After originally pledging to support both H.264 and WebM content, Google has decided it will ditch the H.264 video codec from Chrome and go with its WebM format instead.
H.264 video is widely used, currently being the de facto industry standard for encoding digital video. It is used with Blu-ray disc and is supported by a wide variety of consumer electronics devices. However, H.264 technology is patented and adopters pay royalties to the MPEG-LA group.
Google acquired On2 Technologies in 2009 to gain access to the VP8 codec. It opened op the VP8 codec and created a new royalty-free media format called WebM. WebM gained support in the Firefox, Opera and Chrome browsers, but Apple and Microsoft declined to officially support WebM (although WebM support can technically be added to Internet Explorer).
The growing split on the Internet between H.264 and now it’s growing royalty-free competitor WebM is likely to cause problems for content producers looking to use HTML5 to display video content on the Internet.
It is unclear how Google’s removal of H.264 from Chrome will affect Google’s other web services, particularly YouTube.
Result for: content producers
The startup company ZillionTV has begun offering a media device and online service that it hopes will compete with much larger rivals Apple and Netflix in the online video market.
The networking device, dubbed the Z-bar, will have no HDD but will instead stream movies and TV shows on the Web. The device is very similar to that of Roku but ZillionTV will offer its own service instead of tying in Netflix or Amazon’s online video services.
Interestingly, users can rent or purchase films full price or ad-supported content and even get to “choose their preferences for ads to provide more relevant content.”
The service will also be an option for Internet providers and therefore there is only one upfront cost, a $50 USD activation charge.
Beginning officially in the fall, the service already has deals in place with Fox, NBC, Universal, Warner and other major content producers.
Result for: content producers
Microsoft has announced that it has struck a deal with PBS to have some of the broadcaster’s TV series available for download on the Xbox Live Marketplace.
XBL users can download Ken Burns’ Jazz and America series as well as “Wired Science” and “Scientific American.” PBS added that XBL users will have access to over “8,500 hours of programming from 45 content producers.”
“Non-fiction programming has performed very well on Xbox Live,” Ross Honey, general manager of Microsoft’s media and entertainment group, added. “The addition of a premiere brand such as PBS will not only enhance our overall video offering but will strengthen a content category that our users demand.”
Microsoft has been adding more and more media content to its Marketplace over the past six months including a huge deal with Netflix and another large deal with NBC-Universal.
