HTML 5 video and H.264.

Post #320,716 by static 1/28/10 8:25:28 PM Reply	HTML 5 video and H.264. This is shaping up to be a big big issue. There are reasons for H.264 (it's the professional standard) and there are reasons against H.264 (it requires royalty payments). Firefox/Mozilla have said they can't support H.264 because of the latter and they don't want to devolve it to the OS. Meanwhile, Apple and Google have shown their hand, so it will be interesting to see which way Microsoft jumps. Wade. Q:Is it proper to eat cheeseburgers with your fingers? A:No, the fingers should be eaten separately.
Post #320,719 by folkert 1/28/10 10:50:37 PM Reply	Re: which way Microsoft jumps ... The wrong way. With both feet. Into quicksand and no "willing" lifeguard on duty.
Post #320,722 by static 1/28/10 11:15:34 PM Reply	... so you think they'll ignore the <video> tag? :-) That would be monumentally stupid. Which means that's probably what they'll do. Except I know the IE guys would try to fight against that... I actually meant whether they go for H.264 support, Ogg Theora or devolve it to the OS. I think when push comes to shove, they'll support the video tag by devolving codec support to the OS, which means they'll try to promote WMV. And they're already too late to try that... That would be the second fail. Could MS be so stupid? Wade. Q:Is it proper to eat cheeseburgers with your fingers? A:No, the fingers should be eaten separately.
Post #320,726 by drook 1/29/10 1:36:42 AM Reply	Video playback should be done by the OS IMO Why should every app have its own code for playing video? The way it should work (and it may already) is whenever the browser sees a media file, it should check for a plugin that handles it, next see if it's built into the browser, next see if the OS handles it, then fail. Sort of like CSS: check the most specific first before bubbling up to the more generic. Then if someone has a new codec -- either a whole new format or a better way of handling an old one -- plug it in to the browser. Eventually that code (or something like it) makes it into the browser. Then into the OS. I guess the tricky part is when video cards arrive that support it in hardware before support has trickled down to the OS, which is where Apple says, "Your app doesn't get to access the hardware." -- Drew
Post #320,729 by pwhysall 1/29/10 1:50:03 AM Reply	For the reasons you mention... ...this may be a very, very bad decision on the Mozilla Foundation's part.
Post #320,733 by static 1/29/10 8:43:53 AM Reply	I wonder if they're trying to rope MPEG-LA into the fray. After all, the Mozilla Foundation could say that they want to support H.264 because that's what everyone is asking for, but the licencing rules make it difficult... I bet MPEG-LA probably don't want to be part of that discussion. Wade. Q:Is it proper to eat cheeseburgers with your fingers? A:No, the fingers should be eaten separately.

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