HTML 5 drops open-source video codec
Summary
Topics
Ian Hickson wrote on Monday that he was reluctantly dropping the open standard due to opposition from Apple, and said the rival H.264 codec could also not be specified due to opposition from other browser vendors. This means HTML 5 will not specify a single codec for web development.
One of the key features of HTML 5 is its native handling of rich media such as video and audio through the
However, "there is no suitable codec that all vendors are willing to implement and ship", Hickson wrote on the website of the Web Hypertext Application Technology (WHAT) Working Group, the coalition of companies working to develop HTML 5.
"I have therefore removed the two subsections in the HTML 5 spec in which codecs would have been required, and have instead left the matter undefined, as has in the past been done with other features like IMG and image formats,
Hickson said that Apple will not implement Ogg Theora for Quicktime video due to "lack of hardware support and an uncertain patent landscape", although he acknowledged that he may have oversimplified the situation in that assessment. ZDNet UK has approached Apple for confirmation and clarification of this, but had not received an answer at the time of writing.
Google has implemented both H.264 and Ogg Theora in Chrome. However, Google cannot provide the H.264 codec license to third-party distributors of Chromium, the Linux version of Chrome, and has indicated a belief that Ogg Theora's quality-per-bit is not yet suitable for the volume handled by YouTube, according to Hickson.
Opera and Mozilla — the latter of whom has built Ogg Theora support into its recently released Firefox 3.5 — will not implement H.264 due to patent and licensing issues, and Microsoft has "not commented on their intent to support
Hickson suggested two future scenarios: one where Ogg Theora support and use increases to the point where Apple's concern regarding patents is reduced, in which case Theora becomes the de facto codec for the web; and one where the relevant H.264 patents expire and that standard becomes freely available, in which case H.264 becomes the de facto technology.
"The situation for audio codecs is similar, but less critical, as there are more formats," Hickson wrote. "Since audio has a much lower profile than video, I propose to observe the audio feature and see if any common codecs surface, instead of specifically requiring any. I will revisit this particular topic in the future when common codecs emerge."
Hickson noted in his post that he was "incredibly sorry" about the state of video codecs in HTML 5. "This is a terrible situation for the spec to be in," he wrote. "I wish we had good answers instead of this quagmirish deadlock."
This article was originally posted on ZDNet UK.
Talkback Most Recent of 24 Talkback(s)
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Codec silliness
Has anybody even considered On2's VP6 codec? It practically "runs the web" as far as progressive video playback is concerned. VP6 is, if you don't know already, the primary codec that Flash uses.
Joe_Raby6th Jul 2009 -
Not that we need an open source codec any way
Open source = jokes.
LBiege6th Jul 2009 -
The argument
The argument for OGG is that the codec used for <video> should be available free of charge and without patent worries. OGG Theora is behind other video formats specifically because it avoids the use of patented methods.
I think that OGG's limitations shouldn't be judged too harshly given its rate of improvement and the level of video quality we have standard now.
No standard codec means that site owners can't be sure that a codec will be supported so we're back to using Flash or Silverlight. The only hope is that Safari's small share will mean that site owners go with the better-supported OGG, after which we get a consensus and a decision on the <video> spec from the W3C.
daengbo7th Jul 2009 -
Video for Everybody
Here is a link to a good article that shows how to code a website for HTML5 video but fall back to Flash, etc., if it is not supported by the user's browser:
http://camendesign.com/code/video_for_everybody
linuser6th Jul 2009 -
RE: HTML 5 drops open-source video codec
Honestly.. why do we care what Apple wants to implement? They have a very very small percentage of the market place for web browsing. Firefox has already implemented Ogg...it is the second largest browser base. Microsoft is just not going to do anything quickly, so when Firefox starts pulling away more of its marketshare...it will move to Ogg as well. Unless the H.264 becomes free from its patent issues by then.
Apple is completely not a factor here. They will create whatever proprietary locked down solution they can for any problem as they are always looking for the most closed way to do things in order to create more and more lock in for the 8% of the PC market out there using them.
condelirios6th Jul 2009 -
You do realize that H.264 is an open standard, right?
Which, of course, makes your whole rant nothing more than agenda-
driven vitriol.
frgough6th Jul 2009 -
Wrong again Mactards
Vendors must pay patent licensing royalties to use the H.264 codec. It is not an open or free standard.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H.264#Patent_licensing
Unix Pimp6th Jul 2009 -
Maybe you'll be more polite after some coffee?
If you'd read your own link, you'd see that the licenses are controlled by MPEG LA, not Apple, so I don't see why you have to be waving your (ahem) keyboard around like that.
KWRussell6th Jul 2009 -
But it is an ISO standard just like any MPEG CODEC...
For instance MPEG 2 is used in DVD programs. A royalty is paid for this
too and is built into the cost of the DVD player. Any media
player...QuickTime, Windows Media Player all pay royalties to the patent
holders of the ISO standard their players support. A standard is not
necessarily free.
CowLauncher6th Jul 2009 -
I believe the point...
is to have an open standard that is free to use so that all browser vendors can implement the same thing. Otherwise you start running into cross browser issues which defeats the point of having a standard in the first place.
storm14k6th Jul 2009 -
TANSTAAFL
There Aint No Such Thing As A Free Lunch.
Learn it. Love it. Because you can't escape living it.frgough6th Jul 2009 -
"Open" as in how?
"Open" as in holding patent rights?
or "Open" as in requiring licensing fees?
H.264 is both.Joe_Raby6th Jul 2009 -
Open as in anyone can use it
You FOSS zealots really need to get over yourselves.frgough6th Jul 2009 -
I'm not an FOSS zealot
Your definition of "open" just doesn't coincide with PC-speak.
Sure, it's "open" as far as someone that pays royalty fees can license it and use it.
By that definition, Windows is "open".
Or you could say that Mac OS X is "open" so long as you pay fees to Apple to purchase their computer hardware.
It isn't "open" in any way. It's held under patent registrations.Joe_Raby6th Jul 2009 -
Not really.
He makes a good point that Apple refusing to embrace a standard is not that important when Safari represents so little of the market share. But I would go further to say that the the standard itself means very little when Microsoft, Apple, and other companies won't comply with it. Look at SVG. it's a stadard for vector graphics, so how many browsers support it? One? So who cares. As a consumer, I will use what works with the least amount of changes to the system, as a programmer I'll code for the browser that offers the largest support for my audience.
If IE keeps filling my computer with crappy plugins that reinforce their own proprietary systems then I'll just use something else. It's why I don't go to NBC's website anymore. I won't buy or support products from vendors whose sites that don't work in Firefox or whatever browser I choose to use at the time.
Tech companies will not dictate what we use and what vendors buy into if we do not let them, I as the consumer will dictate to the vendors what they will use and they in turn will have to cater to how I want to be sold products if they want my money.
If Netflix refuses to support H.264 or Ogg T for online viewing and I feel like this is something I absolutely need, then I will just go to another source or walk my butt down to the video store and rent it offline.
Socratesfoot6th Jul 2009
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