WebM: everything you need to know about the Google format
With the support of Google, in 2010 a new multimedia file format on the Internet came to light. WebM represents an open source alternative to other video formats (especially MP4) and is designed primarily for use on the Internet in combination with HTML5. But what can the WebM format do that other formats cannot do
WebM is a container format (with extension * .webm) for multimedia files, that is, for videos and audio files. In the same container the video codecs VP8 and VP9 are used, as well as the Vorbis and Opus audio codecs. At the Google I / 0 2010 conference, the company announced its plan for WebM to be an alternative to the existing MP4 format with its H.264 codec from the beginning. The consumer can use the latter at no cost when watching a video, but developers who want to work with the codec must pay the license fees. On the contrary, WebM is an open source project with which anyone can work without paying rights for it.
WebP is a twin format developed for the dissemination of image files on the Internet.
WebM is designed for use with HTML5. The VP8 and VP9 codecs are designed so that in those cases where considerable compression must be carried out, the extraction can still occur with little computing power. The objective of this design is to allow the reproduction of Internet videos on virtually any device (regardless of whether it is a desktop computer, a tablet, a smartphone or a multimedia device such as a Smart TV). It is not surprising that YouTube, being a subsidiary of Google, converts all its videos to the WebM format, regardless of the format of the original file. Despite everything, YouTube still supports H.264 for those who cannot play WebM.
WebM has become a political issue within the Internet community. While Google tries hard to consolidate this audio and video format, other important market players such as Apple or Microsoft cling to formats like MP4. The main reason is, above all, the patent system: both software companies use a group of MPEG-LA patents, since it is responsible for maintaining the patents of the used codecs and charging royalties for them. Google is trying to circumvent these patents with WebM.
This situation has already led to legal problems in the past, the VP8 codec being the point of contention. Several companies have criticized that their codec patent has been ignored. Google would have reached an agreement with MPEG LA, however, Nokia is not part of this patent pool and believes its rights have been ignored. A first lawsuit, in which the company faced its competitor HTC in court, whose devices support V8, was dismissed by the Mannheim regional court.
WebM receives factory support from the main web browsers: Chrome, Chromium, Firefox and Opera, so they do not require any additional installation to reproduce the format. In the case of Edge it does need an additional plugin. For its part, Apple Safari can also be equipped to play the WebM format, at least in the desktop version. The problem is mainly for iPhone and iPad users: they must install additional software to be able to play the video format on their devices.
The most popular program for playing WebM video files is probably VLC Player. This is also available for devices that use the iOS operating system. For example, Winamp and Kodi are also capable of playing WebM files, as well as Windows Media Player 12, however, in this case it is necessary to install WebM Media Foundation Components. Then you can also play videos in WebM format in Internet Explorer.
