Microsoft"s Silverlight media player API hasn"t gotten much love from companies of late. The last major update was Silverlight 5 in December 2011 but since then Microsoft has been silent about its plans for future versions beyond just bug fixes and plugging security holes. Microsoft plans to cut off support for Silverlight 5 in 2021 and most expect that Microsoft will not launch a Silverlight 6.
Even though that deadline is eight years away, that"s apparently enough for Netflix. It"s one of the few remaining companies that uses Silverlight, which powers Netflix"s streaming video on PC web browsers. Today, Netflix announced that it will be dumping support for Silverlight over the next few years as it moves to an HTML5-based video solution.
Netfliix says it has been working with others on three specific HTML5-based solutions: Media Source Extensions, Encrypted Media Extensions, and Web Cryptography API. Netflix says that it has worked with Google to allow Samsung-made ARM Chromebooks to play Netflix videos using Media Source Extensions and Encrypted Media Extensions. Netflix says that once the Web Cryptography API can work in Chrome OSS without a plugin, it will begin to develop its HTML5 player for Windows and Max OS X platforms.
Source: Netflix | Image via Netflix