MPEG-4 finally shows its face
Movie compression hits a new wave
The latest multimedia compression technology that will allow full motion video over the internet is finally coming to market after months of wrangling.
MPEG-4, created by the Moving Pictures Expert Group, is an open compression technology for digital multimedia made up of audio and video technologies that condenses digital files making them easier for internet transfer.
Larry Horn, vice president of licensing and business development for MPEG LA, an alliance of 18 consumer electronics companies, said that MPEG-4 technology would probably show up first in web and mobile phone applications and video-on-demand services.
He maintained that the licensing model, which was hotly debated among the patent holders, is now acceptable in the marketplace.
Under the new terms, cable and satellite providers will pay a royalty of 25 cents for the right to manufacture and sell each decoder and encoder, while the party providing content services to the subscriber will pay a royalty of $1.25 for the right to use encoded MPEG-4 information.
What MPEG LA proposed at the beginning of the year was a set of licensing terms that would have required licensees to pay $0.25 per encoder and decoder for personal use, with a $1m cap.
In February, Apple previewed QuickTime 6 but then held back its release after it rejected the proposed royalty rates.
Apple introduced the final version of its QuickTime 6 digital media software just hours before resolving the licensing scuffle with MPEG LA.
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