- From: Robert J Crisler <rcrisler1@unl.edu>
- Date: Mon, 31 Mar 2008 11:04:44 -0500
I notice that HTML5's video section is incomplete and lacking. The text under 3.12.7.1 could have been written ten years ago: "It would be helpful for interoperability if all browsers could support the same codecs. However, there are no known codecs that satisfy all the current players: we need a codec that is known to not require per-unit or per-distributor licensing, that is compatible with the open source development model, that is of sufficient quality as to be usable, and that is not an additional submarine patent risk for large companies. This is an ongoing issue and this section will be updated once more information is available." The time has come for the W3C to swallow a bit of pride and cede this control, this area, to the Motion Picture Experts Group. While MPEG does not produce a codec that is free of any licensing constraints, the organization has produced a codec, actually several, that are world standards. You may have a digital cable or satellite service (that's MPEG-2 or MPEG-4). You may have a DVD player (MPEG-2), or a Blu-Ray player (MPEG-4). You may have an iPod (MPEG-4). And you may have heard of MP3. The time has come for the W3C, despite misgivings, to support an ISO/ IEC organization that is charged with the development of video and audio encoding standards. We can't have a separate set of standards for web distribution. It simply complicates workflows and stunts any potential transition to the web as the dominant distribution mechanism for such media. Whatever the misgivings, it's time to say that the ISO/IEC standards are preferable to proprietary codecs (Windows Media, Flash), and that MPEG-4 AVC is recommended over other codecs for video. It would be really great if an intrepid group of smart people were to come up with something technically superior to MPEG-4, make it a world standard for encoding audio and video, and make it available without any patent or royalty constraints. That has not happened, despite some strong efforts particularly from the OGG people, and it's time to acknowledge that fact and stop holding out. Again, the W3C should cede these issues to the ISO/IEC standards organization set up for the purpose of defining world standards in video and audio compression and decompression. ____ Robert J Crisler Manager, Internet and Interactive Media UNL | University Communications 321 Canfield Administration Building Lincoln, NE 68588-0424 402-472-9878 ____ For information on web development at UNL, please see the UNL Web Developer Network website at http://www.unl.edu/webdevnet/. University Communications Internet and Interactive Media can help you build an engaging online presence from site development to web applications development using open standards and open source.
Received on Monday, 31 March 2008 09:04:44 UTC