A Proposal to Accelerate HEVC Adoption

[hajj_3]

Now we just need MPEG-LA to do the same. Then we can at least turn every god damn jpeg into bpg.

I'm pretty sure using the hevc codec to create bpg would not be included as they say nothing about images. I'm pretty sure that AV1 will be used as the basis for a royalty free image format. AV1 should be ready within 4 months so people can start creating a BPG competitor using AV1 then.

[x265_Project]

I'm pretty sure using the hevc codec to create bpg would not be included as they say nothing about images. I'm pretty sure that AV1 will be used as the basis for a royalty free image format. AV1 should be ready within 4 months so people can start creating a BPG competitor using AV1 then.
Read the announcement from HEVC Advance...
http://epdf.hevcadvance.com/pdf/embed?hash=bf26c62ff25533287cd00cd2a00a973c#1

and the new policy...
http://epdf.hevcadvance.com/pdf/embed?hash=bf26c62ff25533287cd00cd2a00a973c#1

and a presentation explaining the policy...
http://epdf.hevcadvance.com/pdf/embed?hash=d8d319a061a2c345707db25f6c9cefc5

The new policy isn't specific to video. The same policy applies to HEVC still image compression.

I agree completely that we need all HEVC patent holders to adopt this policy so that HEVC can be adopted widely... ideally HEVC would be able to replace AVC and JPG everywhere as soon as possible. That would be good for everyone, including patent holders.

[Parabola]

I'm pretty sure using the hevc codec to create bpg would not be included as they say nothing about images. I'm pretty sure that AV1 will be used as the basis for a royalty free image format. AV1 should be ready within 4 months so people can start creating a BPG competitor using AV1 then.
Still images will also be subject to patents but, it's entirely possible that Advance's pool doesn't have anything on intra coding. The list is published so it would be possible to check.
Btw, thank you Tom for your role in this, it's a welcome step in the right direction :)

[x265_Project]

Still images will also be subject to patents but, it's entirely possible that Advance's pool doesn't have anything on intra coding. The list is published so it would be possible to check.
Btw, thank you Tom for your role in this, it's a welcome step in the right direction :)
You're welcome John. Again, HEVC Advance's program revision is not specific to HEVC Video... it applies to HEVC still image compression software in the same way. For software HEVC implementations to be truly free, we now need all of the other HEVC patent holders to adopt the same policy. I think most people in every industry around the world would agree that this policy makes perfect sense for consumers and HEVC adopters, and for HEVC patent holders. If this policy were adopted by all patent holders, it's a certainty that HEVC would be adopted very widely and very rapidly. That would be very good for HEVC patent holders, who would receive a device royalty on all hardware devices with native HEVC support, and all driver downloads that light up existing HEVC hardware which is today lying dormant.

[iwod]

i just saw this on wiki

0.5% of attributable revenue for paid content,

Sorry HEVC isnt going anywhere

[GTPVHD]

http://www.streamingmedia.com/Articles/News/Online-Video-News/HEVC-Advance-Makes-Some-Software-Royalty-Free-114938.aspx

HEVC is still the lame dead duck for Internet streaming, it's not going anywhere and mass adoption will not happen.

AV1 will be the de facto codec/format for Internet streaming.

[x265_Project]

i just saw this on wiki

0.5% of attributable revenue for paid content

iwod - You are referring to HEVC Advance's first license program. That policy was replaced one year ago.

[WhatZit]

http://www.streamingmedia.com/Articles/News/Online-Video-News/HEVC-Advance-Makes-Some-Software-Royalty-Free-114938.aspx

HEVC is still the lame dead duck for Internet streaming, it's not going anywhere and mass adoption will not happen.

AV1 will be the de facto codec/format for Internet streaming.

This quote from that article should be haunting the HEVC patent pools:

"Had all HEVC stakeholders implemented this move in 2013, the UHD codec market would undoubtedly be in a different place. Since they didn't, the Alliance for Open Media happened, with Google, Microsoft, and Mozilla—the three companies that can most quickly make software HEVC decode ubiquitous."

I completely agree. The horse has bolted. However, its not all gloom & doom, because you can still see that horse off in the distance.

To compensate for their oblivious tardiness, the various HEVC groups will now HAVE to make even larger sacrifices than royalty-free SW to foster adoption ahead of AV1.

What sort of sacrifices? Well, they need to pick one singular market-leader in content creation applications, let's say "Adope-be", and sign a 5-10 year deal with them that provides full HEVC support (HW & SW) royalty free. So, "Adope-be" products unlocking/accessing the hardware costs "Adope-be" nothing.

OOPS! Wait a minute... the actual Adobe joined the Alliance for Open Media a few months back! Gee, I wonder if the Alliance lobbied them in the same way that I'm suggesting?

That horse is getting much, much closer to the horizon.

Look, I've gone on about this before. You absolutely NEED to drive consumer demand before you have any hope of monetising that demand. No demand, no money. Yes, doing ANY of the things that are now being talked about back in 2013 would have had a DRAMATIC change on the current situation.

But, you know, would'a - could'a - should'a...

It's not simply the technology behind AV1 that HEVC needs to head off, but the membership roster of the Alliance themselves. For HEVC, AV1 is not just some lame threat from an inferior product, it's an existential threat from a ubiquitous one!

