wiki_logoWikipedia- The Free Encyclopedia- is the most popular free web encyclopedia. Wikipedia users will be getting new tools for uploading, editing and viewing videos very soon. From a Beet.TV interview with Erik Moller, the deputy director of the Wikimedia Foundation, news showed up that the expected changes will be available very shortly.

Wikipedia has been working on video support for years. They are putting major effort into making it easier for users to upload video,specifically to bridge a video format divide.

Wikipedia is still planning to use Ogg Theora (an open-source video codec that can be played back natively inside the latest version of Firefox, and will be available soon to Chrome and Opera). Wikipedia also suggested users to convert their videos to Ogg Theora format on their end using FireFogg, a Firefox plug-in which can transcode user videos to Ogg.

Videos on the site are uploaded and watched in a format called Ogg Theora.  It is a Flash-like program which is completely open-source.  Video producers can render Ogg files in FinalCut and other editing programs by using various plug-ins. Once in Ogg, these files can be uploaded to Wikipedia. said Erik Moller, the deputy director of the Wikimedia Foundation.

Wikipedia’s choice of video format will have a big impact on the web and its standard because of the popularity of the site. Wikipedia’s choice to go for Ogg Theora will put stress on browsers and site creators as HTML 5 video, which is emerging as a hotly-contended Web standard.

Ogg Theora allows for downloading, remixing and re-uploading without licensing fees unlike the H.264 codec, which has been used in both Google and Apple’s product and services.

Microsoft, Apple, and Google seems to be least interest about promoting the Ogg Theora format in their browsers, and have put resources behind H.264 instead. Google’s Chrome supports both Ogg Theora and H.264, however Google has gone on the record as saying its quality was not as good as desired. Google has also used considerable resources into re-encoding YouTube’s entire library of videos into H.264, making the company less likely to switch camps.

The competing formats and standards are still a big question for start-ups. Lengends such as Adobe with its Flash format, and Apple with its streaming QuickTime standard have helped pave the way for many start-ups that rely on the latest codecs to create new and salable parts of their businesses.

Whether open-sourced codec like Ogg Theora will have the same kind of attraction that other pioneers like Adobe, Apple etc had, is still a question mark.

Wikipedia- The Free Encyclopedia- is the best free

web encyclopedia. Wikipedia users will be getting

new tools for uploading, editing and viewing videos

very soon. In a Beet.TV interview with Erik Moller,

the deputy director of the Wikimedia Foundation,

claimed that the changes will be available very

shortly.

Wikipedia has been working on video support for

years. They are putting major effort into making it

easier for users to upload video,specifically to

bridge a video format divide.

Wikipedia is still planning to use Ogg Theora (an

open-source video codec that can be played back

natively inside the latest version of Firefox, and

will be available soon to Chrome and Opera).

Wikipedia also suggested users to convert their

videos to Ogg Theora format on their end using

FireOgg, a Firefox plug-in which can transcode user

videos to Ogg.

Videos on the site are uploaded and watched in a

format called Ogg Theora.  It is a Flash-like

program which is completely open-source.  Video

producers can render Ogg files in FinalCut and other

editing programs by using various plug-ins. Once in

Ogg, these files can be uploaded to Wikipedia. said

Erik Moller, the deputy director of the Wikimedia

Foundation.

Wikipedia’s choice of video format will have a big

impact on the web and its standard because of the

popularity of the site. Wikipedia’s choice to go for

Ogg Theora will put stress on where browsers and

site creators just like HTML 5 video, which is

emerging as a hotly-contended Web standard.

Ogg Theora allows for downloading, remixing and re-

uploading without licensing fees unlike the H.264

codec, which has been used in both Google and

Apple’s product and services.

Microsoft, Apple, and Google seems to be least

interest about promoting the Ogg Theora format in

their browsers, and have put resources behind H.264

instead. Google’s Chrome supports both Ogg Theora

and H.264, however Google has gone on the record as

saying its quality was not as good as desired.

Google has also used considerable resources into re

-encoding YouTube’s entire library of videos into

H.264, making the company less likely to switch

camps.

The competing formats and standards are still a big

question for start-ups. Lengends such as Adobe with

its Flash format, and Apple with its streaming

QuickTime standard have helped pave the way for many

start-ups that rely on the latest codecs to create

new and salable parts of their businesses.

Whether open-sourced codec like Ogg Theora will have

the same kind of attraction that other pioneers like

Adobe, Apple etc had, is still a question mark.