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Firefox 33 Integrates Cisco's OpenH264

Posted by Unknown on from the monty-does-it-better dept.

NotInHere (3654617) writes As promised, version 33 of the Firefox browser will fetch the OpenH264 module from Cisco, which enables Firefox to decode and encode H.264 video, for both the <video> tag and WebRTC, which has a codec war on this matter. The module won't be a traditional NPAPI plugin, but a so-called Gecko Media Plugin (GMP), Mozilla's answer to the disliked Pepper API. Firefox had no cross-platform support for H.264 before. Note that only the particular copy of the implementation built and blessed by Cisco is licensed to use the h.264 patents.

6 of 194 comments (clear)

  1. Trusting a binary from Cisco by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Even though the codec source code is available, it is compiled by Cisco and provided to Mozilla. Something in me doesn't 100% trust that Cisco won't use this as an opportunity to put hidden spyware on everyone's computers. The US gov't can force American companies to secretly implement spyware, right?

    1. Re:Trusting a binary from Cisco by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Not only will it be your choice to accept the binary, but Mozilla also shares those concerns. Hence why they're sandboxing the CDM plugins to limit their access and ability to do anything except what they advertise. We'll have the choice to trust Mozilla's work, disable it, or partake in an effort to confirm that it's as legit as we want, so I honestly fail to see any major issue here.

  2. At fucking last by ArcadeMan · · Score: 1, Interesting

    Can we finally use the tag with H.264 files and just forget about the rest?

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  3. Re:bad for standards by ArcadeMan · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I'm all for open standards and less patents, but H.264 videos and H.264 decoding hardware has been used everywhere for almost a decade now. Even if something free and open-source had been able to replace it, we're on the verge of switching to H.265 which is about twice as good as H.264.

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  4. Re:So Kind of open? by alci63 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    So, this is a software only patent... so it's not legal in Europe (or is it). Some Linux distro might consider integrating this code directly, and compile it instead of letting FF grab a blob from Cisco. Maybe distribute it in a special repository, that users would activate where it legal... Notice VideoLAN for example does play HEVC (aka H.264), and does not licence anything...

  5. ActiveX again. by mar.kolya · · Score: 3, Interesting

    So, at least on Linux this 'thing' doesn't come packaged with the browser in a package. Instead browser DOWNLOADS this crap from the net. ActiveX, anyone?

    Very-very-very disappointing. Looks like Mozilla have forgotten what their mission was behind all those gay-rights fights.