From CNET: Electronics giant Samsung just gave a little more clout to those who prefer openness in the constant struggle between open and proprietary technology.
The Korean company announced it's now joined the Alliance for Open Media at the highest level, a significant addition to a consortium developing video compression technology called AV1. Technology powers Google, Microsoft, Netflix, Amazon, Cisco Systems and Mozilla launched AOMedia in 2015, but it gained more power with the arrival of Facebook and Apple in 2018 and the persistently complex and uncertain requirements to license patents for AV1's biggest rival, HEVC.
Video compression relied for years on HEVC's predecessor, called H.264 or AVC. But better compression makes higher-resolution 4K video more feasible, especially for streaming video services trying to fit as many pixels as possible over limited-capacity networks.
AV1 is open-source software, meaning that anyone can peer at its underlying programming instructions and modify them, and it requires no patent licencing payments. That may sound too good to be true in a tech world where patent licensing deals -- and sometimes infringement lawsuits -- bring in millions of dollars. But the AV1 allies are betting on making money elsewhere -- streaming video services such as Amazon Prime, Netflix YouTube being the clearest example.
View: Article @ Source Site
