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Re: video codecs in HTML 5



Maik Merten <maikmerten@gmx.net> writes:

> Recently Apple joined the discussion and questioned if the Ogg formats
> should get such a recommendation (
> http://lists.whatwg.org/pipermail/whatwg-whatwg.org/2007-March/010392.html
> ). The following discussion implies Apple wants to see MPEG4 being used
> for embedded video in browsers. These codecs are not free (they demand a
> fee for it) and restrict distribution of software containing them.

> This would mean Debian may have to strip support for <video> from all
> shipped browsers. That would mean many Debian users can't legally access
> parts of the web.

Your second paragraph above doesn't follow from your first.  Even if the
standard for <video> says to use MPEG4, I assume that it will follow the
same model as the rest of HTTP and the video will be a separate object
with its own MIME type.  Given that, there's absolutely nothing preventing
Debian from shipping browsers with <video> support for the Ogg formats,
regardless of what the standard says is the recommended codec.

Similar things have been done in the past.

-- 
Russ Allbery (rra@debian.org)               <http://www.eyrie.org/~eagle/>



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