I diffed some parts of the browser after the update; and I can say that Nintendo changed one or two lines of mvplayer.rpl code at most. Admittedly there were changes to the JavaScript core that I didn't look at; but they definitely haven't merged in all the latest and greatest patches, that's for sure.
Like it or not, WebKit or an associated library is the best option here. I searched around pretty thoroughly before settling on Crunchyroll; and can say the best other possible method I've found is to do with the Miiverse headshots under Sm4sh. Not exactly convenient hacking. (cc:
@jam1garner? Pretty sure that's where the PNGs fit in)
The RenderArena one? I gave it a go, and couldn't get more than a null deref. If you can get user-controlled data into it I'll love you forever.