OGG

Patent challenge looming for open-source codecs?

If authentic, a new e-mail from Steve Jobs indicates that Apple and Microsoft--of all bedfellows--could be preparing to challenge the validity of open-source video codecs.

Jobs' e-mail to Hugo Roy of the Free Software Foundation Europe, coupled with a similarly worded announcement from Microsoft on Friday, is a shot across the bow of backers of the open-source Ogg Theora video codec, used by Mozilla to bring HTML5 video technology to Firefox. Both Apple and Microsoft plan to use the h.264 codec in their HTML5 strategy, which is governed by a licensing body called MPEG LA. Apple and Microsoft, along with a host of tech companies, … Read more

Microsoft takes H.264 stand in Web video debate

Deepening a rift in a key Web standards debate, Microsoft said Thursday that Internet Explorer 9 will support the variety of Web video Apple built into Safari but not the one embraced by Firefox and Opera.

"In its HTML5 support, IE9 will support playback of H.264 video only," Internet Explorer General Manager Dean Hachamovitch said in a blog post. His reasons for the support: the format is widely used in the computing industry, from video cameras to Google's YouTube, it benefits from hardware decoding support that improves performance, and there are questions about the rights to … Read more

DJ player

DJ software like AdionSoft's DjDecks can put pro-level audio programming and playback capabilities at your fingertips. You can mix and sequence many different file types and play them back in programmed sequences, like most DJ-oriented software. It has a raft of beats, loops, echoes, and other special effects you can apply during playback or save in your chosen file type, as well as plug-in expandability, like some of its competitors. But what sets it apart from and above most similar software is its flexibility and compatibility with external devices, such as multiple sound cards, including ASIO driver support, and … Read more

Built-in video arrives in Opera beta

With the release of the Opera 10.5 beta, a fourth browser is available that can play video built directly into Web pages with no plug-ins required.

The HTML5 Web pages standard under development lets programmers build video into Web pages so browsers don't need a plug-in such as Adobe Systems' Flash to play it--the way they've been accustomed to doing with JPEG images for years. However, Opera's arrival isn't likely to bridge a video technology divide that's a serious hurdle for adoption of HTML5 video.

Opera 10.5, like Mozilla's Firefox, can play … Read more

Web video gets H.264 royalty reprieve

In a decision that deprives open-source foes of some rhetorical fodder, the group that licenses patents for the widely used H.264 video-encoding technology chose to renew a streaming-media freebie through 2015.

MPEG LA licenses more than 1,000 H.264-related patents on behalf of 26 companies that hold the patents. The group's existing policy, which runs through the end of 2010, has been not to charge royalties to Internet sites that streamed video using the technology--as long as the video was free for viewers.

Many have been waiting to hear what MPEG LA would announce for the licensing … Read more

Mozilla takes on YouTube video choice

A disagreement between Google and Mozilla is making a once-obscure debate into a real issue for those who watch Web video or host it on their own sites.

Last week, Google's YouTube announced early support for HTML5 video, which can be built directly into Web pages and viewed with browsers without relying on a plug-in such as Adobe Systems' Flash, Microsoft's Silverlight, or Apple's QuickTime. Another Web video site, Vimeo, followed suit.

Native video on a Web page sounds nice, and many Web companies support the effort broadly. But there's one big devil in its detail: … Read more

Basic conversions

Aglare Music Converter Platinum is a simple program that allows users to convert audio and video files to a variety of different audio formats. Although there was nothing about the program that particularly impressed us, we found it to be easy to use and effective.

The program's interface is basic, with all of its features contained on a single screen. Users simply choose the file or files they want to convert, select the output format from among seven options, optionally select the desired quality of the output, and click Convert. The program quickly converts files and saves them to … Read more

Basic audio converter

Agood MP3 AMR OGG AAC M4A AC3 WAV Converter is a simple program that allows users to convert audio files to a variety of different formats. Although there was nothing about the program that particularly impressed us, we found it to be easy to use and effective.

The program's interface is basic, with all of its features contained on a single screen. Users simply choose the file or files they want to convert, select the output format from among seven options, optionally select the desired quality of the output, and click Convert. The program quickly converts files and saves … Read more

Easy file converter

Free Convert M4A to MP3 AMR OGG AAC Converter provides a simple collection of tools for quickly changing file types. By breaking the process down into an easy-to-use layout, this program succeeds.

Its interface is impressively simple to operate, thanks to its plainspoken onscreen instructions and its intuitive command icons. Simply choose an M4A file from your collection and decide which file type to convert it to. That's about it. As the name implies, you can choose between MP3, AMR, OGG, and WAV files with a drop-down menu. The actual conversion was impressively fast, since it changed a 3-minute … Read more