Use of Ogg formats in HTML5

Last updated

The HTML5 draft specification adds video and audio elements for embedding video and audio in HTML documents. The specification had formerly recommended support for playback of Theora video and Vorbis audio encapsulated in Ogg containers to provide for easier distribution of audio and video over the internet by using open standards, but the recommendation was soon after dropped.

Contents

Motivation

Because some visitors and publishers choose not to take part in the use of proprietary software, web content has been made available through open standards in order to reach these users. As multimedia is already mainstream on the web through proprietary data formats (such as Windows Media Video and MP4) and browser plugins (such as Adobe Flash Player), developers[ who? ] had hoped Theora and Vorbis would become part of the HTML5 specification. [1]

Users affiliated with the free software movement claimed the following advantages:

CTO at Opera Software, Håkon Wium Lie explained in a Google tech talk entitled "The <video> element" the proposal of Theora as the video format for HTML5: [2]

I believe very strongly, that we need to agree on some kind of baseline video format if [the video element] is going to succeed. [...] We want a freely implementable open standard to hold the content we put out. That's why we developed the PNG image format. [...] PNG [...] came late to the party. Therefore I think it's important that from the beginning we think about this.

After the presentation, Lie was asked whether Opera will support other formats than Ogg:

My opinion is that browsers shouldn't support other codecs, at least not in the beginning, until we have established a baseline format. [...] We don't want to contaminate <video> with other formats.

Support

Opera Software and Mozilla have been advocates for including the Ogg formats into the HTML standard. [3] Support has been available in experimental builds of Opera 9.5 since 2007, [4] and Ogg Theora is fully supported since Opera 10.50. [5] Gecko 1.9.1 (browsers based on this engine include Mozilla Firefox 3.5 and SeaMonkey 2.0 [6] ), released on June 30, 2009, was the first non-experimental layout engine to support Ogg formats. Google Chrome included support in their 3.0 release (September 2009), [7] along with support for H.264. However, they did not support MPEG-1 (the parts patents on which are thought to have expired), citing concerns over performance. [8]

Microsoft began work in October 2017 on implementing support for Ogg, Vorbis, and Theora in Windows 10 and Microsoft Edge. [9]

In October 2023, Google announced their plans to deprecate and remove support for the Theora video codec starting with experiments reducing Theora support in Chrome 120 and a full removal in Chrome 123, Google states that the reason for the removal is due to low use and security risks associated with the codec. [10] [11]

Opposition

On October 17, 2007, the World Wide Web Consortium encouraged interested people to take part in a "Video on the Web Workshop", held on December 12, 2007, for two days. [12] A number of global companies were involved, submitting position papers. [13] Among them, Nokia's paper [14] states that "a W3C-led standardization of a 'free' codec, or the active endorsement of proprietary technology such as Ogg [...] by W3C, is, in our opinion, not helpful". Xiph.org's codecs, while licensed under a BSD-style permissive free software license, implement a standard controlled by Xiph.org themselves, rather than a multi-vendor community such as MPEG. Apple Inc., a member of the MPEG LA, has also opposed the inclusion of Ogg formats in the HTML standard on the grounds that H.264 performs better and is already more widely supported, citing patents on their codec's efficiency and the lack of precedents of "Placing requirements on format support", even at the "SHOULD" level, in HTML specifications. [15]

Recommendation retracted

On December 10, 2007, the HTML 5 specification was updated, [16] replacing the reference to Theora and Vorbis with a placeholder: [17]

It would be helpful for interoperability if all browsers could support the same codecs. However, there are no known codecs that satisfy all the current players: we need a codec that is known to not require per-unit or per-distributor licensing, that is compatible with the open source development model, that is of sufficient quality as to be usable, and that is not an additional submarine patent risk for large companies. This is an ongoing issue and this section will be updated once more information is available. [18]

The removal of the Ogg formats from the specification made it completely file format neutral, like previous versions of HTML. The decision was criticized by a number of Web developers. A follow-up discussion also occurred on the W3C questions and answers blog. [19]

In response to criticism, the WHATWG has cited concerns over the Ogg formats still being within patent lifetime and thus vulnerable to unknown patents. [20] Such submarine patents may also exist for formats like MP3. Also, the AVC patent licensing policy is subject to change in a not-yet-clear manner. [21]

Adoption

As of December 31, 2020, Adobe Flash Player has stopped receiving support from Adobe, [22] with HTML5 video being one of the main technologies replacing it. [23]

