[opendtv] Re: News: Is Apple Planning A Move Against Ogg Theora?
- From: Albert Manfredi <albert.e.manfredi@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 3 May 2010 20:26:55 -0400
Craig Birkmaier wrote:
> What irony?
>
> The folks in the ATSC patent pool knew what
> they were doing in the early '90s. They patented
> everything in site, including all kinds of stuff
> that was or was about to be in the public domain.
> They made certain that they did the same for the
> h.264 codec.
>
> In all likelihood it will be MPEG-LA or a few of
> the usual suspects (not Apple) who will go after
> Ogg and anyone else who tries to create a royalty
> free video codec. They went after Microsoft, which
> tried to give VC-3 to SMPTE.
I think the point of the article, and the subject line, suggest that both
Microsoft and Apple plan only on the H.264 codec for the future. For whatever
reasons, and apparently the reasons are different, all of those other options
that the flexibility of PCs is supposed to support, with no problem, become
moot. So, ATSC originally went to MPEG-2, and Microsoft, Apple, and Adobe, 20
years later, go to H.264. And oh, I forgot, so does ATSC, for M/H.
I'm not sure how Mozilla and Opera can hope to compete. Do they expect all web
sites to be accommodating of them?
As the article states,
"Ironically, this position puts Apple and Microsoft hand-in-hand, as both
companies are backing H.264--and that codec only--for HTML5 video rendering. To
Microsoft, H.264 video represents a broad, standardized solution that allows
users to benefit from hardware-based video acceleration. As well, adopting
other codecs like Ogg Theora could put Microsoft in shakier legal territory
versus the more centralized ownership and licensing of H.264."
[ ... ]
"... Instead of locking people into some proprietary solution it created, Adobe
has spent millions of dollars to enable use of a more standard format."
(The entire article quoted below.)
Bert
---------------------------
Is Apple Planning A Move Against Ogg Theora?
By: David Murphy
05.01.2010
Apple's been stepping up its game lately and, regardless of criticism amongst
tech industry pundits, the company appears to be planting its flag in the
ground on three separate fronts: video codecs, Flash, and the media. Most
recently, even CEO Steve Jobs himself has been pulled into the fray in the
first two battles on that list, and his comments indicate that Apple is ready
to carve its own path through the unfolding future of HTML5-based content
rendering.
Late this past Friday, Hugo Roy--an assistant at the Free Software
Federations's European wing--allegedly received a message from Jobs in response
to a blog Roy wrote questioning Apple's use of the H.264 video codec. The
entire source of the discussion stems from a missive on Apple's site, penned by
Jobs, which takes Adobe to task for its proprietary products while touting
H.264-encoded, HTML5-based video as the future of online media distribution.
Roy correctly points out that H.264 is not in itself a "free" or "open" codec,
as both, "vendors and commercial users of products which make use of H.264/AVC
are expected to pay patent licensing royalties for the patented technology."
It's the exact reason why both Mozilla and Opera have decided not to implement
H.264-based video playback in future iterations of their browsers: not just
because of the finances involved, but because--at least, for Mozilla--it would
run contrary to their stated principles of working toward a completely open Web
environment.
However, Jobs' response to Roy's post suggests that the "open"
alternatives--like Ogg Theora--might not remain as such for much longer.
"All video codecs are covered by patents," writes Jobs. "A patent pool is being
assembled to go after Theora and other "open source" codecs now. Unfortunately,
just because something is open source, it doesn't mean or guarantee that it
doesn't infringe on others patents. An open standard is different from being
royalty free or open source."
Ironically, this position puts Apple and Microsoft hand-in-hand, as both
companies are backing H.264--and that codec only--for HTML5 video rendering. To
Microsoft, H.264 video represents a broad, standardized solution that allows
users to benefit from hardware-based video acceleration. As well, adopting
other codecs like Ogg Theora could put Microsoft in shakier legal territory
versus the more centralized ownership and licensing of H.264.
"Other codecs often come up in these discussions. The distinction between the
availability of source code and the ownership of the intellectual property in
that available source code is critical," writes Dean Hachamovitch, Internet
Explorer General Manager.
"Today, intellectual property rights for H.264 are broadly available through a
well-defined program managed by MPEG LA. The rights to other codecs are often
less clear, as has been described in the press."
Ogg Theora backers Mozilla and Opera remain resolute in their support of the
format, which could open up each company's products to risk should Apple pursue
its alleged push against Ogg Theora. Nevertheless, the larger moves by the
world's big browser manufactures toward HTML5 at all costs (and all codecs)
signal that Apple, Google, Microsoft, and Opera are drawing a line in the sand
against Adobe's Flash.
But it's not as if the latter is ready to throw in the towel just yet, nor even
concede that the evolving shape of the HTML5-based Web is a battleground to
begin with: "I keep seeing the video standards discussion phrased as "H.264 vs.
Flash video" (e.g. John Gruber writing about Apple "replacing" Flash video with
H.264). Apparently people are unaware that Flash has been playing H.264 for
years. It's easily the most popular H.264 player in the world," writes Adobe
Principal Product Manager John Nack.
"Adobe's choice to embrace H.264 in Flash is what allows sites like Vimeo and
YouTube to create HTML5/AVC (i.e., non-Flash) versions of their sites without
gobbling up petabytes of storage and loads of CPU cycles creating and storing
alternate versions of their videos. Instead of locking people into some
proprietary solution it created, Adobe has spent millions of dollars to enable
use of a more standard format."
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