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Linux @lemmy.world cm0002 @lemmy.world 2d ago

Have the patents for H.264 MPEG-4 AVC expired yet?

meta.wikimedia.org Have the patents for H.264 MPEG-4 AVC expired yet? - Meta

Have the patents for H.264 MPEG-4 AVC expired yet? - Meta

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/22949658

If I'm interpreting this correctly, many MP4 patents are going to expire next year. 🎉

Linux @lemmy.ml Ephera @lemmy.ml 2d ago

Have the patents for H.264 MPEG-4 AVC expired yet?

meta.wikimedia.org /wiki/Have_the_patents_for_H.264_MPEG-4_AVC_expired_yet%3F

Have the patents for H.264 MPEG-4 AVC expired yet?

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21 comments

I have literally no understanding of video codecs, standards etc. Is there a "set and forget" option which is free and good?
- H264 is almost universally playable and transcodable by nearly everything on earth.
  
  But non-free?
  
  cries in core 2 duo
- Wasn't Theora the set-and-forget free option? Don't recall if it had the "good" part tho.
How would the patents expiring help the common man?
- And free and open source software can be written, shared and used without potentially getting sued. And these projects power lots of things.
  
  To be fair, this is mainly a US issue. VLC (French) has provided h264 encoders and decoders for years.
- Because patents cause issues for free software. Some examples:
  
  As far as I can tell, vlc is legal only because French law does not recognize software patents, see here.
  
  HDMI 2.1 support in AMDGPU is impossible, see here.
  
  I think Media Foundation is unsupported in Proton because of patents as well, though I'm having trouble finding a reliable source on that.
- The devices implementing the patented codecs may become cheaper.
  
  They won't.
  
  That's absurd. This crap is pennies. $30 kid toys pay 264. The codec was commidized nearly a decade ago.
  
  Oh you sweet child.

21 comments