This page will attempt to load a Silverlight player with a Smooth Stream. If Silverlight is not supported or not installed, it will play an HTML5 video instead. If HTML5 video is not supported (in IE 7 or 8 for example or on some mobile devices) it will suggest that the user install Silverlight and also offer a downloadable mp4 video.

If the browser supports HTML5, it will attempt playback in the following order:

- MP4
- Apple HLS
- WebM
- Ogv

Video compatibility in browsers is as follows:
Apple HLS is not listed above because it is technically not part of the HTML5 spec draft. However, is is compatible with IOS devices (though in this example the IOS devices will play back the mp4 because it is first in the list. To see an example of HLS, click here.

Tips:

To find out what video your browser is playing back, right click on the video window. If it is playing back Silverlight, you will get the Silverlight menu. If not, you will get an option to "Copy Video URL" (label may be slightly different depending on the browser). Copy the URL and then paste it into notepad to see the video extension.

I didn't see an obvious way to do this on an ipad / iphone. However, there is a slight difference in the player controls depending on what kind of video loads. If the video content is Apple HLS, the player control icons (when full screen) will have a half circle arrow with a "30" inside it. This jumps back 30 seconds in the video, but it is only present in Apple HLS. If viewing the mp4 file, it will have standard back and forward controls (double arrows against a line).