Introducing the Alliance for Open Media

The biggest tech companies – Microsoft, Google, Amazon and others that are behind the open web are coming together to create an open source media format. Other companies joining the alliance include Cisco, Mozilla, Intel Corporation and Netflix. The alliance has been named the “Alliance for Open Media” and it aims at developing a whole new video format. However, apple won’t be taking part in this initiative. The primary objective of this project is creating an open video codec specification free of any royalty and will be based up on the members’ contribution. It will also include binding specifications for the format, adaptive streaming as well as content encryption. The internet demand for high – quality videos is increasing day by day and this is not just limited to videos only, it also extends to imagery, audio and streaming services for all devices around the world. The purpose behind Alliance for open Media is to meet this growing demand.

Gabe Frost, Executive Director of The Alliance for Open Media says, “Customer expectations for media delivery continue to grow, and fulfilling their expectations requires the concerted energy of the entire ecosystem. The Alliance for Open Media brings together the leading experts in the entire video stack to work together in pursuit of open, royalty-free and interoperable solutions for the next generation of video delivery.”

The Alliance says that the initial focus is on delivering a next – gen video format which is of course open but also interoperable. This video format will be highly optimized for web and could be scaled to suit any modern device without considering its bandwidth. Another plus point of this video format is that it has a very low computational footprint since it is optimized for hardware. The format can be used to provide real – time delivery that is high – quality and consistent. All this makes it very suitable for non – commercial and commercial content. This includes user generated content as well.

Matt Frost, Head of Strategy and Partnerships (Chrome Media) says, “Google launched the WebM Project in 2010 in the belief that web video innovation was too slow and too closed, and that broad collaboration — in the open — would fix both problems. The Alliance for Open Media is a big leap forward for these core philosophies, and we’re gratified that our AOMedia partners share this vision. Our combined strength, resources and expertise will drive the next generation of web media experiences much further and faster than WebM can do alone.”

The Alliance for Open Media is one of the Joint Development Foundation’s projects. It is a non – profit organization operating independently to help groups in establishing standards and development collaborations by providing them corporate as well as legal infrastructure.