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Next-gen video codec standard group formed by Google, MS, Intel
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NewsPoster
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Sep 1, 2015, 03:11 PM
 
Seven leading Internet companies today announced formation of the Alliance for Open Media -- an open-source project that will develop next-generation media formats, codecs and technologies in the public interest. The Alliance's founding members are Amazon, Cisco, Google, Intel Corporation, Microsoft, Mozilla, and Netflix. The new organization is committing its collective technology to meet growing Internet demand for top-quality video, audio, imagery and streaming across devices of all kinds and for users worldwide.

This initial project will create a new, open, royalty-free video codec specification based on the contributions of members, along with binding specifications for media format, content encryption and adaptive streaming, thereby creating opportunities for next-generation media experiences. The Alliance for Open Media is a project of the Joint Development Foundation, an independent non-profit organization that provides the corporate and legal infrastructure to enable groups to establish and operate standards and source code development collaborations.

Ars Technica reports that there is no plan currently in place to deal with non-member companies claiming that patents are being used illicitly in the formation of the new codec, like what happened with Microsoft with VC-1, and between Google and H.264 standards-holder MPEG LA over the VP8 codec. However, the organization's representative claims that other interested companies have been invited to join the nascent organization.

Additional information on the Alliance, including how to join, will be available later this year.

( Last edited by NewsPoster; Sep 16, 2015 at 02:50 AM. )
     
bonaccij
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Sep 1, 2015, 03:36 PM
 
It will be interesting to see where this ends up. The idea is to (hopefully) invent something that isn't just "good enough" but actually "good". This is why H.264 (and soon H.265) survives. It just has excellent compression and time tested support, clarity and dependability. I'm interested, though.
In the end, it�s all about the composition.
     
Mike Wuerthele
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Sep 1, 2015, 04:36 PM
 
I would be very surprised if Apple didn't jump in on this to be no longer under the thumb of MPEG-LA in the future.
     
OldMacGeek
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Sep 1, 2015, 05:20 PM
 
It's got "Open" in the name of the venture. What could possibly go wrong? . . .
     
Flying Meat
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Sep 1, 2015, 05:22 PM
 
I wonder if there is a legal clause in their membership contract that precludes utilizing newly developed codec foundational code, developed under the alliance, to engineer proprietary/closed alternatives.
     
smacker
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Sep 2, 2015, 05:09 AM
 
I don't know why they bother? MPEG-LA has much more experience and expertise in creating highly efficient Video Codecs. h.264 is a quasi standard and the next generation is already in the pipeline. Sure, everybody wants to brake free of the licensing shackles but I think this creates more problems than it solves. What matters in the end is market adoption. Manufacturers have to incorporate this codec into their hardware and for them to do that, it must be easy and free. Is this group willing to invest in all this R&D to create one more codec that is at best comparable to h.265 in quality and efficiency but has little chance of being much better? And then give it away for free? I doubt it.
     
   
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