Maciej Stachowiak (Apple):
Reasons Apple would like MPEG4 + H.264 + AAC to be the preferred
codec stack
In the end, isn't Safari going to play back whatever Quicktime
supports? There is an Ogg Theora + Vorbis codec for Quicktime. It's
easy to get and install. (I don't know whether it will be possible to
install it on embedded devices like the Iphone, though.) IMVHO this
could be seen as fulfilling a 'should' condition, albeit not as clean
as intended.
Reasons Mozilla would like Ogg + Theora + Vorbis to be the
preferred codec
As I understand it, work is underway to improve automatic download of
extensions for decoding unsupported image formats in Mozilla. This
probably could be reused for video (and audio). OTOH the downloaded
non-paid codecs would still not be legal in certain jurisdictions.
It's a pity that mere /decoding/ is involved in patent and licensing
fee issues at all! It's also a pity that not only the providers (e.g.
Xiph), but the users (e.g. Apple) of an alleged (and perhaps indeed)
free format take a legal and financial risk.
That is why we are not trying to force our codec preference on you,
but rather propose to leave this issue open.
That's still my position, too, but for different reasons.
PS: Did anyone ask the porn industry what they want to and actually
do use?
