Fluendo funds Xiph.org Foundation for Theora development

[Neo Neko]

Looks like Xiphophorus has gone below the radar. This announcement is two days old. But no one has covered it. Of course it is about more than just Xiphophorus. As a fan of opensource and digital media I must say this looks great.

Fluendo funds Xiph.org Foundation for Theora development

April 20, 2004 - Barcelona, Spain

This press release marks the official launch of Fluendo, a company dedicated to creating streaming media services using free software technology.

Fluendo intends to develop a free software streaming media server that can provide an all-in-one solution to serve both live and pre-recorded media content to any existing platform.

“While there are commercially backed streaming servers available for other platforms than Linux, these servers are proprietary, limited in features, and costly to buy, license, or keep running. A lot of internet companies already have a complete Linux-based rollout and would love to replace their last non-Linux systems if the software is available”, CEO Julien Moutte says.

The streaming server will make it possible to do streaming using only freely available and royalty-free codecs. Proprietary formats will also be supported in the end product and available under the licenses the patent holders specify. Fluendo will also offer support and custom development contracts to content providers.

Fluendo is building their services on top of the quickly maturing GStreamer streaming media framework. It will assist the GStreamer community in further stabilizing and developing the framework.
Funding the Xiph.org Foundation

One of the missing components in enabling free software media streaming is a competitive open and royalty-free video codec to complement the already existing Vorbis free audio codec from the Xiph.org Foundation.

This is why Fluendo has funded the Xiph.org Foundation to complete the Ogg/Theora bitstream specification. This is one of the remaining steps before Theora 1.0 is released. Once the bitstream specification has been completed the format will be frozen for the 1.0 release and all future versions of Theora will maintain compatibility with the 1.0 format, opening the door to widespread use of the codec for media distribution.

“Any company that bases their core product on commodity technologies obviously does well to choose a completely open, royalty-free technology. Technology that's open allows businesses to concentrate on delivering what clients and consumers want,” says Chris Montgomery of the Xiph.org Foundation. “We are heartened to see Fluendo supporting the open standards they use and expect Fluendo to flourish in the years to come.”

The Xiph.org Foundation is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to providing tools for a free, open, and level playing field for digital media.

link (http://fluendo.com/press/releases/PR-2004-01.html)

[Selur]

Sounds nice,.. but is theora really patent free? thought on2 had some patents,.. (or did they really give them up?)

Cu Selur

Ps.: still hoping for tarking once theora 1.0 is out.

[bond]

good news!

Originally posted by Selur
but is theora really patent free? thought on2 had some patents,.. (or did they really give them up?)nope theora isnt patent free (on2 owns some as you said), but still only because the technology is patented it doesnt mean that you have to pay something to use it (licenses or so)
on2 gave xiph the rights to use and offer theora totally for free

[Mug Funky]

ah. so instead of "patent free" it's "free patent". that's good enough - effectively the same thing really.

[bond]

yep, on2 gives his vp3 technologies away for free (and its used already in theora and in some own format of nullsoft)

now the question is: if i want to write my own enc/decoder compliant to theora, will i have to ask on2 or not?

[Latexxx]

Originally posted by bond
yep, on2 gives his vp3 technologies away for free (and its used already in theora and in some own format of nullsoft)

now the question is: if i want to write my own enc/decoder compliant to theora, will i have to ask on2 or not?

http://www.theora.org/cvs.html


On2 represents and warrants that it shall not assert any rights relating to infringement of On2's registered patents, nor initiate any litigation asserting such rights, against any person who, or entity which utilizes the On2 VP3 Codec Software, including any use, distribution, and sale of said Software; which make changes, modifications, and improvements in said Software; and to use, distribute, and sell said changes as well as applications for other fields of use.

[virus]

Originally posted by Selur
Sounds nice,.. but is theora really patent free? thought on2 had some patents,.. (or did they really give them up?)
Another quote from the FAQ (http://www.theora.org/theorafaq.html):
Q: Isn't vp3 a patented technology?

A: Yes, some portions of the vp3 codec are covered by patents. However, the Xiph.org Foundation has negotiated an irrevocable free license to the vp3 codec for any purpose imaginable on behalf of the public. It is legal to use vp3 in any way you see fit (unless, of course, you're doing something illegal with it in your particular jurisdiction). You are free to download vp3, use it free of charge, implement it in a for-sale product, implement it in a free product, make changes to the source and distribute those changes, or print the source code out and wallpaper your spare room with it.

For more information, check the VP3 Legal Terms on the CVS page.

Q: What is the license for Theora?

A: Theora (and all associated technologies released by the Xiph.org Foundation) is released to the public via a BSD-style license. It is completely free for commercial or noncommercial use. That means that commercial developers may independently write Theora software which is compatible with the specification for no charge and without restrictions of any kind.