[xiph-commits] r6973 - websites/theora.org
nilesh at dactyl.lonelymoon.com
nilesh
Sun Jul 4 00:58:46 PDT 2004
Author: nilesh
Date: Sun Jul 4 00:58:46 2004
New Revision: 6973
Modified:
websites/theora.org/style.css
websites/theora.org/theorafaq2.html
Log:
theorafaq2.html is now complete (there may be some bugs). Some one will now have to
proof-read it and once that is done it can linked from main website.
a class named "txt" is added in theora.org/style.css that is used in all answers in
FAQ. Only thing that is does right now is to justify the text.
Modified: websites/theora.org/style.css
===================================================================
--- websites/theora.org/style.css 2004-07-04 07:52:35 UTC (rev 6972)
+++ websites/theora.org/style.css 2004-07-04 07:58:46 UTC (rev 6973)
@@ -24,3 +24,6 @@
.headline {
font-size: x-large; font-weight: bold;
}
+.txt {
+ text-align: justify;
+}
Modified: websites/theora.org/theorafaq2.html
===================================================================
--- websites/theora.org/theorafaq2.html 2004-07-04 07:52:35 UTC (rev 6972)
+++ websites/theora.org/theorafaq2.html 2004-07-04 07:58:46 UTC (rev 6973)
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
<style type="text/css">
@import url(style.css);
+
</style>
</head>
<body bgcolor="#666699" text="#000000" alink="#000000">
@@ -112,12 +113,10 @@
<ul>
<li><a href="#30">When will it all be finished? Can I use it right now?</a></li>
<li><a href="#31">What is an Alpha Release?</a></li>
- <li><a href="#32">Is Theora Final?</a></li>
- <li><a href="#33">Can I use Theora to encode stuff right now?</a></li>
- <li><a href="#34">What is Tarkin? </a></li>
- <li><a href="#35">How can I help with development?</a></li>
- <li><a href="#36"> How will Ogg Theora interoperate with [insert your favorite media architecture]?</a></li>
- <li><a href="#37">How can I donate to these amazing projects?</a></li>
+ <li><a href="#32">What is Tarkin? </a></li>
+ <li><a href="#33">How can I help with development?</a></li>
+ <li><a href="#34"> How will Ogg Theora interoperate with [insert your favorite media architecture]?</a></li>
+ <li><a href="#35">How can I donate to these amazing projects?</a></li>
</ul>
<br>
<a href="#working"><b>Using Theora</b></a>
@@ -141,27 +140,34 @@
<br>
<a name="10"></a>
<b>Q. What is theora?</b><br>
-Theora is a <i>open</i> video codec being developed by the Xiph.org
+<div class="txt">
+Theora is a <b>open</b> video codec being developed by the Xiph.org
Foundation as part of their Ogg project. Theora is derived directly
from On2's VP3 codec; Currently the two are nearly identical, varying
only in framing headers, but Theora will diverge and improve from
the main VP3 development lineage as time progresses.
+</div>
<br>
<br>
<a name="11"></a>
<b>Q. Why use theora?</b><br>
+<div class="txt">
Its open and free. Do you need more reasons?
+</div>
<br>
<br>
<a name="12"></a>
<b>Q. What other video formats will Theora compete with?</b><br>
+<div class="txt">
Theora is targeted at competing with MPEG-4 (e.g., XviD and DivX),
RealVideo, Windows Media Video, and similar lower-bitrate video
compression schemes.
+</div>
<br>
<br>
<a name="13"></a>
<b>Q. What is Ogg? What is Vorbis? What is xiph.org?</b><br>
+<div class="txt">
<a href="http://www.vorbis.com/">Vorbis</a> is an audio codec,
Theora is a video codec. Ogg is the transport layer that both are stored in,
so a video file will be Theora-encoded data inside an Ogg file, while audio
@@ -170,24 +176,29 @@
The <a href="http://www.xiph.org/">Xiph.org</a> Foundation is a
Delaware non-profit company devoted to producing, maintaining and
supporting an open multimedia platform.
+</div>
<br>
<br>
<a name="14"></a>
<b>Q. What is the license for Theora?</b><br>
+<div class="txt">
Theora (and all associated technologies released by the Xiph.org
Foundation) is released to the public via a BSD-style license. It is
completely free for commercial or noncommercial use. That means that
commercial developers may independently write Theora software which is
compatible with the specification for no charge and without restrictions of
any kind.
