Re: [rtcweb] A different perspective on the video codec MTI discussion

David Singer <singer@apple.com> Thu, 14 March 2013 16:44 UTC

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From: David Singer <singer@apple.com>
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Date: Thu, 14 Mar 2013 09:44:14 -0700
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Subject: Re: [rtcweb] A different perspective on the video codec MTI discussion
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On Mar 14, 2013, at 9:24 , Ben Strong <ben@vline.com> wrote:

> However, I fail to see how either one of those points has any bearing on the MTI decision. The whole point of MTI is guaranteed interoperability across all WebRTC implementations, which is absolutely critical to WebRTC adoption. The only criteria should be the best quality codec which can be supported by all implementations. And because some implementations are open source, it absolutely must be royalty free.

I think you make a key point here; making a mandate that doesn't have consensus is empty, as if (for example) companies are forced to choose between formally complying with the mandate, or taking on excessive risk, they'll probably be risk-averse. Or a mandate that carries a license fee will be ignored by those who don't pay such fees on principle.

We all need a decision we can all stand behind, and we're making progress to that goal, and I appreciate all the data and efforts.  There is some very important data (notably, the names of the 11 and the resulting license) which is promised to be available in only a few weeks. Let's not decide in haste (and possibly repent at leisure).


By the way, open-source and license fees are not in direct conflict; it's the principles that are.  To pick a directly-relevant example, there are open-source implementations of H.264 (AVC).

David Singer
Multimedia and Software Standards, Apple Inc.