html 5 – Internetblog.org.uk

The Latest in the HTML 5 Saga

Fri, 16 Apr 2010 18:06:44 +0000

For the past year, we have been following the development of the HTML 5 standard, particularly as it relates to streaming video, an issue of importance for both web hosting providers and their clients. There are some new developments that may change the situation for the better.

Originally, HTML 5 video was supposed to support an open standard, such as Ogg Theora. Mozilla, Opera, and others were in favor of the standardization and began to support it. Apple and Google felt that the Theora codec was not mature enough and did not match the quality of H.264, a proprietary and patented codec. Mozilla, being a provider of a free and open source browser (Firefox), could not legally (or perhaps even ethically) support H.264, while Apple (in Safari) chose to only support it, and Google (in Chrome) supported both.

Not long ago, Google acquired On2 Technologies, the company that originally released the Theora format into the free software community. I speculated that it would be great if Google used On2 to improve Theora or create a new superior open format. Now it seems that Google is going to do just that, and Mozilla will support the new open codec.

The HTML 5 video debate revisted

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 19:29:55 +0000

Website owners should always be concerned about the latest news and developments with the web browser wars and Web standards. Decisions made by these third parties can directly affect how your website is presented to your viewers and whether you need to make adjustments.

Our original post centered around Apple and Google’s unwillingness to adopt the open Theora format, citing its inferior performance quality to the proprietary and patent-laced H.264. This is still the case with both Apple and Google producing browsers that support the video tag from HTML 5 but do not support Theora. Youtube has added support for it, but it does not work in Mozilla Firefox, which, as an open source browser, cannot distribute H.264 technology.

It seems dismal, and Microsoft has still added little to the discussion, although they have at least joined it. All of this, however, might be about to take an unusual turn for the better. The Theora format was created by On2 Technologies and then released as open source later. On 17th of February, their stockholders approved a merger with Google and possibly future development on open video formats. This could be good for all parties in the end.

Source: On2 Technologies

The Pirate Bay introduces video sharing site

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 14:00:13 +0000

Not to be deterred by a little litigation and jail time, the founders of The Pirate Bay plan to launch a new video sharing site. The new potential YouTube competitor will feature videos without copyright restrictions, the company claims. YouTube has long been the subject of copyright disputes with numerous companies requesting videos to be taken down for copyright violation. It is Google’s policy to comply.

The new video site, aptly called The Video Bay, will rely on HTML 5 video technology. It is currently in “beta extreme” and only hosts a handful of videos. Users wishing to view the videos will need versions of the latest web browsers, such as Firefox 3.5, that support the new video embedding. Once installed, a user can view the videos without the need for third-party plugins, such as Adobe Flash Player.

A Swedish court ruled that the Founders of The Pirate Bay were guilty of copyright violation, fined them $3.6 million dollars and sentenced them to a year in prison. The case is currently under appeal. In response to this, The Pirate Bay, which is still up and running, created a privacy service that allows subscribers to share files anonymously through security encryption.

Source: Information Week
Photo: Flickr