Linked by Thom Holwerda on Sun 23rd May 2010 09:41 UTC
Now that Google has opened up VP8, the big question is obviously how it'll hold up to H264. Of course, VP8 already wins by default because it's open source and royalty free, but that doesn't mean we should neglect the quality issue. Jan Ozer from StreamingMedia.com has put up an article comparing the two codecs, and concludes that the differences are negligible - in fact, only in some high-motion videos did H264 win out. As always, this is just one comparison and most certainly anything but conclusive. Update: Another comparison. I can't spot the difference, but then again, I'm no expert.
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Member since:2010-03-08
Also not enough details of the encoding profiles used.
What kind of details would you want ?
Finally, the web is moving towards HD video, how about some hi-def content instead of these tiny images?
Because most of the web is moving towards upscaled tiny images flagged as "hd", except for vimeo ?
Member since:2005-06-28
I agree. This test should have been against a well-optimized x264 command line, not a random GUI encoder that has pre-baked options. The reason for this is two fold:
1. The kind of videos people look at mostly, at Youtube & Vimeo, are using these well-optimized command lines to encode (youtube is using a modified x264 version, and Vimeo is using x264 via mencoder AFAIK). Therefore, it's these kinds of videos that will essentially matter on web video. What you and me are encoding at home will always be good enough with either encoder (really, do we need better quality recording our cats sleeping on a couch?), but web broadcasting is where the difference is made. And since these web broadcasting services are always well-optimized, I expect any benchmarking test to try to be as close as possible to the level of these web services.
2. The guy possibly did use the command line to encode to WebM, so why not for h.264 too?
I know that the x264 developer was called biased for his recent blog article that was linked from many places, however, I don't think he was lying. When he said that VP8 is possibly as good only as h.264 Baseline, I think he was truthful in that.
Still, I rather have VP8 (even on my camera, shooting directly to VP8) than have the patent nightmare and ESPECIALLY the crazy licenses for cameras/video-editors surrounding h.264.
RE[2]: Comment by hornett
by bhtooefr on Sun 23rd May 2010 11:21
in reply to "RE: Comment by hornett"
Member since:2009-02-19
Member since:2009-06-20
2. The guy possibly did use the command line to encode to WebM, so why not for h.264 too?
No. Squish is just Sorenson's very simple online WebM encoder (whereas Squeeze is Sorenson's desktop software).
https://www.sorensonmedia.com/vp8/
Therefore the h264 version is the one most likely to have been optimized "by hand", but I don't think it is. It is also unlikely that Squeeze uses x264 because the former is licensed while the second is open-source*.
(*not in America)
RE[2]: Comment by hornett
by mtzmtulivu on Sun 23rd May 2010 19:22
in reply to "RE: Comment by hornett"
Member since:2006-11-14
I agree. This test should have been against a well-optimized x264 command line, not a random GUI encoder that has pre-baked options. The reason for this is two fold:
... and what will you be measuring? how well the codec specs stack up against one another or how well different encoders stack up against one another?
there is a difference btw a codec spec and codec encoder. A bad spec will do badly independently of the encoder used and a bad encoder can produce a terrible video no matter how good the spec is.
Blogs like osnews should try to show a distinction btw a spec and an encoder. It will be rediculous to compare html5 spec against previous versions based on how well/terrible different browsers handle the two and it just as rediculous to compare these two codecs based on how different encoders handles them
News
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/25/13 0:45 UTC
"So in summary... Google has pulled the plug on support on a protocol they've helped popularize, after years of promising interoperability, for reasons that are dubious at best, and in a way that leaves people who don't jump to the new Hangouts app unable to talk to their contacts without any feedback that their IMs aren't getting through... And they've done that with no warning to anyone. I imagine there's a bunch of people out there wondering where some of their buddies have gone, or why their messages aren't getting responses, because this isn't documented anywhere." Google really messed this up. Such a dick move.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/24/13 23:59 UTC
The Tizen Greek Community has some screenshots of a very recent build of Tizen running on a Samsung GT-i8800. It looks wholly unremarkable.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/24/13 22:33 UTC
Joint statement to The Next Web from Microsoft and Google: "Microsoft and YouTube are working together to update the new YouTube for Windows Phone app to enable compliance with YouTube's API terms of service, including enabling ads, in the coming weeks. Microsoft will replace the existing YouTube app in Windows Phone Store with the previous version during this time." Good to know these children stopped acting like little pricks. Can we have full Google support in Windows 8 now, please?
Linked by Howard Fosdick on 05/24/13 21:41 UTC
Yahoo is acquiring Tumblr, the microblogging and social networking website, for $1.1 billion USD. Tumblr offers little revenue but lots of eyeballs if Yahoo can monetarize them. Now Yahoo is bidding for Hulu, the streaming video service. After years of ineffective responses while Google, Facebook, and others took large chunks of the online advertising market, Yahoo is fighting back. Can Yahoo reignite the momentum it had at the turn of the century? What do you think?
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/24/13 14:44 UTC
"Sources have described iOS 7 as 'black, white, and flat all over'. This refers to the dropping of heavy textures and the addition of several new black and white user interface elements." I couldn't be happier.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/23/13 23:22 UTC
"Ilja van Sprundel, a security researcher with IOActive, has discovered a large number of issues in the way various X client libraries handle the responses they receive from servers, and has worked with X.Org's security team to analyze, confirm, and fix these issues."
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/23/13 22:04 UTC
"Google is facing a new antitrust probe by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission into whether the company is using its leadership in the online display-advertising market to illegally curb competition, people familiar with the matter said." Sucks to be Google today, apparently.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/23/13 22:01 UTC
"In the midst of the major press blitz surrounding its annual I/O Conference, Google dropped some unfortunate news about its instant messaging plans. In several places around the web, the company is replacing the existing 'Talk' platform with a new one called 'Hangouts' that sharply diminishes support for the open messaging protocol known as XMPP (or sometimes informally Jabber), and also removes the option to disable the archiving of all chat communications. These changes represent a switch from open protocols to proprietary ones, and a clear step backward for many users." That's why I always say: only suckers trust companies.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/23/13 17:52 UTC
"The wave of departures is a sign of internal struggle, but amidst all the bad news, there is a glimmer of hope. According to an anonymous HTC executive cited by WSJ, the crucial HTC One is selling 'pretty good so far'. The executive revealed that HTC sold about five million One units since launch, a performance that is deemed encouraging. However, sales have been limited by the persisting supply issues that still plague the production of the HTC One." Finally some good news for HTC. Five million units amidst supply constraints is very impressive.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/22/13 22:23 UTC
"Sony gave the PS4 50% more raw shader performance, plain and simple (768 SPs @ 800MHz vs. 1152 SPs & 800MHz). Unlike last generation, you don't need to be some sort of Jedi to extract the PS4's potential here. The Xbox One and PS4 architectures are quite similar, Sony just has more hardware under the hood. Weâll have to wait and see how this hardware delta gets exposed in games over time, but the gap is definitely there. The funny thing about game consoles is that itâs usually the lowest common denominator that determines the bulk of the experience across all platforms. On the plus side, the Xbox One should enjoy better power/thermal characteristics compared to the PlayStation 4. Even compared to the Xbox 360 we should see improvement in many use cases thanks to modern power management techniques." AnandTech does its usual in-depth thing.More News »
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Member since:
2005-09-19
Why use Squeeze instead of x264?
Images show different times, so are they key frames we're looking at? Or intermediate frames?
Also not enough details of the encoding profiles used.
Finally, the web is moving towards HD video, how about some hi-def content instead of these tiny images?
Someone from a reputable site needs to test this properly.