Most everyone in the tech world knows that Microsoft and Google aren’t exactly the best of friends, particularly this week as Mountain View is lobbing accusations at Redmond over Bing stealing their search results. Now Microsoft has decided to stand firm behind H.264, leaving Google to fend mostly by themselves with WebM.
TechCrunch is reporting that Microsoft has finally taken a stand over Google’s recent decision to drop H.264 support from Chrome in favor of their own WebM, which set off a firestorm of controversy in recent weeks. According to Dean Hachamovitch, the man entrusted with Internet Explorer for Microsoft, the software giant is sticking with H.264.
In fact, Hachamovitch has written 3,000 words on the subject, in which he apparently lays out a multitude of reasons why WebM is not the way to go -- many of which mirror Google’s own reservations about H.264, which have already been widely denounced by most everyone in the tech community.
“His take is very clear in that he’s confused by Google’s motives to ditch H.264,” MG Siegler writes for TechCrunch. “Specifically, he notes that at one point not too long ago, Microsoft, Apple, and Google all supported H.264 as a codec for HTML5 video on the web. Yes, believe it or not, Microsoft was actually on the side of many of the main players of the web when it came to a future technology. The one major player not on their side was, of course, Mozilla. But Microsoft was happy to make the plug-in to ensure that they supported H.264 for HTML5 video as well.”
Despite what Hachamovitch calls “a somewhat stable state in web video,” Google apparently got spooked over H.264 because of patents held by the MPEGLA group -- which has caused many in the tech world to cry foul.
“Google is pulling support for H.264 as a tactic in their war with Apple,” Siegler proclaims, pointing out that Google’s shift to WebM and a supposedly more “open” format actually leaves the door wide open for Adobe’s closed Flash to “remain the dominant force in web video for years to come.”
Although Microsoft and Apple have plenty else to spar about, it appears that H.264 acceptance won’t be one of those subjects. Your move, Google…
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(Image courtesy of SiliconAngle.com)
