14 DAY TRIAL // Google has opened source a tool which makes it easy to wrap a video in the code necessary to release it as a Web Store app, if such a thing appeals to you. The app is built with open web technologies and Google's own tools.
"Have you ever wanted a fun and beautiful way to publish videos on your own site like the new 60 Minutes or RedBull.tv apps from the Chrome Web Store? I'm excited to announce the release of The Video Player Sample!," Pete LePage, from the Chrome Web Store Developer Relations Team, announced.
"The Video Player Sample is an open source video player web app built using the same architecture as the 60 Minutes and RedBull.tv apps. It can be customized, extended, or just used out of the box and populated with your own content," he explained.
The app is created to make the viewing experience more immersive. The player itself is fairly stylish and there is the possibility of going full screen.
It works for single videos, but it can also come with a built in video playlist. What's more, it can be used to subscribe to shows and new episodes get automatically added. If installed from the Chrome Web Store, the app also has notifications when new episodes are available.
It uses HTML5 video as the first option, videos encoded in WebM, Ogg, MP4 and so on, but also supports Flash playback for browsers that don't support HTML5 video or the video format used.
The tool is built with HMTL and JavaScript and uses Google's own Closure JavaScript library. The code is then compiled with the Closure Compiler for performance.
While the app is designed to be distributed and installed from the Chrome Web Store, it works very well with other browsers if used exclusively from the web.