[whatwg] on codecs in a 'video' tag.

[Michel Fortin]

Le 2007-03-30 à 16:41, Maciej Stachowiak a écrit :

> I think achieving broader interoperability will require us to find  
> ways around this impasse, rather than bludgeoning each other until  
> one side caves.

Isn't Theora already more interoperable than anything else? I mean,  
there is a plugin for QuickTime, and there is also a filter for  
DirectShow allowing it to work with Windows Media Player. Linux  
distributions usually support Theora out of the box and anyone is  
reasonably free to implement the codec and distribute it as they  
like. I mean, it may not be the easiest format to read (need for  
plugins), but it certainly is the one you can read everywhere. I  
think that's a good reason for Theora to stay the preferred codec  
where interoperability is concerned.

Maybe the requirement could be changed like that:

"User agents SHOULD support Ogg Theora video and Ogg Vorbis audio, as  
well as the Ogg container format. Or, alternatively, user agents  
SHOULD give users the means to add support for this format."

That way, Theora and Vorbis can stay the preferred format, users of  
Apple products can rely on add-ons to read Theora content, and Apple  
can stay spec-compliant without having to fear submarine patents.


Michel Fortin
michel.fortin at michelf.com
http://www.michelf.com/