Added information about the Dirac video codec.
According to the theora.org website, the Theora codec is "a free and open video compression format". Theora is based on the VP3 codec originally developed by On2 Technologies and is now maintained by the Xiph.org Foundation. The following table summarizes the available information about Theora.
Acceptable quality. | See &rtptheora;. | -Freely downloadable under a revised BSD license at <http://theora.org/>; not yet commonly deployed, especially on devices that have deployed H.264 instead. | +Freely downloadable under BSD license at <http://theora.org/>; not yet commonly deployed, especially on devices that have deployed H.264 instead. | On2's patents over VP3 were contributed to the Xiph.org Foundation in 2001. |
Dirac is a general-purpose video compression technology developed by the BBC that has been licensed in the open. It is used for everything from Internet streaming to HDTV. To date there is no RTP packetization deveintion for Dirac; however, such a format is under development.
+Quality | +Packetization | +Availability | +Patents | +
---|---|---|---|
High quality. | +Not yet defined. | +Freely downloadable under both GPL and LGPL at <http://diracvideo.org/>; commonly deployed but not yet in video over IP systems because of the lack of an RTP packetization format. | +Diract is patent-clear, and the BBC has allowed its related patents to lapse. | +
H.264 is a technology for video compression jointly designed by the ITU and the &ISO;. The following table summarizes the available information about H.264.