Membrane news

Elixir Framework Forums Membrane Forum
, ,
1

Hi there! So far we’ve been posting news about Membrane & multimedia mostly on X/Twitter, but from now on we’d like to share them on the forum as well, hence this thread :wink: You can expect posts about everything we work on, new releases, learning materials, projects using Membrane and more.

For a start, a new video about building a complete talk-to-AI solution with Boombox and OpenAI real-time API. You’ll learn how to:

  • Set up backend to handle OpenAI Realtime API calls.
  • Integrate with Boombox for real-time communication between your browser and backend.

The code is available here: boombox/examples.livemd at master · membraneframework/boombox · GitHub

Happy streaming :wink:

11 Likes
2

Today, something about codecs and their licensing :balance_scale:

What does it mean that a codec is royalty-free? When should you pay licensing fees? :thinking: Let’s dive into the world of codec patents :point_down:

:point_right: First of all, there are two main families of codecs - H26x (H264 and H265) and VPx (VP8 and VP9). The former is developed by ITU-T and MPEG organizations, while the latter by Google (which acquired On2 Technologies).

:point_right: H26x codecs are patented, meaning that to use them, you have to pay license fees to various patent holders. In practice, this responsibility typically falls on big companies.

Let’s take a look at Cisco’s openH264 implementation:

:arrow_right: OpenH264 is an open-source H.264 implementation. Cisco compiles and distributes it so you can download it from Cisco’s servers for commercial purposes for free. For this to happen, Cisco pays royalty fees.

:arrow_right: You can’t distribute Cisco’s binary on your own. Instead, when your product is installed, it must download the OpenH264 binary from Cisco’s servers.

:arrow_right: You can’t include and distribute the OpenH264 source code with your product for free. To do so, you have to pay royalty fees.

:point_right: VPx codecs emerged as an alternative to the H26x family. They are royalty-free for both personal and commercial use cases. VP8 serves as an alternative to H.264 and VP9 to H.265.

:point_right: In 2015, a consortium of companies (including semiconductor firms, VoD providers, and web browser vendors) founded the Alliance for Open Media. This consortium aimed to develop a successor to VP9 called AV1. Its first version was released in 2016 and it is also royalty-free and open.

:bulb: You can read more about Cisco’s OpenH264 at: https://openh264.org/faq.html. Additionally, this video provides a thorough explanation of the entire ecosystem: Open H.264 IPR Explained.

:bulb:Learn more on VP8 and VP9 licensing here: https://webmproject.org/about/faq/.

4 Likes