+</div>
<br>
<br>
<a name="15"></a>
<b>Q. Why the name 'Theora?'</b><br>
+<div class="txt">
Like other Xiph.org Foundation codec projects such as Vorbis or Tarkin,
Theora is named after a fictional character. Theora Jones was the name of
Edison Carter's 'controller' on the television series Max Headroom. She was
played by Amanda Pays.
+</div>
<br>
<br>
<a name="vp3"></a>
@@ -196,6 +207,7 @@
<br>
<a name="20"></a>
<b>Q. Is the Theora bitstream identical to VP3?</b><br>
+<div class="txt">
Yes and No. Theora is a superset of VP3, so VP3 streams (with minor
syntactic modifications) can be made into Theora streams without
recompression (but not vice versa).
@@ -206,10 +218,12 @@
VP3 files. There also may be quite a few performance advantages to using
Theora when 1.0 is complete; While our focus is integration, there will
certainly be a lot of optimization involved, as well.
+</div>
<br>
<br>
<a name="21"></a>
<b>Q. What can Theora do that VP3 couldn't do?</b><br>
+<div class="txt">
The major change from VP3 to Theora is architectural. VP3, like most
codecs of today, makes certain assumptions about the nature of the material
it compresses. These assumptions take the form of fixed sets of numeric
@@ -221,22 +235,28 @@
This simple, powerful approach has already been proven effective in Vorbis,
and will allow for a longer cycle of encoder optimization without requiring
client-side updates.
+</div>
<br>
<br>
<a name="22"></a>
<b>Q. How will I transition my old VP3 files to the new format?</b><br>
+<div class="txt">
Because Theora is a 'superset' of VP3, tools can easily be created that
will allow VP3 files to be losslessly transcoded into Ogg Theora format
with no loss in quality.
+</div>
<br>
<br>
<a name="23"></a>
<b>Q. Can I convert Ogg Theora files into VP3?</b><br>
+<div class="txt">
Why would you want to do something stupid like that? Are you nuts?
+</div>
<br>
<br>
<a name="24"></a>
<b>Q. Isn't vp3 a patented technology?</b><br>
+<div class="txt">
Yes, some portions of the vp3 codec are covered by patents. However, the
Xiph.org Foundation has negotiated an irrevocable free license to the vp3
codec for any purpose imaginable on behalf of the public. It is legal to
@@ -248,13 +268,16 @@
it.
<br>
For more information, check the VP3 Legal Terms on the SVN page
+</div>
<br>
<br>
<a name="25"></a>
<b>Q. What if Xiph.org and On2 decide to break off their agreement?</b><br>
+<div class="txt">
Because Theora is an Open Source project, the source code will continue to
be available and development will continue. Users will still be protected
from the On2 patents.
+</div>
<br>
<br>
<a name="development"></a>
@@ -263,42 +286,72 @@
<br>
<a name="30"></a>
<b>Q. When will it all be finished? Can I use it right now?</b><br>
-
+<div class="txt">
+Theora alpha 3 is out and bitstream format is now frozen. So, files produced by
+the alpha 3 reference encoder will be supported by all future decoders. But, still it
+is not complete and many bugs are yet to be fixed.
+</div>
<br>
<br>
<a name="31"></a>
<b>Q. What is an Alpha Release?</b><br>
-
+<div class="txt">
+Typically when software is created at a software company, it goes through a number of stages
+before it's released out to the world. You've probably heard of 'beta-testing' before. That's
+when people take code that has been deemed 'not quite ready' and are testing it out so that
+the authors can fix bugs where necessary.
<br>
+'Alpha' code is strictly for internal development only, which is to say, 'No one sees this code,
+it's not even close to being done yet.' At the Xiph.org Foundation, we release everything we do
+so that people can help us move the codebase forward by reporting bugs and submitting patches.
+So, even 'Alpha' code needs to get out to the world.
<br>
-<a name="32"></a>
-<b>Q. Is Theora Final?</b><br>
-
+We encourage and depend on the open-source developer community to get
+involved early. We release Alpha builds to give these hearty souls a chance
+to see what's cooking, and perhaps to add some ingredients of their own. If
+you think you have the right stuff, please join the party at
+www.theora.org/lists.
+</div>
<br>
<br>
-<a name="33"></a>
-<b>Q. Can I use Theora to encode stuff right now?</b><br>
-
-<br>
-<br>
-<a name="34"></a>
+<a name="32"></a>
<b>Q. What is Tarkin?</b><br>
-
+<div class="txt">
+Tarkin is essentially a proof-of-concept wavelet-based codec. Its
+experimental nature means it will not be ready for general use for some
+time. VP3 is a high-quality codec that can meet today's video needs now, so
+Xiph.org will be focusing its efforts on Theora for the near future.
