[whatwg] About the video codec supported in HTML5

[Tab Atkins Jr.]

On Tue, Jul 7, 2009 at 11:37 AM, SA Alfonso Baqueiro<abaqueiro at gmail.com> wrote:
> In the lack of agreement.
>
> Instead of removing the video section from the spec, we should be
> DEMOCRATIC, the codec that more vendors support should get in the spec, like
> the goverments are elected.

Unfortunately, browsers don't get coded through the magical power of voting.

> In this case Ogg Theora will be suported by 3 vendors except Safari, so 3 vs
> 1, it should get in. The case of H.264 has no majority to be supported.

Majority doesn't matter, unless Moz and Opera team up to send
mercenaries to Apple headquarters and make the Webkit team implement
Theora support at gunpoint.

> The whatwg has power, if the standard says something the vendors will have
> to implement it to stay on the edge
> they have no reason to not do it, more when the the codec of ogg is open and
> the source code implementation is out there.

Not really.  The WHATWG has the power to *suggest* cool things that
the browser vendors can all do together, but that's about it.  Social
pressure (from other implementors, not from the spec) can provide some
coercion, but that's not working on the codec issue so far.

> OPEN IS KING.

Actually, reality is king.

~tJ