"In addition to the flexibility inherent in the technical benefits of the HTML 5 video element, open video also guarantees freedom from lock-in. The standard will be advanced collaboratively through inclusive processes, which means that all stakeholders have the ability to participate and are not beholden to any specific vendor. The availability of multiple interoperable implementations of the HTML 5 video standard, including some that are distributed under open source licenses, is paving the way for a more vibrant and healthy ecosystem in which no single company has complete dominance of the technology.
Video is becoming increasingly important on the Web, and it's becoming clear that content providers, browser vendors, and end users can no longer afford to have the primary delivery mechanisms for video locked up in an opaque binary blob that can't be improved or adapted to work in new environments. This is especially true in light of the growing relevance of mobile Web technology. It will be possible for anyone to adapt existing open source HTML 5 video implementations so that they will work optimally in environments with unusual resource constraints, form factors, or input mechanisms—the same cannot be said of Flash.
Flash's suboptimal performance and lack of reliability on Linux and Mac OS X (and arguably the absence of Flash on the iPhone) are emblematic of its limited portability. Browser and platform vendors can't fix Flash, but they do have the ability to ensure that standards-based open video technologies deliver the best possible experience in their own software. It's not hard to guess what approach they will favor for video delivery."
