Tag Archives: H.264

Raspberry Pi lands MPEG-2 and VC-1 decoding through personal licenses, H.264 encoding and CEC tag along

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Raspberry Pi lands MPEG-2 and VC-1 decoding through personal licenses, H.264 encoding and CEC tag along

Making the Raspberry Pi affordable involved some tough calls, including the omission of MPEG-2 decoding. Licensing fees alone for the video software would have boosted the board's price by approximately 10 percent. Now, after many have made media centers with the hardware, the foundation behind the project has whipped up a solution to add the missing codec. For $3.16, users can purchase an individual MPEG-2 license for each of their boards on the organization's online store. Partial to Microsoft's VC-1 standard? Rights to using Redmond's codec can be purchased for $1.58. H.264 encoding is also in the cards since OpenMax components needed to develop applications with the functionality are now enabled by default in the device's latest firmware. With CEC support thrown into the Raspbmc, XBian and OpenELEC operating systems, a single IR remote can control a Raspberry Pi, a TV and other connected gadgets. If you're ready to load up your Pi with its newfound abilities, hit the source link below.

Update: The Raspberry Pi Foundation let us know that US customers won't have to pay sales tax, which means patrons will only be set back $3.16 for MPEG-2 and $1.58 for VC-1 support, not $3.79 and $1.90 for the respective licenses. We've updated the post accordingly.

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Raspberry Pi lands MPEG-2 and VC-1 decoding through personal licenses, H.264 encoding and CEC tag along originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 26 Aug 2012 07:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MPEG drafts twice-as-efficient H.265 video standard, sees use in phones as soon as 2013

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MPEG drafts twiceasefficient H265 video standard, sees use in phones as soon as 2013

All of that squabbling over H.264 may be rendered moot in the near future. The Motion Picture Experts Group (better known as MPEG) has just let us know that it was quietly drafting a new video standard while everyone was on summer vacation last month: H.265, also called High Efficiency Video Coding, promises to squeeze video sizes with double the efficiency of H.264. As you might imagine, this could lead either to a much smaller video footprint for bandwidth-starved mobile users or a hike to image quality with the same size as before. Imagine fast-loading HD streaming on 4G, or cable TV without all the excess compression, and you've got the idea. Ericsson Research visual technology lead Per Fröjdh anticipates H.265 coming as soon as 2013, when our smartphones and tablets are most likely to play it first. TV and other areas might have to wait, although Fröjdh is offering a consolation prize -- he's teasing a separate MPEG project that could give us glasses-free, compressed 3D video as a standard by 2014.

Continue reading MPEG drafts twice-as-efficient H.265 video standard, sees use in phones as soon as 2013

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MPEG drafts twice-as-efficient H.265 video standard, sees use in phones as soon as 2013 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 15 Aug 2012 21:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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FTC tells ITC that bans over standards-based patents aren’t kosher, looks warily at Motorola and Samsung

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Motorola Droid RAZR and Apple iPhone 4

Most of the scrutiny over abuse of standards-based patents has come through European Union investigations of Motorola and Samsung. That attention might come to the US if the Federal Trade Commission has its way. It just sent a letter to the International Trade Commission arguing that companies should be blocked from landing bans if they base their disputes on standards. These kinds of blockades "deter innovation" and spur companies to try for much more of a cash windfall from a patent than it's really worth, the FTC argues. The letter doesn't directly accuse anyone of getting their fingers dirty, but there's little doubt that it's referring to Motorola (now part of Google) and Samsung: their varying ITC disputes against Apple and Microsoft are often based around standards patents for technologies like 3G and H.264 video, which aren't supposed to demand legal action except as a last resort. An angry FTC missive doesn't constitute a formal investigation that would actively worry either Motorola or Samsung, but it certainly fires a warning shot across the bow.

