Microsoft
recently got its VC-1 codec approved as a mandatory codec for the Blu-ray Disc format and
the codec has previously also been approved for the HD-DVD format. According to
EE Times there are however
several issues with standardization of VC-1 which is handled by the SMPTE (Society of Motion Picture
and Television Engineers) and if these problems are not solved soon Microsoft
risks having its codec removed from the Blu-ray and HD-DVD
specifications.
A number of technical
and political issues surrounding VC-1 have reportedly caused growing
frustration and constant bickering in the SMPTE engineering community. In
addition, licensing issues loom large, and some fear that royalties may
prove too expensive for the SMPTE codec to be usable.
The uncertainty has
raised questions about the future of Microsoft's Windows Media Video
codec. On the assumption that WMV9 was destined to become an industry
standard, Microsoft convinced both the Blu-ray Disc Association and the
DVD Forum to include it as a mandatory video compression format (along
with MPEG-2 and H.264/MPEG-4 AVC) for next-generation high-definition DVD
formats. Now, there is speculation that delays or licensing problems for
VC-1 could prompt either '” or both '” of the DVD industry groups to simply
delete the Microsoft technology from their specifications.
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The complete article is available
at EE Times here.
Source: EE Times
