Google / Mozilla launch WebM project to bring open video to web

WebM is an open, royalty-free, media file format designed for the web.

WebM defines the file container structure, video and audio formats. WebM files consist of video streams compressed with the VP8 video codec and audio streams compressed with the Vorbis audio codec. The WebM file structure is based on the Matroska container.

Benefits of WebM

*Openness and innovation. A key factor in the web’s success is that its core technologies such as HTML, HTTP, and TCP/IP are open for anyone to implement and improve. With video being core to the web experience, a high-quality, open video format choice is needed. WebM is 100% free, and open-sourced under a BSD-style license.
*Optimized for the web. Serving video on the web is different from traditional broadcast and offline mediums. Existing video formats were designed to serve the needs of these mediums and do it very well. WebM is focused on addressing the unique needs of serving video on the web.
o Low computational footprint to enable playback on any device, including low-power netbooks, handhelds, tablets, etc.
o Simple container format
o Highest quality real-time video delivery
o Click and encode. Minimal codec profiles, sub-options; when possible, let the encoder make the tough choices.

For more information about WebM, see http://www.webmproject.org/