
Sorry, I guess I'm missing it? Can you point it out to me? I see only play once, play always, and never play
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JadeNB 3803 days ago
I'm sorry; you're right, I misunderstood your needs, and thought that you wanted GIFs not to play at all. As with "there's an app for that", the answer to most Firefox needs is "there's an extension for that". I'm not in touch with the current Firefox extension ecosystem, but some Googling suggests that https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/toggle-animat... should fill the need.
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JadeNB 3804 days ago
> Wouldn't the more obvious choice be simply adding an option in browsers to not require hitting the play button (perhaps for MP4 that has no sound)?

This is basically what Imgur did with GIFV (http://blog.imgur.com/2014/10/09/introducing-gifv), I think.

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