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Browser Vendors Force W3C To Scrap HTML 5 Codecs
snydeq writes "Major browser vendors have been unable to agree on an encoding format they will support in their products, forcing the W3C to drop audio and video codecs from HTML 5, the forthcoming W3C spec that has been viewed as a threat to Flash, Silverlight, and similar technologies. 'After an inordinate amount of discussions on the situation, I have reluctantly come to the conclusion that there is no suitable codec that all vendors are willing to implement and ship,' HTML 5 editor Ian Hickson wrote to the whatwg mailing list. Apple, for its part, won't support Ogg Theora in QuickTime, expressing concerns over patents despite the fact that the codec can be used royalty-free. Opera and Mozilla oppose using H.264 due to licensing and distribution issues. Google has similar reservations, despite already using H.264 and Ogg Theora in Chrome. Microsoft has made no commitment to support <video>."
Yeah and open source usually doesn't ever do anything fully. Almost all open source projects (that I've used) are partially done. They do work, yes, but they don't work well, and nor do they look good. Those who know know what they are doing can figure it out, but new users have tons of issues. Open source isn't the final end-all-commercial business thing. It's just an alternative.
Really? It's already rubbish. Users are already used to using a proper browser for a decent experience.
Dropping support because Apple don't want to play ball would be like dropping support because it wouldn't be supported in IE 5.5...
Who cares what apple, google and opera think anyway. They have tiny browser shares.
Microsoft can simply be trusted to do the wrong thing. Whatever is worst for everyone but themselves.
That leaves firefox who have the largest consolidated browser share, (IE 6, 7 and 8 are so wildly incompatible they are best treated as 3 separate competing browsers).
Mozilla. Do the right thing!
Royalty-free doesn't mean the patents won't cause problems down the line.
You can get GPL stuff royalty free but it can royally hose you over in its interactions with other licenses or agreements.
ffs. Just trash the patent system and shut the fuck up.
"Welcome to our world. We are the wasted youth. And we are the future too." Yes, I know these are stupid lyrics.
it is shitbags like him that ruin wikipedia. plus he vs a filthy jew that hitler should of delt with.
Why do we allow welfare recipients to have luxury items like cellphones and cable TV? Most of them got so poor in the first place because they couldn't handle money and bought luxury shit that they couldn't afford. The rest of them got so poor because getting an education and bettering yourself is "acting white" and a good way to be hated by your peers.
Hah!
Ahem, sorry. You don't know your history at all, do you?
you must be using an open source spelling and grammar checker.
Paying taxes to buy civilization is like paying a hooker to buy love.
Yeah, but why should Flash die? Flash video is still going strong - requires some users to install a third party plugin, just lke Flash. Flash requires you to code a player but those are easily available. Plus, Microsoft hasn't committed to anyway so Flash is actually the safer bet.
USE HOT GRITS WITH STATUE OF NATALIE PORTMAN (NAKED AND PETRIFIED)
No, because it is the only free and legal option open to all users and manufacturers. No one's saying it should ONLY be Theora, but as a base implementation, Theora should be specified. They can then add H264 or whatever as well if they wish, but for those who cannot use H264, Theora is a fallback available so that they can meet the standard. What good is a standard if you automatically prevent certain manufacturers from meeting it ? Oh that's right, it's not about creating a standard, it's about protecting someones IP and profits.
You sure do put a lot of energy into slagging Ogg, and you consistently neglect mention the advantage Ogg has over H.264: it is unencumbered by patents and therefore free for anybody to encode and/or play, on any hardware they wish.
I for one, am perfectly happy to burn a little extra bandwidth for that, and anyway I not buy your assertion that Ogg cannot close the bandwidth gap over time. After all, you are a Microsoftie with a vested interest in keeping video proprietary.
Have you got your LWN subscription yet?