Cisco to Release Open-Source H.264 Codec, Mozilla Makes Tactical Retreat - TechRepublic
Mozilla has yet to completely win or lose the war on video codecs, but has made a tactical retreat to preserve its forces, according to Ogg Vorbis creator Monty Montgomery.
Cisco and Mozilla have announced a plan that will enable the browser maker to distribute an H.264 codec, and in effect end a standoff over which video codec should be at the end of the W3C’s WebRTC standard.
The problems for Mozilla stem from the fact that the H.264 codec is licensed by MPEG LA under terms that Mozilla is not willing to accept. The new arrangement will see Cisco pay the licence fee and distribute binary builds that can be used in Firefox.
“We plan to open source our H.264 codec, and to provide it as a binary module that can be downloaded for free from the internet,” wrote Rowan Trollope senior vice president and general manager, Cisco Collaboration Technology Group, in a blog post.
“Cisco will not pass on our MPEG LA licensing costs for this module, and, based on the current licensing environment, this will effectively make H.264 free for use in WebRTC.”
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