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Apple moving towards new video codec?

updated 11:55 am EDT, Tue July 20, 2010

Could see support for resolutions up to 4K


Apple is working on a new video codec, one which could make it an important party in the TV and overall video industries, a source claims. The company is said to be switching away from H.264, a codec it currently uses for iTunes and QuickTime, and by extension all Apple handhelds. While generally efficient, the standard is said to be CPU-intensive.

The new codec would use wavelet transforms for compression, similar to JPEG 2000. It's thought that the technology could be based on Dirac, and be open-source, facilitating its adoption. The most essential quality though is believed to be support for extremely high resolutions, up to 4K. No 4K monitors or TV sets are widely available yet, but the standard is already making inroads, for instance at YouTube.

The project is described as well advanced, and Apple is allegedly in contact with camera makers about its plans, as well as Google; it's hinted that Apple could be the reason for 4K support at YouTube. It will likely be some time before the new codec reaches the public, at least at the 4K level. Beyond display limitations, it may also demand larger disc formats, and significantly faster broadband for Internet delivery. Apple's own iTunes Store has yet to upgrade to 1080p, the current HD standard.




by MacNN Staff

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 industry, digital imaging, video, Apple

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  1. lkrupp

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: May 2001

    0
    07/20, 12:07pm | report spam | (2 replies) Reply |

    c***...

    Yet another video codec. Can't the W3C just stardize on a format? Can't the major players just agree to agree on a format? Isn't his stuff all chess moves anyway in order to control or disadvantage a competitor?

    Flash, Sliverlight, Quicktime, WMP, Ogg (whatever), and now this? Give us a break!

  1. csimon2

    Junior Member

    Joined: Aug 2000

    +7
    07/20, 12:19pm | report spam | Reply |

    Re: c***...

    While H.264 is the most efficient widely-adopted codec on the market today, there is still a lot of room for improvement. So by no means are we done with groups trying to develop codecs that perform better at lower bit rates and require lesser playback requirements. Of the "alternatives" you mentioned, none of those are codec formats except for Ogg. Flash, SL, QT, WMP etc are players. And just like H.264, with the proper decoder, all of those players can play the same codec with the right decoders.

  1. charlituna

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: Sep 2009

    +2
    07/20, 01:08pm | report spam | Reply |

    and I more or less buy this rumor as fact

    maybe not the finer details but certainly the broad strokes. I think that the writing on the wall has been there since Apple refused to natively support Blu-ray even after all the licensing issues fell off. Jobs has gone on record as saying that optical discs are limited life span and downloads are the future. Itunes LP, itunes Extras etc all support this. That Apple would put in support for 1080 video in Final Cut but NOT blu-ray burning of any sophistication supports this. Lack of native players, etc supports this. It makes sense that Apple would be mixed into any attempts to make a codec that would have decent file sizes (say around 1.5 times that of the current 720 files at most) and support video of 1080 or even higher. Do that, add the better audio support and you can have true HD and not this 3/4 the way 720 stuff.

  1. Geobunny

    Mac Elite

    Joined: Oct 2000

    -8
    07/20, 01:11pm | report spam | Reply |

    NIH

    For a long time during the (very) late 90s and early 2000s, Apple had shed their NIH syndrome. Now it seems to be back in droves. Why?

    FFS, Apple, just start *using* standards rather than reinventing the wheel time and time again and opening it up to try and *make* a standard! How many manufacturers are using ADC...sorry, DisplayPort....sorry, mini-display port....err, what are this year's machines using?

  1. testudo

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: Aug 2001

    +3
    07/20, 03:11pm | report spam | Reply |

    Re: c***

    You people do realize that technology does NOT stand still, right? Apple is trying to be forward thinking, having something ready when it is needed, not trying to come up with something after the need arises.

    h***, maybe we should all just dump all codecs now and go back to indeo!

  1. rbodgers

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: Feb 2010

    +1
    07/20, 03:31pm | report spam | Reply |

    NIH or NIY?

    How about Not Invented Yet? Right now you've got (among many others) H.264 which is not open source and has licensing requirements for some situations. And Google is talking about creating an open source video codec (which would be awesome). Several parties, however, contend that open source codecs are challenging legally, as they may encroach on existing patents. For many reasons, H.264 made it into the HTML5 standard, even though it is not open.

    Lots of people are a bit upset about that. They would rather - and for obvious and not-so-obvious reasons - have an open source video codec in the HTML standard.

    So Apple (and perhaps Google, according to this article), with all of their know-how and legal resources, may be working on an open source, high-performance, highly-scalable video codec? And you're complaining?

  1. testudo

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: Aug 2001

    0
    07/21, 11:59am | report spam | Reply |

    Re: NIH or NIY?

    And Google is talking about creating an open source video codec... Several parties, however, contend that open source codecs are challenging legally, as they may encroach on existing patents.

    There is NO correlation between an 'open source' codec and encroachment on existing patents. Any codec might encroach, whether it is open or not.

    And the 'several parties' you mention tend to be those who are behind one of the existing 'non-open' technologies (like we're supposed to trust a guy from an h.264 video group when he says "Don't use the others! They might encroach!").

    One of the biggest pieces of FUD spread by the non-open-source crowd is the supposed patent issues with the current open-source codecs. Not that any have been filed. It's just that it 'might' be filed, so, well, you shouldn't risk using it.

    Correspondingly, there's nothing that says that Apple comes out with some new 'standard' that it doesn't encroach on one or more patents (whether intended or not). In the world of video, it is hard not to be stuck in patent h***, as there is so much going on underneath.

    For many reasons, H.264 made it into the HTML5 standard, even though it is not open.

    h.264 is NOT in the HTML5 standard. The HTML 5 standard specifically does not authorize or indicate what formats to use for video. What it says is that it is up to the browser to deal with video tags.

    And you're complaining?

    The biggest complaint is the "We must do it all ourselves!" attitude, as opposed to a "Let's call Google, MS, Mozilla, etc, form a group, and get this damn thing done and standardized". Because what you're going to end up with is what you have now. Google supporting it's format, Apple supporting its, Firefox supporting its, IE not supporting anything for a couple of years, etc.

    BTW, it's hard to say it's a case of NIH when they're basing it on an existing codec.

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