[M4IF Discuss] Slashdot discussion of Salon article

[Ken Goldsholl]

MessageI was interpreting the interoperability question to mean will other alternative schemes be interoperable with MPEG4, which of course they could not be without infringing on the patents.  If however you just mean whether they are interoperable between different implementations of the same algorithms and protocols, well you know, it just takes software (and time) to achieve that goal.
Windows media can't be a viable alternative unless every viewing device runs windows - which is not feasible.  Unless the source code is released so versions can run on competing operating systems, interoperability won't be likely.  Also, who is to say that that format would be less expensive (I'm guessing that Microsoft has not put windows media source code in the public domain, someone correct me if I'm wrong).
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Jordan Greenhall 
  To: 'Mikael Bourges-Sevenier' ; 'Jeff Handy' ; 'Ben Waggoner' ; discuss   lists.m4if.org 
  Sent: Friday, March 08, 2024 8:46 AM
  Subject: RE: [M4IF Discuss] Slashdot discussion of Salon article
  All - we have to be sure not to drink our own Kool-aid here.  MPEG-4 is a proposed "de jure" international standard that will hopefully ultimately be interoperable.  It is by no means a de facto standard and as we all painfully know, there is a long way to interoperability.  
  Alternatives?  First I'd look at de facto standards - windows media certainly comes to mind.  You don't need interoperability if everyone is using the same software.  Then you can also look at Open Source alternatives - VP3, Xvid.  Again, because anyone can use them, interoperability begins to drop out.  As all of these are completely free, they are quite compelling to content owners.
  For content providers, it is a question of how many people can view (and pay for) their content.  Interoperability is a very small means to this end.  MP3 was a standard for a long time before it was actually used.  MP3 was important when it became a de facto standard and there were lots of people using it.  A big part of the reason this was possible was that the license was actually fair and reasonable and was well designed to promote the technology.
    -----Original Message-----
    From: discuss-admin   lists.m4if.org [mailto:discuss-admin   lists.m4if.org] On Behalf Of Mikael Bourges-Sevenier
    Sent: Thursday, March 07, 2024 9:32 PM
    To: 'Jeff Handy'; 'Ben Waggoner'; discuss   lists.m4if.org
    Subject: RE: [M4IF Discuss] Slashdot discussion of Salon article
    Dear Jeff,
    Yes MPEG-4, like any international standard, is about interoperability. Recently On2 opened its codec, that's proprietary, but the H.26x family of codecs are not proprietary and are international standards. May not be as complete as MPEG-4 but may be enough for your applications, who knows.
    Mike
      -----Original Message-----
      From: Jeff Handy [mailto:jeffh   bisk.com] 
      Sent: Thursday, March 07, 2024 9:17 PM
      To: Mikael Bourges-Sevenier; Ben Waggoner; discuss   lists.m4if.org
      Subject: RE: [M4IF Discuss] Slashdot discussion of Salon article
        ": if people look at alternatives, there might not even be need for licensing terms and MPEG-LA. "
        I'd like to know what alternatives you are talking about.  MPEG-4 is about, above all, interoperability.  What truly interoperable alternatives are there?  AFAIK, everything else is a proprietary solution.  IMO, THIS point is what they don't get.
        Jeff Handy
        Senior Digital Media Specialist
        Bisk Education, Inc.
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