So, 76 bytes of identifying info is encoded into EVERY frame via some form of watermarking? Mpeg-7 is supposedly an XML / ID3 type of specification, but if the identifier can survive a digital to analogue conversion, it has to be a fairly strong form of stenography, maybe with some type of
Hamming code for good measure. The MPAA lawyers might like this, but I'm not sure film directors would be thrilled with the idea of having new artifacts deliberately added to their movies after post production.
But in this case, the so-called Free solution is the wrong choice to make. H.264 has won, and it won years ago.
Won what? These are two sets of compression algorithms, not two people in a race to the finish. What your saying is equivalent to "the hammer has won, there's no need to use the screwdriver anymore". Each codec has it's uses, there are areas where h264 would be a better choice then theora, and areas where theora would be a better choice then h264, both have there pluses and minuses.
Also, what makes you think the race is over or will ever end? The MPEG-LA members themselves are still researching newer compression algorithms, they didn't stop when MPEG-1 was released, when MPEG-2 was, nor when MPEG-4 Part 2 was (DivX/XviD), why do think they stopped with h264 (MPEG-4 Part 10)?
Today, people have data in H.264 format. A lot of data. A long list of hardware devices are made that support it directly. This data is not going to vanish, and people will want to play it.
This same argument could used for dozens of other formats, most people aren't rushing out to upgrade their DVD (MPEG-2) players or "DivX Certified" devices, vendors have yet to stop producing these devices either.
it opens up the idea of a Free player
No it doesn't, have you ever even tried to install Linux or BSD? No "free" installs I've ever come across included an h264 or DivX/XviD decoder by default, I've always had to go to an "unofficial repository" to get one, or look for one of Adobe's flash builds and cross my fingers. MPEG-LA's members have no intentions of giving up their patents or rights to enforce them. Who will support this "free player" if/when an MPEG-LA member sues them into oblivion? Just because they haven't yet doesn't mean they won't or haven't threatened to. The official XviD.org site has refused to host compiled XviD encoder/decoder binaries for years due to threats of litigation.
From what I've read, "demo units" is what IPEX (the NewEgg supplier that shipped the parts in question) was calling them, not NewEgg itself. NewEgg only relayed what information they initially received from IPEX, saying that they themselves were still "unsure and investigating".
It's still a bit odd how neither NewEgg nor Intel wouldn't outright deny they were fake. This whole fiasco sounds quite a lot like the recent Micro SD issue that Chumby ran into a few weeks earlier. An interesting read about the "grey" market and "ghost shifting".
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So, 76 bytes of identifying info is encoded into EVERY frame via some form of watermarking? Mpeg-7 is supposedly an XML / ID3 type of specification, but if the identifier can survive a digital to analogue conversion, it has to be a fairly strong form of stenography, maybe with some type of Hamming code for good measure. The MPAA lawyers might like this, but I'm not sure film directors would be thrilled with the idea of having new artifacts deliberately added to their movies after post production.
Much more informative article here.
But in this case, the so-called Free solution is the wrong choice to make. H.264 has won, and it won years ago.
Won what? These are two sets of compression algorithms, not two people in a race to the finish. What your saying is equivalent to "the hammer has won, there's no need to use the screwdriver anymore". Each codec has it's uses, there are areas where h264 would be a better choice then theora, and areas where theora would be a better choice then h264, both have there pluses and minuses.
Also, what makes you think the race is over or will ever end? The MPEG-LA members themselves are still researching newer compression algorithms, they didn't stop when MPEG-1 was released, when MPEG-2 was, nor when MPEG-4 Part 2 was (DivX/XviD), why do think they stopped with h264 (MPEG-4 Part 10)?
Today, people have data in H.264 format. A lot of data. A long list of hardware devices are made that support it directly. This data is not going to vanish, and people will want to play it.
This same argument could used for dozens of other formats, most people aren't rushing out to upgrade their DVD (MPEG-2) players or "DivX Certified" devices, vendors have yet to stop producing these devices either.
it opens up the idea of a Free player
No it doesn't, have you ever even tried to install Linux or BSD? No "free" installs I've ever come across included an h264 or DivX/XviD decoder by default, I've always had to go to an "unofficial repository" to get one, or look for one of Adobe's flash builds and cross my fingers. MPEG-LA's members have no intentions of giving up their patents or rights to enforce them. Who will support this "free player" if/when an MPEG-LA member sues them into oblivion? Just because they haven't yet doesn't mean they won't or haven't threatened to. The official XviD.org site has refused to host compiled XviD encoder/decoder binaries for years due to threats of litigation.
From what I've read, "demo units" is what IPEX (the NewEgg supplier that shipped the parts in question) was calling them, not NewEgg itself. NewEgg only relayed what information they initially received from IPEX, saying that they themselves were still "unsure and investigating".
It's still a bit odd how neither NewEgg nor Intel wouldn't outright deny they were fake. This whole fiasco sounds quite a lot like the recent Micro SD issue that Chumby ran into a few weeks earlier. An interesting read about the "grey" market and "ghost shifting".