14 DAY TRIAL // Google may be making one eagerly anticipated move that should usher in a new era for HTML5 and online video at large. The company is now expected to release the VP8 video codec as open source, offering a third viable option for HTM5-based video streaming along with the proprietary H.264 and the existing open-source alternative Ogg Theora. Video-codec support is at the center of a heated debate between browser makers, web developers and large video sites.
The NewTeeVee blog reports that Google is scheduled to make the announcement at its upcoming Google I/O developer conference next month. What’s more, it looks like the move has been already shared with other key players and the release will be accompanied by the announcement that both Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome will have built-in support for VP8. Support in Chrome was a given, but having Mozilla on board is probably the most interesting part of the rumor.
Google acquires On2
Google announced its plans to acquire video technology company On2 last summer. The company was vague about its motives and plans, but some speculated, rightfully, so it seems, that this could mean an open source codec based on On2 technology. Google has recently completed the acquisition.
On2 owns several competitive video codecs, the latest of which is VP8, the codec in question. It is being positioned as a competitor to H.264, boasting better performance in some cases, but it hasn’t managed to get the traction H.264 has had. On2 has previously released its older VP3 codec under the open-source LGPL (Lesser General Public License). The code was the basis for the modern Ogg Theora video codec.
Moving past the HTML5 deadlock – Mozilla is satisfied
The move to open-source VP8 is very interesting in the context of the current impasse in which HTML5 video finds itself. Open web advocates and plenty of companies, including Google, are positioning HTML5 as an alternative to the proprietary Adobe Flash platform. The proposed open web standard has been implemented by most browser makers, even Microsoft will support it in the upcoming Internet Explorer 9, but there are technical differences between the various implementations.
The differences are ideological at source, but both opposing stances have valid arguments. There are currently two video-codec options supported in HTML5, H.264 and Theora. As it stands today, H.264 is the only option in Apple Safari, both the desktop and the mobile versions, and in the upcoming IE9. On the other hand, Theora is exclusively supported by Mozilla Firefox and Opera. Google Chrome is the only browser to support both. You can read a detailed view on Mozilla’s stance and the current state of HTML5 video here.
This presents a difficult choice for websites. It would be very expensive for large video sites to support both codes, so Google’s own YouTube and Vimeo have opted for H.264, which is billed as technically superior to Theora. Dailymotion , one of the first to offer HTML5 video, on the other hand, supports Theora. Firefox users won’t be able to watch HTML5 videos on YouTube or Vimeo, while Safari users can’t get the alternative Dailymotion player.
An open-source VP8 codec should be an answer to all of the problems. Mozilla will support it, as it doesn’t come with any licensing issues and sites like YouTube will have a viable open alternative to H.264. It is very likely that YouTube will announce support for VP8 with HTML5 along with H.264. Still, that leaves Microsoft and Apple. Microsoft is very slow to move, so it may be a while until IE gets support for VP8, if at all. Apple is part of the licensing body governing H.264, so it may have no interest in supporting a competing codec.