Opus and Ogg Vorbis in IE11 push
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I know that Internet Explorer is a non-free browser, but it is still the most used browser out there and if royalty free codecs do make their way into the browser, then it is a big step either way for the average user in listening to royalty free audio.
A little while back, the royalty free Opus audio codec was released and became an IETF standard. Its being pushed for the codec in WebRTC and it outperforms AAC, MP3, and Ogg Vorbis at similar bit rates and Speex for voice.
Since IE11 is in development and Microsoft had a hand in the development of the Opus codec (it is based of a Skype codec which they own), wouldn't it be natural if the supported the audio codec out of the box? It would be smart for them and no hassle as it is under a 3-Clause BSD license.
So for shits and gigs, I sent out feedback to the IE team at https://connect.microsoft.com/IE/feedback/details/796780 detailing the need for the codec and they are taking my feedback into consideration. Heck, I even threw in Ogg Vorbis as well since Opus can be used in an .ogg file in addition to .opus. Either way, an .opus file uses the Ogg container format and it would be smart to support Vorbis if the container is supported.
So what do you think? Will they listen?
This would be great, agreed. Will they do it, hard to say. Sometimes they do things that make sense, on the other hand Micro$oft is notorious for rejecting standards and coming up with their own proprietary crap.
Hope it works out. Good thinking!
ps. IE is the most used browser only locally according to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Browser_usage
Yeah, I guessed that Opus was the best solution to get royalty free audio codecs in Internet Explorer considering Opus uses the SILK codec (created by Skype, for which MS owns) in addition to Xiph.Org's CELT. They even own patents to it, so it doesn't hurt them to include technology they own: http://opus-codec.org/license/
"Microsoft acquired patents and applications related to Opus through their purchase of Skype. These patents (and any other Microsoft might have had) are available under a different, but still royalty-free, license detailed below. The license covers the listed patent applications, along with any other patent or application covering Opus that is owned by Microsoft."
It's just a form reply. Means nothing.
Oh well, I figured that it was worth a shot to put it out there as an option and making them aware even if they don't do it in the long run. Especially if IE adapts WebRTC which at this point has Opus as a requirement. Like I said in a previous reply, they have nothing holding them back from putting native support in IE. No worry about licensing or patents and no restrictions for encoding or decoding.
Of course with Microsoft being Microsoft, they may push a competing tech to WebRTC called CU-RTC-WEB which no one really knows the audio/video codecs. Could it end up with H264 and AAC as standard? Will people be able to use their own codecs? No clue.
"they have nothing holding them back from putting native support in IE"
On the contrary - According to MPEG-LA Microsoft claims to have 143 patents that are "essential" to H.264. So they do have something holding them back & providing motivation for not supporting these formats: They money they get from royalties on patent licensing.
Plus, by not supporting it and holding all of these patents they get to scare other people into not using it when they go on their periodic "Be Very Afraid" tours: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YExl9ojclo&html5=1
I'm mainly talking about audio, since the codecs like Opus and Vorbis aren't bogged down by patent attacks like VP8.
If you list owning of patents as a reason for pushing H264, then wouldn't that apply to Opus as well? Why would Microsoft push for the development and eventual standardization of the Opus audio codec if they don't plan to use it?
Of course if people use WebRTC instead of Skype, that hurts them big. Btw Opus is in Skype, but isn't active yet as the primary codec.
"I'm mainly talking about audio"
Don't worry - They have patents there too. For example:
http://www.vialicensing.com/licensing/aac-licensors.aspx
"Why would Microsoft push for the development and eventual standardization of the Opus audio codec if they don't plan to use it?"
It's important to remember that work on the codec started before Microsoft's acquisition of Skype. I see the decision to work on the codec as one made by the people of Skype Technologies and a decision that Microsoft merely inherited when purchasing the company in 2011. That Microsoft is pushing their own competing version of WebRTC called CU-RTC-WEB speaks volumes.
Maybe we should also ask Microsoft to make the default home page in Internet Explorer https://trisquel.info/en/download :)
It just sucks that the majority of people who use a desktop PC are on Windows and still use IE as their default browser and wouldn't benefit from an open web. Thankfully Windows 8 has been bombing and sales of RT tablets and Windows PCs in general has been declining. Even Apple's phone and tablet operating systems are shinking in growth to Android.
I know that Android includes non-free bits and proprietary Google Chrome has been the default browser, but at least the Chrome browser does get updated with new technologies all the time and includes open codecs like VP8 (soon VP9) and Opus. Same goes for Firefox on Android, even though the marketshare is pretty low and not default until Firefox OS hits the scene.
So the consumer's move to tablets at the expense of the Windows PC actually benefits us in the end if the browser technology like Chrome push open technology. Even if desktop computers go to the niche of developers, those developers will hopefully use open platforms that support open technologies.
That's why I love it when I hear stories about Asus joining other hardware makers in ditching Windows RT tablets and Microsoft losing $900+ million on their tablet market. :-)
http://news.cnet.com/8301-10805_3-57597764-75/asus-bows-out-of-windows-rt-tablet-production/
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