So I happened to run into this blog and I plan to share my concerns with you...

So we have:


The media formats:

• H264 which will cost millions to license as of 2015 (with patent holders such as (microsoft, apple, samsung, sony, etc)
• Ogg Theora which doesn't cut it as quality/mb yet
• VP8 currently being negotiated with by Google

Streaming ways:

• HTML4 + Flash
• HTML5

Royalties:

• Non patent holders will have to pay to be allowed to decode H264
• Eg. Mozilla who is based on patent free technology certainly refuses to do that
• Opera and other free but not open source browser companies might pay - but then what? will we return to the dark ages when opera used to e either purchasable or have a large banner?

Open source

• Browsers might circumvent this limitation since the H264 codec is (for now) embedded in commercial OSes.
• Then what will happen to Linux and Firefox that are both open?

And my curiosity:

If flash were to live on as the major way for video streaming via their plugin:
-would flash be the only one able to decide which codec to choose?
-would flash be the only one having to pay royalties for H264?
-will they think of charging us?

Flash has been given quite a beating lately
-is it because H264 would bring much more money if it was selling to many instead of just one?

If HTML5 chooses H264 or simply makes no choice at all, what will happen if H264 prevails?
-will we free coding be put down by corporations and media hungry users
-which may even lead to browsers becoming commercially available/infested with the adds the owners of that particular browser want you to see?

Should Google come up with the new coding standard with a better size/quality ratio?
-would they let it become an open standard?
-or (will they be evil) charge royalties as the H264 patent holders plan to do?


This is what I've been pondering for a while now and we certainly find ourselves at crossroads. The situation seems to escalate, HTML5 is years before it's completion, yet I have the feeling it's only pushed forward so hard to force H264 in a very stable position on the market.

For me the situation seems more or less clouded, that's why I hope to get some answer form the older members of this forum which know far better than the average user what exactly is going on.


Disclaimer:

The rumours are that Google has decided to open source VP8. That would certainly solve the H264 problem.

Bec, thanks for the provocative thought. We really are headed for an internet split between FOSS and commercial interests...

Google opening the VP8 codec would be the best thing to happen. Everyone is happy then!

Still surprised about my dismissive views on the current state of patents and copyrights? =P

As far as I know VP created Ogg Theora so the business will probably not happen in any other way than open source.

Yet the youtube beta is H264 and concerning the popularity this could certainly be a "snowball reaction" It's small when you let it roll off the hill and becomes huge at the bottom.
-by this I mean youtube could inspire other video sharing services to move towards H264...

Is google simply taking it's time to deliver a blow with VP8/9

And then the other thing, why the burning desperation to get flash out of the way?
I mean it's been cumbersome and annoying at times, but it has proven to be a reliable technology?

The reason youtube is trying out h264 is because they're encoding everything to h264 already for iPhones, so why not experiment with making those files available to everyone?

Why would they bother for iPhone alone? Don't know if the #of users justifies it, perhaps it's simply more efficient bandwidth wise...

Bear in mind that the Flash Player will play VP6 (native flv) and recently H264 streams. Adobe already licensed both codecs for use in their free player.
If Google were to open source VP6 (as well as or instead of VP8) then suddenly all the Flash video files that everyone's created already to play with Flash Player will work in upcoming HTML5 video implementations, giving everyone one format to rule them all (it's about equivalent in quality and cpu usage to h264), playable both in legacy browsers with a Flash player or in fancy new browsers with an HTML5 video tag.
Problem solved.
Now, come on Google...

Yes let's keep the web free, we don't need patents to kill the spirit of the web.