Wake up, and get that support, both hardware and software, into all major content creation applications NOW! RIGHT NOW!!! Even if you have to spend all your weekends knocking on the programmer's doors and taking executives out to dinner, or making cut-price deals on a case-by-case basis. Do it NOW! RIGHT BLOODY NOW!!!!

[x265_Project]

This quote from that article should be haunting the HEVC patent pools:

"Had all HEVC stakeholders implemented this move in 2013, the UHD codec market would undoubtedly be in a different place. Since they didn't, the Alliance for Open Media happened, with Google, Microsoft, and Mozilla—the three companies that can most quickly make software HEVC decode ubiquitous."

I completely agree. The horse has bolted. However, its not all gloom & doom, because you can still see that horse off in the distance.

To compensate for their oblivious tardiness, the various HEVC groups will now HAVE to make even larger sacrifices than royalty-free SW to foster adoption ahead of AV1.

What sort of sacrifices? Well, they need to pick one singular market-leader in content creation applications, let's say "Adope-be", and sign a 5-10 year deal with them that provides full HEVC support (HW & SW) royalty free. So, "Adope-be" products unlocking/accessing the hardware costs "Adope-be" nothing.

OOPS! Wait a minute... the actual Adobe joined the Alliance for Open Media a few months back! Gee, I wonder if the Alliance lobbied them in the same way that I'm suggesting?

That horse is getting much, much closer to the horizon.

Look, I've gone on about this before. You absolutely NEED to drive consumer demand before you have any hope of monetising that demand. No demand, no money. Yes, doing ANY of the things that are now being talked about back in 2013 would have had a DRAMATIC change on the current situation.

But, you know, would'a - could'a - should'a...

It's not simply the technology behind AV1 that HEVC needs to head off, but the membership roster of the Alliance themselves. For HEVC, AV1 is not just some lame threat from an inferior product, it's an existential threat from a ubiquitous one!

Wake up, and get that support, both hardware and software, into all major content creation applications NOW! RIGHT NOW!!! Even if you have to spend all your weekends knocking on the programmer's doors and taking executives out to dinner, or making cut-price deals on a case-by-case basis. Do it NOW! RIGHT BLOODY NOW!!!!
I can't argue with most of your points, but the HEVC patent holders can't make deals that are unique for any company. When they contributed to the HEVC standard, they committed to licensing on Reasonable and Non-Discriminatory (RAND) terms. Non-Discriminatory means no deal for one company that other companies couldn't also get. HEVC patent holders don't have to make discriminatory deals in order to get key companies to adopt HEVC. They just need to be smart. The key is to stimulate demand from content creators and content distributors. No one will stream HEVC video to a PC or mobile device if the web browser in that device doesn't already support HEVC natively. When web browser developers can implement HEVC support royalty-free, they will. My proposal (http://x265.org/proposal-accelerate-hevc-adoption/) solves this chicken-and-egg problem completely, and if my proposal was adopted by all HEVC patent holders, HEVC would be a no-brainer decision for many leading web video companies today (companies like Facebook, Twitter, U-stream, Skype, WebEx, etc.). After that, consumers would demand native HEVC hardware support in every device, and HEVC patent holders would do just fine.

[WhatZit]

My proposal (http://x265.org/proposal-accelerate-hevc-adoption/) solves this chicken-and-egg problem completely, and if my proposal was adopted by all HEVC patent holders, HEVC would be a no-brainer decision for many leading web video companies today (companies like Facebook, Twitter, U-stream, Skype, WebEx, etc.). After that, consumers would demand native HEVC hardware support in every device, and HEVC patent holders would do just fine.

No-one wants to see HEVC become the Betamax or HD-DVD of a new generation. Well, maybe the AV1 alliance does... which is almost everyone, so me saying "no-one" was hugely hyperbolic.

With specific inducements to the big content creation players being ruled out by "RAND" (a fly in the ointment that I wasn't previously aware of), it seems as if you have no choice but to lobby/door-knock/wine&dine all the patent holders to adopt your proposal, rather than the commercial media industry itself. A topsy-turvy world, indeed.

Still, you can please promise us one thing: if you, and all the other HEVC developers, do end up working on a "H.266" in the future, you'll remember the Alamo, the movie of which you CAN'T get on Betamax, HD-DVD or H.265.

[Quikee]

Reading the policy [1] it just seems too restrictive and I don't think anybody will fall for it - especially when reading that it is valid for 5 years (which they fail to mention anywhere - only in the policy). I don't think a lot of software (especially not web browser) that would adapt HEVC because of this policy.

[1] http://epdf.hevcadvance.com/pdf/embed?hash=84f7cae5df5424fcfbc82fb2d83fbca5#2

[CruNcher]

Unit Price

$29.95

[iwod]

iwod - You are referring to HEVC Advance's first license program. That policy was replaced one year ago.

Thanks. I remember they wipe that off but i thought my memory served me wrong. Turns out wiki could also be wrong.

[iwod]

Reading the policy [1] it just seems too restrictive and I don't think anybody will fall for it - especially when reading that it is valid for 5 years (which they fail to mention anywhere - only in the policy). I don't think a lot of software (especially not web browser) that would adapt HEVC because of this policy.

[1] http://epdf.hevcadvance.com/pdf/embed?hash=84f7cae5df5424fcfbc82fb2d83fbca5#2

I dont think it would be fair if they have unlimited free patents in software. However i do think this is also too short.