Skype goes VP8, embraces open video codec

http://gigaom.com/video/skype-vp8-video-conferencing/

by nextparadigms • 15 years ago

72 26 15 years ago

pedalpete2• 15 years ago

This is surprising based on Microsofts support of h.264. http://blogs.msdn.com/b/ie/archive/2011/02/02/html5-and-web-...

Could this be a strategy to challenge Apple's (apparently) open standard FaceTime which uses h.264?

Other reasons?

ConstantineXVI• 15 years ago

Skype was already using VP8 for group chat before the MS buyout; I doubt Microsoft was driving the choice to use it for one-on-one as well. I'd just see this as an effort to simplify their code, for now.

PS: It's also possible that they could be standardizing on VP8 so they can have Skype in the browser sans plugin with WebRTC; but I'm not sure if WebRTC would be workable with Skype's protocols.

wmf3• 15 years ago

WebRTC and Skype have pretty much opposite philosophies.

kenjackson3• 15 years ago

This is a myth that MS doesn't support WebM. They do. They just don't ship it in the box. But if you have it on your system, they'll use it. MS doesn't ship a lot of its own technologies in the box -- it doesn't mean they don't support it.

micampe2• 15 years ago

> if you have it on your system, they'll use it

I don’t know i MS opposes WebM or not, but that doesn’t mean they support it: they have an API, you write a codec with that API and it works.

ajross2• 15 years ago

How depressing that an operating system being able to run third party software is now held up as notable enough to count as "support" of that software.

akavlie• 15 years ago

I think "support", for video codecs, would mean shipping with the browser. Adoption will be very limited as long as it requires a separate download and installation (unless the browser makes that seamless, with no admin password requirement).

nextparadigms• 15 years ago

Facetime is neither open, nor a standard right now.

pedalpete2• 15 years ago

When it was first announced, Steve Jobs said it would be an 'open standard', which is why I said apparently. http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/10/06/07/apple_announce...

sriramk• 15 years ago

I'm pretty confident that when the acquisition closes, Mr.John Luther (the author of the blog post) is going to get a nice mail from MSFT LCA (legal and corporate) on the implications of using VP8 :)

hannibalhorn• 15 years ago

Interesting that, at least according to the article, Skype has adopted and released VP8 for video chat before Google itself (for Google Talk and Google+ Hangouts.)

lysol• 15 years ago

Does it really matter that they're using an open video codec when their protocol itself is not? It's at least of little utility to anyone else that they use an open video codec.

wmf3• 15 years ago

It doesn't matter from a user's perspective, but it does show that VP8 is good enough for Skype to use it.

notatoad• 15 years ago

Skype has been using the VPx codecs for as long as they have done video calling. if VP7 was good enough for them, there's no reason why the new and improved VP8 wouldn't be. they aren't moving to any new technology here, nor are they embracing VP8 because it's open. they are merely upgrading to the latest version of the same codec they have always used.

sp332• 15 years ago

It matters now that they've been bought by Microsoft, and are switching to anything other than a MS codec. It's news because maybe MS is warming to the idea of using existing open standards in places where it makes more sense than their own.

Skype goes VP8, embraces open video codec

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