WM9? No way, here comes H.264 ...

[HiDefGuy]

H.264, your hi-def dvd player is going to be using it...

Delivers a hi-def image at the same bitrate as a standard def DVD (6mBit)...

Non-proprietary codec, open to everyone...

Makes plenty of sense to expect this as the codec upgrade we will see in the future...

Part of MPEG-4...

 

[Ken F]

WM9 is currently going through the SMPTE standardization process and should be an open standard (VC9) like H.264 in the not-too-distant future. Microsoft says it will take about six more months.

The success (or lack thereof) of H.264 will probably depend on its licensing terms, which were not yet finalized the last I looked. Many aren't going to choose H.264 over VC9 if it costs twice as much.

As far as performance, both WM9 and H.264 (MPEG4 Part10) make use of similar technologies and are said to offer comparable performance. The DVD Forum gave the edge to WM9 in its HDTV quality tests, but H.264 received the second-most votes for top quality. Both substantially outperformed the current MPEG-4 standard, which couldn't hold a candle to either at HD resolutions.

Generally, shipping hardware that can decode H.264 can also decode WM9, because both employ similar approaches with roughly comparable complexity. My understanding is that the VOOM STB upgrade will support both H.264 and WM9, so they can choose whatever works best on their end (encoders).

 

[voomvoom]

My understanding is that the VOOM STB upgrade will support both H.264 and WM9, so they can choose whatever works best on their end (encoders).

Exactly... I was just thinking that when I read the tital for this thread...

 

[oddwunn]

Many aren't going to choose H.264 over VC9 if it costs twice as much.

And if I understand correctly, the encoding process of H.264 requires a LOT more horsepower, therefore making it too slow to do in real time using current processing speeds. As such, I doubt highly that H.264 would be used for satellite transmissions, though it has been adopted as one of the video codecs by the HD-DVD consortium (along with VC9 and MPEG2).

The DVD Forum gave the edge to WM9 in its HDTV quality tests, but H.264 received the second-most votes for top quality.

Yeah...the way I understand it, from worst to best it goes:

MPEG2-->MPEG4-->H.264-->VC9

I haven't seen or used H.264, so I can't say one way or the other, but I have used the other three codecs and agree with the ratings. VC9 is wonderful!

H.264, your hi-def dvd player is going to be using it...

Maybe, maybe not. The decision is yet to be finalized. I think VC9 will get the nod myself.

 

[sampatterson]

The way I understood it is that HD-DVD will have to include 3 codecs to be called a HD-DVD or whatever "brand" licensing they decide on. mpeg2, h.264, and VC9 (ms wmv 9 format). I read something on it a month or two ago but haven't seen since if that was ratified.

 

[barth2k]

what does that mean? every HDDVD has to have the movie encoded in 3 different formats? that cannot be right. you must mean every hd-dvd PLAYER has to be able to decode all 3 codecs.

 

[sampatterson]

Correct, it means that any player marked as HD-DVD has to support all three of the decoding techniques. That leaves content providers the ability to license whichever encoder they want to use. Microsoft has said they are going to be "very very" agressive on license fees so it may end up the most configurable (bit rate wise vs quality) and cheapest to license. Only time will tell.

 

[Ken F]

what does that mean? every HDDVD has to have the movie encoded in 3 different formats? that cannot be right. you must mean every hd-dvd PLAYER has to be able to decode all 3 codecs.

Right, every HD-DVD player has to support those codecs, and the studio can choose which it wants to use for its HD-DVD releases. MPEG-2 was included for backward compatibility, I don't really think you'll see many HD-DVDs released in that format.

As sampatterson notes, licensing fees will probably play a role in a studio's decision on the codec to use, given the performance delta between VC9 and H.264 is relatively small.

 

[DarrellP]

Check this out about H.264. (See, I don't spend my entire day here).

 

[mike123abc]

I believe Microsoft set the rates at 1/2 the rate of the MPEG-2 technology license fees. It is by far the least expensive. Microsoft wants the fame not the fortune... I bet they figured having "Microsoft" on every home entertainment system was a great way to advertise.