[jsmith45]

Chrome desktop has just landed enabled by default native HLS support for the video element within the last month. (There may be a few issues still to be worked out, and I don't know what the rollout status is, but certainly by year end it will just work). Presumably most downstream chromium derivatives will pick this support up soon.

My understanding is that Chrome for Android has supported it for some time by way of delegating to android's native media support which included HLS.

Desktop and mobile Safari has had it enabled for a long time, and thus so has Chrome for iOS.

So this should eventually help things.