Subject: [rtcweb] Straw Poll on Video Codec Alternatives (Mohammed Raad)

From: Mohammed Raad <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 12 Jan 2014 05:37:41 +1100

Here's my input to this poll:

   1.

   All entities MUST support H.264
   1.

      Are you in favor of this option [Yes/No/Acceptable]: NO
      2.

      Do you have any objections to this option, if so please summarize
      them: My technical opinion is that VP8 is a better option. Added to that
      the fact that H.264 has been the target of what seems to be successful
      litigation over IP that is not part of the current licensing
pool. This has
      not happened to VP8 yet, nonetheless getting H.264 IP owners to develop
      some sort of workable unencumbered solution around H.264 has been like
      herding cats. I don't see that as a viable option if web video
coding is to
      continue to be evolved.
      2.

   All entities MUST support VP8
   1.

      Are you in favor of this option [Yes/No/Acceptable]: YES.
      2.

      Do you have any objections to this option, if so please summarize
      them:
      3.

   All entities MUST support both H.264 and VP8
   1.

      Are you in favor of this option [Yes/No/Acceptable]: NO
      2.

      Do you have any objections to this option, if so please summarize
      them: In my opinion, VP8 is technically better and has been shown to be
      more defend-able against IPR licensing claims so far, so there
is no reason
      to force entities to support both.
      4.

   Browsers MUST support both H.264 and VP8, other entities MUST support at
   least one of H.264 and VP8
   1.

      Are you in favor of this option [Yes/No/Acceptable]: NO
      2.

      Do you have any objections to this option, if so please summarize
      them: I don't think this would help interoperability if that is the
      objective. Also, browsers are now deployed on a multitude of
platforms with
      varying capability, why must these platforms be burdened with more codecs
      to support than other platforms?
      5.

   All entities MUST support at least one of H.264 and VP8
   1.

      Are you in favor of this option [Yes/No/Acceptable]: YES
      2.

      Do you have any objections to this option, if so please summarize
      them:
      6.

   All entities MUST support H.261
   1.

      Are you in favor of this option [Yes/No/Acceptable]: NO
      2.

      Do you have any objections to this option, if so please summarize
      them: This is not a technically justifiable option in my opinion.
      7.

   There is no MTI video codec
   1.

      Are you in favor of this option [Yes/No/Acceptable]: NO
      2.

      Do you have any objections to this option, if so please summarize
      them: Even if we have a group of MTI codecs, that would be better than
      this, at least in that case people can develop useful
transcoding platforms.
      8.

   All entities MUST support H.261 and all entities MUST support at least
   one of H.264 and VP8
   1.

      Are you in favor of this option [Yes/No/Acceptable]: NO
      2.

      Do you have any objections to this option, if so please summarize
      them: This makes no sense.
      9.

   All entities MUST support Theora
   1.

      Are you in favor of this option [Yes/No/Acceptable]: NO
      2.

      Do you have any objections to this option, if so please summarize
      them: A technically inferior solution that has the same IPR
problems as any
      of the better technical solutions.
      10.

   All entities MUST implement at least two of {VP8, H.264, H.261}
   1.

      Are you in favor of this option [Yes/No/Acceptable]: NO
      2.

      Do you have any objections to this option, if so please summarize
      them: This reads as though this is a play on words to make the
      implementation of both VP8 and H.264 more acceptable to the market.
      11.

   All entities MUST implement at least two of {VP8, H.264, H.263}
   1.

      Are you in favor of this option [Yes/No/Acceptable]: NO
      2.

      Do you have any objections to this option, if so please summarize
      them: The same problem as (10).
      12.

   All entities MUST support decoding using both H.264 and VP8, and MUST
   support encoding using at least one of H.264 or VP8
   1.

      Are you in favor of this option [Yes/No/Acceptable]: NO
      2.

      Do you have any objections to this option, if so please summarize
      them: Whilst this may make sense as a consensus option, it
practically does
      not resolve the IPR problem that many have expressed (and have
experienced)
      with H.264.
      13.

   All entities MUST support H.263
   1.

      Are you in favor of this option [Yes/No/Acceptable]: NO
      2.

      Do you have any objections to this option, if so please summarize
      them: Not a good technical option.
      14.

   All entities MUST implement at least two of {VP8, H.264, Theora}
   1.

      Are you in favor of this option [Yes/No/Acceptable]: NO
      2.

      Do you have any objections to this option, if so please summarize
      them: same as (10).
      15.

   All entities MUST support decoding using Theora.
   1.

      Are you in favor of this option [Yes/No/Acceptable]: NO
      2.

      Do you have any objections to this option, if so please summarize
      them: A technically inferior solution when there is a genuinely better
      alternative.
      16.

   All entities MUST support Motion JPEG
   1.

      Are you in favor of this option [Yes/No/Acceptable]: NO
      2.

      Do you have any objections to this option, if so please summarize
      them: Throwing this in simply increases the level of
disagreement (I'm not
      objecting to the technical merits, just that it is not an option
that helps
      resolve the issues the WG is having in selecting an MTI).

-- 
Mohammed Raad, PhD.
Partner
RAADTECH CONSULTING
P.O. Box 113
Warrawong
NSW 2502 Australia
Phone: +61 414451478
Email: [email-masked]