"WebRTC Audio Codec and Processing Requirements" Internet standard drafts, published in 2011–2013, require free formats, including Opus, which was developed, among others, by programmers associated with Xiph.Org Foundation (the maintainer of Ogg). [24] [25]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ogg</span> Open container format maintained by the Xiph.Org Foundation

Ogg is a free, open container format maintained by the Xiph.Org Foundation. The authors of the Ogg format state that it is unrestricted by software patents and is designed to provide for efficient streaming and manipulation of high-quality digital multimedia. Its name is derived from "ogging", jargon from the computer game Netrek.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vorbis</span> Royalty-free lossy audio encoding format

Vorbis is a free and open-source software project headed by the Xiph.Org Foundation. The project produces an audio coding format and software reference encoder/decoder (codec) for lossy audio compression, libvorbis. Vorbis is most commonly used in conjunction with the Ogg container format and it is therefore often referred to as Ogg Vorbis.

Speex is an audio compression codec specifically tuned for the reproduction of human speech and also a free software speech codec that may be used on voice over IP applications and podcasts. It is based on the code excited linear prediction speech coding algorithm. Its creators claim Speex to be free of any patent restrictions and it is licensed under the revised (3-clause) BSD license. It may be used with the Ogg container format or directly transmitted over UDP/RTP. It may also be used with the FLV container format.

Theora is a free lossy video compression format. It was developed by the Xiph.Org Foundation and distributed without licensing fees alongside their other free and open media projects, including the Vorbis audio format and the Ogg container.

Xiph.Org Foundation is a nonprofit organization that produces free multimedia formats and software tools. It focuses on the Ogg family of formats, the most successful of which has been Vorbis, an open and freely licensed audio format and codec designed to compete with the patented WMA, MP3 and AAC. As of 2013, development work was focused on Daala, an open and patent-free video format and codec designed to compete with VP9 and the patented High Efficiency Video Coding.

On2 TrueMotion VP3 is a (royalty-free) lossy video compression format and video codec. It is an incarnation of the TrueMotion video codec, a series of video codecs developed by On2 Technologies.

These tables compare features of multimedia container formats, most often used for storing or streaming digital video or digital audio content. To see which multimedia players support which container format, look at comparison of media players.

libavcodec is a free and open-source library of codecs for encoding and decoding video and audio data.

OggSquish is one of the first names used for the Ogg project developed from 1994 by the Xiphophorus company. Ogg Squish was also an attempt from the Xiphophorus company to create a royalty-free lossless audio compression codec.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">HTML5</span> Fifth and previous version of hypertext markup language

HTML5 is a markup language used for structuring and presenting hypertext documents on the World Wide Web. It was the fifth and final major HTML version that is now a retired World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) recommendation. The current specification is known as the HTML Living Standard. It is maintained by the Web Hypertext Application Technology Working Group (WHATWG), a consortium of the major browser vendors.

The Web Hypertext Application Technology Working Group (WHATWG) is a community of people interested in evolving HTML and related technologies. The WHATWG was founded by individuals from Apple Inc., the Mozilla Foundation and Opera Software, leading Web browser vendors in 2004.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">VP8</span> Open and royalty-free video coding format released by Google in 2010

VP8 is an open and royalty-free video compression format released by On2 Technologies in 2008.

The HTML5 specification introduced the video element for the purpose of playing videos, partially replacing the object element. HTML5 video is intended by its creators to become the new standard way to show video on the web, instead of the previous de facto standard of using the proprietary Adobe Flash plugin, though early adoption was hampered by lack of agreement as to which video coding formats and audio coding formats should be supported in web browsers. As of 2020, HTML5 video is the only widely supported video playback technology in modern browsers, with the Flash plugin being phased out.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WebM</span> Audiovisual media file format

WebM is an audiovisual media file format. It is primarily intended to offer a royalty-free alternative to use in the HTML5 video and the HTML5 audio elements. It has a sister project, WebP, for images. The development of the format is sponsored by Google, and the corresponding software is distributed under a BSD license.

Modern HTML5 has feature-parity with the now-obsolete Adobe Flash. Both include features for playing audio and video within web pages. Flash was specifically built to integrate vector graphics and light games in a web page, features that HTML5 also supports.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Opus (audio format)</span> Lossy audio coding format

Opus is a lossy audio coding format developed by the Xiph.Org Foundation and standardized by the Internet Engineering Task Force, designed to efficiently code speech and general audio in a single format, while remaining low-latency enough for real-time interactive communication and low-complexity enough for low-end embedded processors. Opus replaces both Vorbis and Speex for new applications, and several blind listening tests have ranked it higher-quality than any other standard audio format at any given bitrate until transparency is reached, including MP3, AAC, and HE-AAC.

