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A few days back we saw YouTube offering a new HTML5 enabled player. Well, Vimeo joins this space with its own HTML5 player. It’s claimed to be a beta test as of now and should be an alternative to the company’s present Flash player.

The official Vimeo blog cites that the new HTML5 player seemingly functions and looks just like the current Flash player. A few benefits however are also in store.

These include instant loading of the player. Users no longer need to spin around to load the video. Without spending time waiting for the video to buffer, they can also jump anywhere in the video. It is also expected to be smoother and offer a less jumpy playback.

As it’s a beta test, it may however be a little buggy as of now. Besides, users also need to be running the latest versions of Safari, Chrome, or IE with Chrome Frame installed to try it out. Presently working only on Vimeo.com, the embed code is still Flash. There’s also no option of going full screen as it’s a limitation of the browsers currently. The company claims to be working on adding at least complete window support in the coming days.

The new player will support only 90% of videos uploaded in the last year and 35% of all the videos will still need the conventional Flash player. Vimeo claims to automatically switch this for users and it should also work.

Users can enable the HTML5 player by simply clicking ‘Switch to HTML5 player’ link below any video.