It’s rumored/speculated that within the next couple months Google will be releasing an open-source video codec, specifically the VP8 video codec. The VP8 video codec was developed by On2 Technologies, which Google recently acquired. And it’s believed that if Google does this, the HTML5 video debate will either be solved or become more cloudy.
The VP8 video codec is purported to encode web videos at a higher quality, smaller file size and with less processor drain than any other video codec currently available (even claims of 50% gains in quality, reduced file size and reduced processor load have been stated).
At the moment, VP8 is not supported by Flash or any other standard platform. But it’s believed that it would be a perfect fit for HTML5. As an open-source codec, all the popular browsers would welcome it and there would be one universally accepted HTML5 video codec…instead of multiple competing ones. And as a codec, it would outperform anything currently available.
Others speculate that Adobe will embrace VP8 (i.e. partner up with Google) and use it against Apple. And still others believe VP8 will kill Flash and that Google will use it against both Apple and Adobe.
But the bottom line is that whatever the end result may be, it will be awhile before any of this plays out. In the meantime, you can see a head-to-head comparison of VP8 vs. H.264 in the video on this web page (it’s best to watch the video in full screen to see the difference between the two).
Killer piece of news Dave. Looks like you scooped Gizmodo. Thanks.