HTML5 Audio is a subject of the HTML5 specification, incorporating audio input, playback, and synthesis, as well as in the browser. iOS

Encrypted Media Extensions (EME) is a W3C specification for providing a communication channel between web browsers and the Content Decryption Module (CDM) software which implements digital rights management (DRM). This allows the use of HTML5 video to play back DRM-wrapped content such as streaming video services without the use of heavy third-party media plugins like Adobe Flash or Microsoft Silverlight. The use of a third-party key management system may be required, depending on whether the publisher chooses to scramble the keys.

References

  1. ↑ RoughlyDrafted Magazine (6 July 2009). "Ogg Theora, H.264 and the HTML 5 Browser Squabble". RoughlyDrafted Magazine. Archived from the original on 3 December 2010. Retrieved 14 February 2010.
  2. ↑ "Håkon Wium Lie on the video element in HTML 5". Google Video. 2007-03-29. Retrieved 2009-02-22.
  3. ↑ "Mozilla, Opera Want to Make Video on the Web Easier". PC World. 2007-12-07. Archived from the original on 2008-04-24. Retrieved 2009-06-30.
  4. ↑ "Opera release on Labs - Opera Developer Community". Dev.opera.com. 2007-11-07. Retrieved 2009-06-30.
  5. ↑ Jägenstedt, Philip (2009-12-31). "(re-)Introducing <video> - Official blog for Core developers at Opera". Opera. Retrieved 2010-01-02.
  6. ↑ Kaiser, Robert (2009-10-28), SeaMonkey 2.0 - What's New in SeaMonkey 2.0, seamonkey-project.org, retrieved 2009-10-31
  7. ↑ Laforge, Anthony (September 15, 2009). "Google Chrome after a year: Sporting a new stable release" . Retrieved 2009-09-22.
  8. ↑ Fette, Ian (May 29, 2009). "whatwg MPEG-1 subset proposal for HTML5 video codec". WHATWG . Retrieved 2009-06-24.
  9. ↑ "Microsoft adding Ogg, Theora, and Vorbis open media formats to Windows 10". Ctrl blog. 9 February 2016. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
  10. ↑ "Intent to Ship: Deprecate and remove Theora support". groups.google.com. Retrieved 2023-10-24.
  11. ↑ "Deprecate and remove Theora support. - Chrome Platform Status". chromestatus.com. Retrieved 2023-10-24.
  12. ↑ "W3C Video on the Web Workshop" . Retrieved 2008-06-14.
  13. ↑ "Workshop Papers". W3C . Retrieved 2009-06-23.
  14. ↑ Wenger, Stephan (28 November 2007). "Web Architecture and Codec Considerations for Audio-Visual Services" (PDF). W3C Workshop on Video on the Web, December 12–13, 2007. Retrieved 2008-02-25.
  15. ↑ Stachowiak, Maciej (21 March 2007). "[whatwg] Codecs (was Re: Apple Proposal for Timed Media Elements)". whatwg mailing list (Mailing list). Retrieved 2008-02-25.
  16. ↑ Hickson, Ian (10 December 2007). "[whatwg] Video codec requirements changed". whatwg mailing list (Mailing list). Archived from the original on 19 February 2012. Retrieved 25 February 2008.
  17. ↑ "(X)HTML5 Tracking". HTML5.org. Retrieved 2009-06-23.
  18. ↑ "[whatwg] Removal of Ogg is *preposterous*". WHATWG (Mailing list). Lists.whatwg.org. 11 December 2007. Archived from the original on 2008-08-21. Retrieved 2009-08-25.
  19. ↑ Connolly, Dan (December 18, 2007). "When will HTML 5 support <video>? Sooner if you help". W3C . Retrieved 2009-06-23.
  20. ↑ Hickson, Ian (11 December 2007). "Re: [whatwg] Removal of Ogg is *preposterous*". whatwg mailing list (Mailing list). Archived from the original on 21 August 2008. Retrieved 25 February 2008.
  21. ↑ Paul, Ryan (2009-07-05). "Decoding the HTML 5 video codec debate". Infinite Loop / The Apple Ecosystem. Retrieved 2012-07-25.
  22. ↑ "Adobe Flash Player End of Life". www.adobe.com. Retrieved 2023-01-28.
  23. ↑ Team, Adobe Communications. "Flash & the Future of Interactive Content". Adobe Blog. Retrieved 2023-01-28.
  24. ↑ Valin, Jean-Marc; Bran, Cary (15 October 2013). "WebRTC Audio Codec and Processing Requirements". Ietf Datatracker.
  25. ↑ "OpusFAQ - XiphWiki".
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.