Imgur just gave itself an early birthday present: One week before the popular image hosting service celebrates its sixth anniversary, it unveiled…
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Only 0.12 percent of all Wikipedia articles contain videos
There are millions of articles on Wikipedia, but less than 6000 contain a video. That's despite long-running efforts to get more video onto Wikipedia.…
Read MoreThe story of WebP: How Google wants to speed up the web, one image at a time
Google wants WebP to become the internet's next dominant image file format. That's not likely going to happen anytime soon -- but WebP could still have a huge impact.…
Read MoreWikimedia is considering support for H.264 video codec to boost video on Wikipedia
Wikipedia has traditionally only accepted open media formats. But now it's considering a change in tune to finally get more video contributions.…
Read MoreGoogle starts using HTML5 and WebM for premium content
Some Chromebook owners are getting their Google Play video rentals in WebM, thanks to new HTML5 video security. And Google is already working hard on a next-generation video codec.…
Read MoreYouTube comes to the Wii, thanks to Google’s WebM video codec
YouTube launched on the Wii Thursday, and the app is powered by Google's open WebM video codec. This makes the Wii app the biggest WebM deployment in the world, and gives Google a chance to show off what WebM is capable of.…
Read MoreIce Cream Sandwich supports WebM streaming, MKVs
Google's new Ice Cream Sandwich version of Android will natively play WebM video streams and MKV files. However, don't expect your Android handset to support all those files you downloaded from The Pirate Bay any time soon; the new codec support largely targets developers.…
Read MoreAndroid Soars, But iPhone Users Still Seem To Like Video Better
Android may be the biggest mobile operating system, but do iPhone owners enjoy video more often? Statistics collected by video encoding comp……
Read MoreSkype goes VP8, embraces open video codec
Any video call between users of Skype's newest Windows client automatically uses Google's open video codec VP8. Being embraced by a company that's soon part of Microsoft is a big boost for Google's open video strategy, and it could quell potential fears of patent lawsuits.…
Read MoreMPEG LA ready to escalate codec war against Google, WebM
H.264 license holder MPEG LA says it's ready to step up the fight against Google's open-source WebM format. After threatening to form a patent pool to use against WebM, the group now says it has identified 12 companies with patents essential to the VP8 standard.…
Read MoreH.264 is still winning the codec war
H.264 remains the dominant force in online video, as the video codec now accounts for more than two-thirds of online video, according to a blog post by MeFeedia. Meanwhile, Google's WebM format has yet to gain any significant traction after being released a year ago.…
Read MoreVideo files keep growing like kudzu
In 2007, online video was a straightforward affair: You put a video online; you made it short; and you hoped for the best. But today, due to a growing number of video codecs and connected devices, publishers need to produce an ever-increasing number of video files.…
Read MoreThe technology behind Google+ Hangouts
Google's new Hangouts video chat service is one of the most interesting features of its Google+ project. A look behind the tech curtain reveals that Google has big plans for Hangouts, using cutting edge technology to make it run natively on a wide range of devices.…
Read MoreSamsung, LG & Cisco Throw Their Support Behind WebM
Google's open video format WebM has some new backers, with companies like Cisco, LG and Samsung joining a cross-licensing initiative to insure themselves against patent-related litigation. However, the need for such an initiative also shows how serious Google has to take any threats of patent lawsuits.…
Read MoreAll YouTube Video Uploads Now in WebM
Any new video uploaded to YouTube will be automatically encoded in WebM, the open-source video format that's backed by Google, Mozilla and others. YouTube has also been busy transcoding its back catalog and has now around 30 percent of all videos available in WebM.…
Read MoreGoogle Hearts Firefox 4 for WebM Video Support
Firefox 4 is clocking huge download numbers ever since it was released yesterday, and that's good news for Google's open video format WebM: The new version of Firefox supports WebM HTML5 video playback, bringing the total market share of browsers with WebM support to 50 percent.…
Read MoreDOJ Investigates MPEG LA’s WebM Patent Pool
The Department of Justice and the California State Attorney are looking into MPEG LA's formation of a patent pool for Google's WebM video format. Regulators are trying to figure out whether the patent pool is meant to stifle competition for the established video format H.264.…
Read MorePatent Fight Ahead: MPEG LA Is Gunning for WebM
Licensing outlet MPEG LA has announced that it is forming a patent pool for VP8, the codec at the core of Google's open source video format WebM. Google's response? Bring it on. It's time to "put up or shut up," as one WebM supporter put it.…
Read MoreChrome Dropping H.264 Support Is Irrelevant — Here’s Why
Dropping H.264 may be beneficial for Google in several ways, but the move will have little effect on the broader online video market. Ubiquitous Flash usage and lack of hardware support means WebM has a long way to go before it's a viable alternative to H.264.…
Read MoreWhy WebM Will Raise Costs for YouTube — And Everyone Else
There are many strategic reasons why Google might have dropped support for H.264, but lowering costs for YouTube isn't one of them. The decision will only add cost and complexity for the video site, which now just has yet another video format to support.…
Read MoreFlash Still Rules in Chrome’s WebM-Only World
Google's backing of its own open source video codec at the expense of H.264 has many open advocates cheering. But with H.264 widely supported already, the result will actually be more use of the proprietary Flash player for delivery of Web video, not less.…
Read MoreGoogle’s Chrome Backs WebM, Drops Support for H.264
Google is making a big push behind its open source video codec, announcing today on the Chromium blog that its web browser will soon do away with support for H.264. With existing support from Firefox and Opera, that could tip the scales in favor of WebM.…
Read MoreAndroid’s Gingerbread Brings WebM to Mobile Phones
Android users will finally be able to play video encoded with the open source WebM video format: Google's new Android 2.3 Gingerbread release adds WebM support to the platform. However, it may take until long after the holiday season until the Gingerbread man arrives on handsets.…
Read More80% of YouTube Videos Now Available In WebM
Most of the videos that are watched every day on YouTube are now available in Google's WebM open source video format, according to WebM's product manager, WebM also has seen an increased adoption in the hardware space, with first devices coming out early next year,…
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