Ogg is a container format, like QuickTime MOV and Microsoft AVI and ASF (WMV/WMA). I agree it would be great if browsers recognized the Ogg container and Theora/Vorbis cidecs natively, the way they recognize JPG and GIF &c. Theora is great and there are powerful FOSS tools to transcode to it, for example I created the Theora and Vorbis files on this page: http://fsfeurope.org/projects/gplv3/europe-gplv3-conference.en.html quite easily from consumer MiniDV with ffmpeg2theora.
Technically speaking, I don't see why Dirac couldn't be offered in an Ogg container either. Although both Theora and Dirac are scalable to HD, the great advantage to the BBC with Dirac is that internal video storage and indexing could be seamless with a Dirac-based frontend. There's little doubt now that MPEG-4 AVC / H.264 has won against Microsoft WM9 / VC-1 in the industry broadcast wars. But on the Windows desktop, anything other than WM9 has a steep uphill climb. Free codecs will have better chances as Microsoft's stranglehold on personal computers diminishes. Sean On 12/13/07, Dave Crossland <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > On 13/12/2007, Sean DALY <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > >> De facto standards are typically undocumented, controlled > > >> by only one or two organisations, and patent encumbered. > > > > It's in this context that I think BBC Dirac in Flash would make sense > > for the BBC. The Macromedia Flash container started off with Sorenson > > Spark (rumored to be an early version of H.264) and the addition of > > On2 VP6 and H.264 since the Adobe takeover showed they know how to > > build in a scalable codec. > > IMO a better solution than Dirac in Flash is Theora in Ogg. Ogg Theora > was going to be in HTML 5, but appears to have been dropped :-( > > If HTML5 does eventually have Xiph formats, the future of web audio > and video will be patent-unemcumbered :-) > > "there is currently a specification for HTML5 being developed by the > WHATWG including the possibility of including a new <video> element in > HTML5 with native support for Ogg Theora/Vorbis as a baseline video > format by browsers." > ... > "The problems facing Ogg Theora/Vorbis are really about usability and uptake." > - > http://wiki.transmission.cc/index.php/FOSS_Codecs_For_Online_Video:_Usability_Uptake_and_Development_1.2#Future_of_Web_Video > > > "Ogg technology has been removed from the HTML5 spec, after Ian caved > in the face of pressure from Apple and Nokia." > - http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/12/11/1339251 > > -- > Regards, > Dave > - > Sent via the backstage.bbc.co.uk discussion group. To unsubscribe, please > visit http://backstage.bbc.co.uk/archives/2005/01/mailing_list.html. > Unofficial list archive: > http://www.mail-archive.com/backstage@lists.bbc.co.uk/ > - Sent via the backstage.bbc.co.uk discussion group. To unsubscribe, please visit http://backstage.bbc.co.uk/archives/2005/01/mailing_list.html. Unofficial list archive: http://www.mail-archive.com/backstage@lists.bbc.co.uk/
