Ask most computer users what their preferred video codec is and they'll look at you as if you asked what sort of motor they'd prefer in their washing machine. ``We just want it to work!'' they say. In this regard, it’s exactly the same for content creators and publishers. Every visitor to a website that can't view a video is one set of eyeballs less for a message to get through to. It doesn't matter how clever the advertising is, how much time is spent honing the message or how many clever viral tricks are deployed to attract surfers to the site, the moment the page opens up with a big blank box where the content should be, all that has been in vain.
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DeadSuperHero
14 years 25 weeks 6 days 17 hours ago
Oh my God...
My brain just exploded from how awesome this entry is. Oh, the implications of what could happen! The tension is terrible, I hope it lasts.
In all seriousness, this is amazing news. Here's to hoping that Google officially pushes OGG and turns the tide in the HTML5 debate to a Free Software format. To see YouTube powered by Ogg Theora and have it truly ditch Flash would be incredible.
aboutblank
14 years 25 weeks 5 days 9 hours ago
Video Codecs
As heartening as this news is, I am disappointed that news like this is outstanding in this day. Theora is as stable and open as any codec can get, but in spite of these facts, hardware manufacturers don't appear to care about implementing hardware Theora support. I should confess that I am ignorant about the cost of implementing Theora support into hardware; perhaps the return on investment may be too small to justify this sort of investment decision.
Also, I would actually bet against Youtube being powered by Theora. There are compelling technical reasons why Theora will not supplant the role currently occupied by H.264 within Youtube. There are also no credible signs to show that Google would reduce their investments in H.264.