<HTML><BODY style="word-wrap: break-word; -khtml-nbsp-mode: space; -khtml-line-break: after-white-space; ">This is maybe off-topic to some degree.<DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>What are the DRM constraints of this format?</DIV><DIV>I only ask as your organisation is embarking on an MS-DRM fueled online media project, and I am curious as to the position of this codec.</DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>thanks</DIV><DIV><BR><DIV><DIV>On 22 Mar 2007, at 12:28, Thomas Davies wrote:</DIV><BR class="Apple-interchange-newline"><BLOCKQUOTE type="cite"> <P><FONT size="2" face="Arial">Hi</FONT> </P><P><FONT size="2" face="Arial">Having been pointed at this discussion by Christian, I thought I'd let you know a bit more about where Dirac is as a royalty-free open source codec. We're certainly very keen for Dirac to be considered as one of the supported video formats.</FONT></P><P><FONT size="2" face="Arial">Dirac has been in development for 4 years. In compression terms it's about twice as efficient as MPEG2, competitive with H264 and VC-1 and substantially more efficient than Theora. The Dirac sourceforge site contains a full specification of the system which is very nearly complete. A subset of this, relating to professional profiles for TV production, has already been proposed to the SMPTE for standardisation as VC-2. Assuming that there are no roadblocks in this process, we intend to submit the rest of the Dirac system as VC-3 (or whatever number they're up to) towards the end of the year. So this time next year, there is a good chance that Dirac will be an international, royalty-free SMPTE standard.</FONT></P><P><FONT size="2" face="Arial">When we started Dirac, our intention was that the Dirac software on the website could be developed to build a real-time system. However, it proved difficult to make a system that could be a reference codec for testing the specification/draft standard and which had real-time optimisations. So in conjunction with Fluendo, we started the Schrodinger project (</FONT><A href="http://schrodinger.sf.net"><U><FONT color="#0000FF" size="2" face="Arial">http://schrodinger.sf.net</FONT></U></A><FONT size="2" face="Arial">) which is a real-time, multi-platform implementation of Dirac being developed in parallel with the Dirac software. This isn't quite finished yet, but we will have a compliant alpha release in the next month or two. It will be alpha because although it will do real-time encoding and decoding in software, it won't compress all that well. The Dirac site software is being maintained as a reference and demonstrator system. </FONT></P><P><FONT size="2" face="Arial">Our aim then is to do a beta release of Schrodinger by the autumn using all the encoder optimisations in Dirac, so by the end of the year we should be "there" in terms of having a really good, efficient real-time encoder and decoder. Third parties can start designing implementations when the spec is finalised at version 1.0 in only a couple of weeks from now. </FONT></P><P><FONT size="2" face="Arial">We have been developing Dirac hardware as well. Hardware for the professional applications will be on sale in a very few weeks, and we're developing a prototype hardware HDTV encoder too.</FONT></P> <BR><P><FONT size="2" face="Arial">Thomas </FONT> </P> <BR><FONT face="Times New Roman" size="3"><A href="http://www.bbc.co.uk">http://www.bbc.co.uk</A><BR>This e-mail (and any attachments) is confidential and may contain personal views which are not the views of the BBC unless specifically stated.<BR>If you have received it in error, please delete it from your system.<BR>Do not use, copy or disclose the information in any way nor act in reliance on it and notify the sender immediately.<BR>Please note that the BBC monitors e-mails sent or received.<BR>Further communication will signify your consent to this.</FONT> </BLOCKQUOTE></DIV><BR></DIV></BODY></HTML>