[theora] <video src="*.ogg">

[Basil Mohamed Gohar]

On 01/14/2010 03:07 PM, Michael A. Peters wrote:
> Basil Mohamed Gohar wrote:
>
>>
>> If you say Theora isn't widely-enough adopted - well, the <video> spec
>> isn't a formal one right now anyway.  So, there's really no argument
>> against using Theora exclusively, and almost all of them are for it.
>
> Don't mis-understand me.
> I simply was trying to inform the user of how to get his content to
> the widest audience, and the INCLUDES the use of Theora.
>
> I'm all for open standards, but I don't live in Utopia.
> As I stated in an off list e-mail to another, there is a serious
> problem in the html5 spec in that browsers who do not handle one of
> the presented source types may (and do) choose to do nothing instead
> of rendering the fallback content. That means using Java as a fallback
> is only going to work with browsers that do not support html5 media at
> all, hence the need to use closed formats in addition to Theora in
> order to get your content usable by the widest variety of users who
> really don't care about switching their browser or installing some
> plugin just to watch our content.
If we start supporting, at this early stage, the closed formats, then we
are giving more fuel to those that are stoking the flames of a non-free
world.  Yes, lots of metaphors, but I think my point is clear.

My point being, HTML5's <video> tag is at an early stage of adoption. 
If users of Safari see that their browser, and only their browser,
cannot play sites that are using it (i.e., Theora or any other open
format), this will put pressure on Apple to include support for it. 
Same thing with Google and, eventually, IE.

So, this is not about Utopia.  It's about using this time to make Theora
the defacto standard so that, no matter what, the perception of future
users is that, if the format is not open, then it's the exception,
rather than the rule.