VizWorld.com

Both YouTube and Vimeo announced last week that they would begin to support (on a limited basis) the new HTML5 ‘Video’ tag that allows video playback without relying on Flash.  The technology is impressive, but users quickly noticed that it didn’t work with FireFox.  Odd, since FireFox is 3.5 compliant, but it seemed to only work with Safari and Chrome?  Mozilla has finally come out with a response, and the big problem is that while YouTube and Vimeo are supporting a public standard (the HTML5 Video tag), they’re using it with a non-public proprietary codec, the classic H264.   Mozilla believes that using this proprietary codec is a bad idea for both providers and consumers, and is instead pushing something more open like the OggTheora codecs.

Apart from the issues with H.264 support in clients, there are also huge issues around H.264 for Web authors and content providers. Currently providing H.264 content on the Internet is zero-cost, but after 2010 that will almost certainly change. (…) We won/t know much about the terms until the end of this month. The key issue is not exactly how much it will cost, but that if you want to publish H.264 you will probably have to hire lawyers and negotiate a license with the MPEG-LA. If you just want to put a few videos on your Web site, or add a help video to your Web application, or put a video cut-scene in your Web game, that is probably not something you want to do.

I particularly love this comment from Robert O’Callahan:

But the MPEG-LA won’t bother suing me or my project, we’re not worth bothering with. Perhaps true, but I hope “remain irrelevant” is not the favoured strategy for most free software projects.

via Well, I’m Back: Video, Freedom And Mozilla. and Shaver: HTML5 Video and Codecs

Science browser, codecs, firefox, h264, html5, internet, mozilla, video

If you’re a Final Cut user, then you’ve undoubtedly heard about the Apple “ProRes” codecs.  Well the new version of Final Cut adds a few new options to the ProRes family, and Apple has released a WhitePaper discussing the benefits of using it.

With the release of the new Final Cut Studio, Apple has introduced three new  members of the Apple ProRes family:  Apple ProRes 422 (Proxy), Apple ProRes 422 (LT),  and Apple ProRes 4444. These new family members increase the power and versatility  of Final Cut Studio while enabling broader usage of Apple ProRes technology. This white paper provides in-depth information about all five members of the Apple ProRes family, including technical specifications and performance metrics.

The paper gets into amazing technical detail with many comparisons and graphs showing how well it does (or does not ) perform in various situations.  It’s freely available as a PDF.

Apple ProRes Whitepaper (PDF), via @FilmBot.

Graphics apple, codecs, finalcut, prores, whitepaper

If you render movies with Adobe After Effects, you probably have a single output setting that you like and use it repeatedly.  However, there is a world of possibilities there and AETuts+ has taken the time to catalog all of the output formats for you.

We get tons of questions on how to output After Effects project renders, mainly which format and codec to use. Topher decided to do some research and wrote this long article that aims to try and answer some questions.

I had never heard of the “Adobe Clip Notes” output, but I’m gonna have to look at that one closer.

via The After Effects Output Module Exposed – Aetuts+.

Graphics adobe, aftereffects, codecs