Video search engine MeFeedia (http://blog.mefeedia.com/html5-oct-2010) now says that 54% of web video is now compatible with HTML5, the format beloved by Steve Jobs and preferred by Apple over Flash.

That’s more than double the tally the company had back in May. MeFeedia also found that:

° Flash remains the dominant player within desktop environments.

° Mobile is driving HTML5 video adoption. HTML5 compatible (H.264 mostly) video is the most common format for mobiles (inc. iPhone, iPad and Android).

° Publishers and platforms now offer iframe embeds, allowing them to switch players dynamically, depending on the access device.

HTML5 is being developed as the next major revision of HTML (HyperText Markup Language), the core markup language of the web. It's touted as the next standard for HTML 4.01, XHTML 1.0 and DOM Level 2 HTML and is designed to to reduce the need for proprietary plug-in-based rich internet application (RIA) technologies such as Adobe Flash, Microsoft Silverlight, and Sun JavaFX.

"Every new Apple mobile device and every new Mac -- along with the latest version of Apple’s Safari web browser -- supports web standards including HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript," Apple says. "These web standards are open, reliable, highly secure, and efficient. They allow web designers and developers to create advanced graphics, typography, animations, and transitions. Standards aren’t add-ons to the web. They are the web. And you can start using them today."