Google unveiled an open-source, royalty-free video format called WebM

[Kadri]

I hate codec wars  

http://news.cnet.com/8301-30685_3-20005378-264.html


I gave my email address (i hate this too   ) and downloaded the encoder , but it is crashing on my 64 bit Windows 7 Home Premium when it begins to encode .
I will try later again .

http://www.wildform.com/products/flix/
(this link was on the  On2  site)

[Rhalph]

I like codec wars. I would have hated if Firefox couldn't use H264 because of all its cons. This is fantastic news, for me.

[Kadri]

It is about control and thus money ! Not that it is bad to try to make money . But the user should aware of it .

http://www.streaminglearningcenter.com/articles/h264-royalties-what-you-need-to-know.html
http://news.cnet.com/8301-30685_3-20000101-264.html

When you read such Licence Terms you see more and more that it is not much about the cons of the codec :

" [MPEGIF News] MPEG LA Announces Final AVC.H.264 License Terms "   from 2004 .

http://lists.mpegif.org/pipermail/news/2004-May/000207.html

http://dylanreeve.com/videotv/2010/the-mpeg-and-h-264-problem.html  

And here a copy and paste part :

" Q. What is the license for Theora?
Theora (and all associated technologies released by the Xiph.org Foundation) is released to the public via a BSD-style license.
It is completely free for commercial or noncommercial use. That means that commercial developers may independently write
Theora software which is compatible with the specification for no charge and without restrictions of any kind. "

Simple ! No need to search and ask lawyers what this or that means !

If there is a free codec to use why should you switch to another payed one ; especially if they are so or so similar  ?

[piggy]

A comparison of VP 8 and H.264

http://www.streamingmedia.com/Articles/Editorial/Featured-Articles/First-Look-H.264-and-VP8-Compared-67266.aspx


It is rather lengthy, so please click on the link if you need more info.

[Kadri]

Thanks for the link , Piggy  

There are some little flaws in the testing method ( in a way he says them in the end himself ).
But in general the 2 codecs do look very similar in quality .
I think only the professional ones would see  the difference .
And the videos should be judged not only as pictures , but as videos too !
I hadn't time too download and watch them. Will later.

I think we will see many more of the same kind of comparisons in the near future  

[Kadri]

"Nero Files Antitrust Case Against MPEG-LA"

http://www.osnews.com/story/23346/Nero_Files_Antitrust_Case_Against_MPEG-LA

In some places Nero's antitrust arguments aren't so good , but as a whole it is interesting especially with the webM  vs. h.264 position today.