WOW, check this out...
The jockeying to see which tech giant controls the future of video on the Internet has hit another flash point.
Google's decision to dump a widely-used video standard, called H.264, from its Chrome browser, in favor of a format it has created, called WebM, is drawinghowls of derision in the tech community.
The H.264 format is used on about 66% of the video on the Web. It is royalty free as long as the video is distributed for free; otherwise, companies have to pay a licensing fee to the patent owner, MPEG LA.
Google's WebM format at this point in time is free -- no licensing fees of any kind. It's supporters includes Adobe, Mozilla and Opera, among others.
Meanwhile, Apple and Microsoft are huge supporters of H.264, as is Abode, whose ubiquitous Flash video player works on H.264, but not yet on WebM.
Last October, Apple dumped support for Flash from its Mac OS X computer operating system, drawing criticism from cybersecurity experts. Users of OS X no longer get Flash player, or its security updates, by default.
IDC tech industry analyst Al Hilwa tells Technology Live that Goolge's move boils down to a dollars and cents calculation.
"Google made a business decision about licensing money that it had to pay for using what has become an industry standard video format, namely H.264," says Hilwa.
Google product manager Mike Jazayeri says the company's goal in dumping H.264 is to enable "open innovation." But that claim rings hollow, says Hilwa.
"It is hypocritical, but not untypical of either Google or other companies who use Open Source software for financial gain," observes Hilwa. "Google spent over $100 million a year ago onacquisition of On2, which owns the video technology they used to put into WebM."
Hilwa says the rate of adoption of Google's Chrome browser could actually decline. He says the search giant has "upset a lot of developers and web-content owners" by putting all of its chips on WebM.
Google is locked in a high stakes poker tournament against Microsoft, Apple, Mozilla and Opera. Each covets a dominant share of the browser market, going forward.
"No one knows how this will all turn out, but the tech giants are playing their hands," says Hilwa. "Whoever controls video on the Internet could be in the best position to dominate video on mobile devices."
By Byron Acohido