+</div>
<br>
<br>
-<a name="35"></a>
+<a name="33"></a>
<b>Q. How can I help with development?</b><br>
-
+<div class="txt">
+Head on over to the <a href="http://www.theora.org/svn.html">SVN</a>
+ page to grab the codebase, and hack away! Post your contributions online,
+ and tell us about it on the <a href="http://www.theora.org/lists.html">theora-dev
+</a> mailing list.
+</div>
<br>
<br>
-<a name="36"></a>
+<a name="34"></a>
<b>Q. How will Ogg Theora interoperate with [insert your favorite media architecture]?</b><br>
-
+<div class="txt">
+ As the Ogg Vorbis format has gained acceptance, components have become
+available to play Ogg files on practically all of the major media players.
+We expect a similar if not superior level of support for Ogg Theora.
+Developers wanted! (if you're interested, sign up for the
+theora-codecs at xiph.org mailing list).
+</div>
<br>
<br>
-<a name="37"></a>
+<a name="35"></a>
<b>Q. How can I donate to these amazing projects?</b><br>
-
+<div class="txt">
+ Wow, thanks! You can find more information on donating to the Xiph.org
+Foundation by following <a href="http://www.xiph.org/ogg/vorbis/donate.html">
+this link</a>! Thanks in advance!
+</div>
<br>
<br>
<a name="working"></a>
@@ -307,17 +360,32 @@
<br>
<a name="40"></a>
<b>Q. What players currently support Theora?</b><br>
-
+<div class="txt">
+Major players like <a href="http://www.mplayerhq.hu/">mplayer</a>,
+<a href="http://www.xinehq.de/">xine</a>, <a
+href="http://www.helixcommunity.org">helix player</a> and <a
+href="http://www.videolan.org/">VideoLAN</a> supports theora.
+Directshow <a href="http://www.illiminable.com/ogg/">filters</a>
+are also available to use on Windows platform.
+</div>
<br>
<br>
<a name="41"></a>
<b>Q. How can I encode videos to theora?</b><br>
-
+<div class="txt">
+ Have a look at <a
+href="http://www.dogphilosophy.net/SECTION-Technical_Stuff/ogg-theora-microhowto.html">
+ogg-theora-microhowto</a> and <a href="http://www.annodex.net/anx_theora.html">transcode
+</a>quickTime mov files to theora files under Linux.
+</div>
<br>
<br>
<a name="42"></a>
<b>Q. Is there any way to use Theora on Microsoft Windows at this point?</b><br>
-
+<div class="txt">
+Yes, you can use your theora files on windows using <a
+href="http://www.illiminable.com/ogg/">Directshow filters</a>.
+</div>
<br>
<br>
<a name="misc"></a>
@@ -326,27 +394,47 @@
<br>
<a name="50"></a>
<b>Q. Who's in charge of Theora development?</b><br>
-
+<div class="txt">
+The Xiph.org Foundation is the primary developer of Theora, but this is
+mainly an integration issue. The vp3 codec that serves as the base of
+Theora was written by a company called <a href="http://www.on2.com">On2 Technologies</a>. Xiph.org will be
+responsible for all aspects of the development. On2 will provide both
+monetary and technical support to Xiph.org throughout the project. On2 is
+also providing the source code of their implementation of the VP3 codec as
+well as some of their video tools.
+</div>
<br>
<br>
<a name="51"></a>
<b>Q. Who designed this website?</b><br>
-
+<div class="txt">
+This website is based on a design called 'Nutrition,' available for public
+download from <a href="http://www.oswd.org/">Open Source Web Design</a>.
+The original author is known by the nickname of 'BrAInDeD-'.
+</div>
<br>
<br>
<a name="52"></a>
<b>Q. Who is the webmaster of this site?</b><br>
-
+<div class="txt">
+ That would be <a href="mailto:manuel at xiph.org">Manuel Lora</a>, the greatest webmaster
+on the face of the planet.
+</div>
<br>
<br>
<a name="53"></a>
<b>Q. Who maintains The Glorious Theora FAQ?</b><br>
-
+<div class="txt">
+ No one person at the moment. Send changes to the list if it needs them. It
+was originally written by Emmett Plant and Dan Miller. his FAQ wouldn't be
+here at all without the work of Slammin' Stan Seibert, to whom we are
+eternally grateful.
+</div>
<br>
<br>
<a name="54"></a>
<b>Q. When was this FAQ last updated?</b><br>
-
+ July 3rd, 2004 by <a href="http://www.cse.iitb.ac.in/nilesh/">Nilesh Bansal</a>.
<br>
<br>
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