FTC tells ITC that bans over standards-based patents aren't kosher, looks warily at Motorola and Samsung originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 07 Jun 2012 18:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Ars Technica  |  sourceCNET  | Email this | Comments

Elgato Game Capture HD hands-on

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Elgato Game Capture HD handson

Elgato first announced its Game Capture HD device mere weeks ago, but since the thing went on sale earlier this month, we hadn't gotten a chance to see it in the flesh. Naturally, given E3's all-things-gaming nature, Elgato brought the device to E3 and we got a chance to get our hands on one. In case you forgot, the Game Capture HD's a lightweight, palm-sized device that plugs in between your Xbox or PS3 and your TV to capture footage of you pwning family and friends. It then converts the footage into Elgato's preferred H.264 format and dumps it on your PC or Mac so you can share your gaming exploits with the world. Still not ready to drop $200 on the thing? Perhaps our gallery of pics can persuade you.

Gallery: Elgato Game Capture HD hands-on

Elgato Game Capture HD hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Jun 2012 21:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Elgato announces Game Capture HD, shows off your deathmatch prowess in H.264

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Elgato is releasing the Game Capture HD, a device that lets game-casters and YouTube walkthrough mavens shed low-resolution, over-the-shoulder smartphone footage once and for all. The sleek black box sits between console and display, enabling gamers to record their speed runs and kill records for the world to see. Xbox 360 users can daisy-chain the gear into their HDMI set-up, while PS3 users will have to use the bundled AV cable to circumvent Sony's stronger copy protection. The footage will then be compressed with the company's H.264 know-how and pushed to your PC or Mac for uploading. When it arrives at the start of June, it'll set you back $200 -- just giving you enough time to get practicing your soothing and confident narration voice.

Continue reading Elgato announces Game Capture HD, shows off your deathmatch prowess in H.264

Elgato announces Game Capture HD, shows off your deathmatch prowess in H.264 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 21 May 2012 13:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ITC issues preliminary ruling, finds Microsoft’s Xbox 360 infringes on Motorola patents

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ITC issues preliminary ruling, finds Microsoft's Xbox 360 infringes on Motorola patents

Potential bad news to start out the week for Microsofties: a judge from the US International Trade Commission has issued a preliminary ruling that finds Microsoft's Xbox 360 infringes on five four of Motorola's patents (and in Microsoft's favor on one). While the decision is by no means final -- which means that the Redmond outfit could ultimately prevail -- a final ruling would force Microsoft's hand to seek proper licenses for the technologies, most of which relate to H.264 video encoding, or have its gaming console banned from US shelves. For now, the lawyers will go back to the lab to refine their arguments and get ready to present them to a full panel of ITC judges later this year. Who wants to set odds on the outcome?

ITC issues preliminary ruling, finds Microsoft's Xbox 360 infringes on Motorola patents originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 Apr 2012 18:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft wins injunction in Washington against Motorola, can keep selling stuff in Germany

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Microsoft wins injunction in Washington against Motorola, can keep selling stuff in Germany
Microsoft's been waging legal war against Motorola on several fronts for some time now, and today, team Redmond scored a victory in a federal district court in Washington that'll have repercussions in Germany. The judge granted Microsoft's motion for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction that prevents Motorola from enforcing any injunction it may obtain in the parties' parallel action in Mannheim, Germany. As a quick refresher, this litigation's all about a bundle of Moto-owned standards-essential WiFi and H.264 patents. Naturally, Motorola claims that Microsoft's infringing its IP, and has sought to stop sales of infringing products in Deutschland. Meanwhile, Microsoft contends Moto's in breach of contract because those patents haven't been made available for it to license on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) terms. This latest legal victory in the US merely means that Motorola won't enforce any injunction it obtains in Mannheim -- which leaves Microsoft free and clear to peddle its wares in Germany.

Microsoft wins injunction in Washington against Motorola, can keep selling stuff in Germany originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 11 Apr 2012 20:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink FOSSPatents  |  sourceThe Seattle Times  | Email this | Comments