Since the Ceeb doesn't know when to follow Mommy (BBC) or
Daddy (US Networks), maybe this thought balloon from the BBC
head of tech is lead from the start....
But see the few comments. This is about the British island
cultures.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/bbcinternet/2008/08/open_industry_standards_for_au.
html
Audio & Video On The Web
* Erik Huggers (Erik Huggers is Director, BBC Future Media
and Technology.)
* 12 Aug 08, 2:30 PM
One of the key drivers in making audio and video distribution possible via
the
internet is the great advances in compression technologies (codecs).
Obviously, broadband adoption and ever more capable PCs and mobile devices
helped a lot - but in the end, it has been the codecs that have made the
real
difference.
Looking back over the last decade, the advances in this space were mainly
driven by strong competition between software companies. Each had its own
motivations for creating proprietary codecs and file formats that lock in
customers. Besides the obvious downside of that approach, there were some
benefits as well: fast innovation and attractive terms and conditions from
a
licensing perspective.
Having said that, the BBC has always been a strong advocate and driver of
open
industry standards. Without these standards, TV and radio broadcasting
would
simply not function. I believe that the time has come for the BBC to start
adopting open standards such as H.264 and AAC for our audio and video
services
on the web. These technologies have matured enough to make them viable
alternatives to other solutions.
The advantage for the audience will be a noticeable improvement in audio
and
video quality. Furthermore, it should become easier for the media to
simply
work across a broader range of devices. While it's not a magic bullet, it
certainly is a significant step in the right direction. The first service
to
make content available using these open standards based codecs will be
iPlayer. Anthony Rose will have more details of introducing H.264 to the
iPlayer later today. It is our intention for other AV services across
bbc.co.uk to follow quickly.
Some people may ask: why are you not using your own Dirac codec? I am
fully
committed to the development and success of Dirac, but for now those
efforts
are focused on high-end broadcast applications. This autumn, we intend to
show
the world what can be achieved with these technologies.
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