H.264开始上升

标志无处不在. Starting with IBC2004 in Amsterdam in early September, where Apple showed off an H.264 codec that yielded much better results than it did even at its impressive NAB debut, 普遍接受.264 as a viable standards-based alternative to proprietary codecs has been gathering steam.

H的采用.264 for videoconferencing systems from major players such as Tandberg and Polycom, 以及最近批准的H.264 as a codec for next-generation HD-DVD and Blu-Ray disks, places H.264 alongside MPEG-2 and Windows Media 9 in terms of entertainment and broadcast industry acceptance. This ratification renders earlier speculation about the death of MPEG-4 and its H.264 video codec (also known as MPEG-4 Part 10 or AVC) not only premature but preposterous.

Add to these announcements and events the recent release of two technology previews. The first, by Main Concept, is a sequel to the initial H.264 encoder preview the firm launched earlier in 2004. While the initial preview yielded acceptable results, the second H.264年预览, which currently is available for download on the Main Concept Web site, is capable of much better results in the equivalent bandwidth/disk space.

The second notable release, by 月光 Digital, is actually a shipping product. 月光, an Israeli company that has a history in developing codecs for set-top boxes, has released the 月光 AVC One-Click Compressor, a standalone program that converts live video and audio feeds (analog or DV), 未压缩的AVI文件, 和迷你磁带到H.264实时. The AVC One-Click Compressor sells for less than $30 and can be played back using either 月光’s Elecard H.264 player (a 21-day evaluation is available) or Windows Media Player (via an H.264插件).

预计苹果还将提高H.264 within the next two weeks, as it showcases its H.264编解码器在1月11日的MacWorld旧金山. 炒作已经开始了, 弗兰克·卡萨诺瓦, senior director of product marketing for Apple’s interactive media group, 说H.264 AVC "is unlike anything people have seen, from a quality and scalability point of view." Casanova also stated, according to a recent article in the 好莱坞记者QuickTime用户将获得H.264 upgrade for free when the software is upgraded next year." Set to be released as part of Apple’s upgraded operating system, Mac OS X 10.4 (aka "Tiger"), the upgraded QuickTime is expect to support both the H.264 video codec and the new high-efficiency AAC audio codec (sometimes also referred to as HE-AAC, AAC+或AAC Plus).

Will other players in the 流媒体 space make provision for the use of H.264以及Real 10和WindowsMedia 9? H呢?.264 resurrect Apple’s somewhat limited 流媒体 success, matching the quality for which QuickTime has been known in the progressive download category?

The answer to both of these questions appears to be "yes." When Apple shifted toward an open-standards strategy by fully embracing MPEG-4—which was based in part on QuickTime—it gained market share in emerging mobile computing and telephony markets such as the Pacific Rim. 这一市场份额可能使H.264’s inclusion in QuickTime to solidify Apple’s position in these markets. In fact, recent announcements from the 3GPP partnership regarding the inclusion of H.264 as an option in release 6 of its spec indicate that H.264 will ride the coattails of QuickTime’s established base in newer phones that have enough processing power to decode H.264.

In the broadcast 流媒体 space, another indicator of H.264的优势在于它的存在, 现在以DG2L的名义运作, recently announced that its new Phoenix MPEG-4 hardware encoder/decoder will "support upgrade options for real-time encoding of next-generation video codecs, 包括MPEG-4 Part 10 (H).264/AVC)和WM9 advanced. This is a marked shift from previous comments by Ben Silva, the company’s executive VP of worldwide sales and business development, that the North American market was not ready for or could not sustain MPEG-4.

接下来的几个月对H.264 proponents, as claims about the scalability of H.264 from mobile telephony to high-definition broadcast need to be proven. 具体地说, advocates will need to prove to skeptical users and developers that one codec has the potential to replace multiple codecs, scaling the spectrum from low-bandwidth to very high bandwidth while simultaneously encompassing videoconferencing, 流媒体, progressive downloads and physical media playback. 如果H.264没有辜负卡萨诺瓦的期望, it will provide added ammunition in the open versus proprietary codec debate, perhaps disproving the notion that only proprietary codecs can push the leading edge of the quality-to-bandwidth ratio.