Awesome!<br><br>--<br clear="all">Charles Iliya Krempeaux, B.Sc.<br><a href="http://ChangeLog.ca/">http://ChangeLog.ca/</a><br><br>
<br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Mon, Nov 3, 2008 at 2:53 PM, Ralph Giles <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:giles@xiph.org">giles@xiph.org</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">
Theora is a video codec with a small CPU footprint that offers easy<br>
portability and requires no patent royalties. While the Theora<br>
bitstream format was standardized in 2004 and our beta releases have<br>
been used by millions, this 1.0 release is an important milestone<br>
reflecting the maturity and stability of the Theora codebase.<br>
<br>
A number of leading multimedia web groups already support Theora.<br>
Upcoming releases of Mozilla Firefox, the world's most popular open<br>
source browser, will support Theora natively, as will releases of the<br>
multi-platform Opera browser. Top-10 website Wikipedia uses Theora<br>
for all of its video. "Open media formats are critical for ensuring a<br>
future where everyone can create and share media freely," says Kat<br>
Walsh, Wikimedia Foundation board member, "and so we congratulate<br>
Xiph.org on this important achievement." Theora's success in these<br>
applications paves the way for wider adoption.<br>
<br>
The Theora 1.0 package includes a reference library using the<br>
revised 3-clause BSD license, allowing use in all software, free or<br>
proprietary. The reference library uses a new decoder which supports<br>
the entire Theora specification and is significantly faster than<br>
earlier versions. This high-performance decoder is already used on<br>
the XO laptop from the OLPC project.<br>
<br>
The package also supplies numerous resources for developers: a 190<br>
page format specification, API documentation, example encoder and<br>
decoder software, and a draft RTP specification for real-time<br>
streaming.<br>
<br>
Theora development does not stop with the 1.0 release. With<br>
sponsorship from Red Hat Inc., Xiph.Org has been working on a<br>
next-generation encoder, codenamed 'Thusnelda', which has already<br>
demonstrated substantial quality improvements without breaking<br>
backward compatibility. While Theora is already the preferred format<br>
for applications where freedom, CPU consumption, and cost are<br>
important, Thusnelda will make Theora more attractive for applications<br>
where quality and bit-rate are the only considerations. The new encoder is<br>
slated for inclusion in the upcoming 1.1 release of Theora.<br>
<br>
Theora 1.0 is available for download from the following URLs:<br>
<a href="http://downloads.xiph.org/releases/theora/libtheora-1.0.tar.gz" target="_blank">http://downloads.xiph.org/releases/theora/libtheora-1.0.tar.gz</a><br>
<a href="http://downloads.xiph.org/releases/theora/libtheora-1.0.zip" target="_blank">http://downloads.xiph.org/releases/theora/libtheora-1.0.zip</a><br>
<br>
Technical support is available through the <a href="mailto:theora@xiph.org">theora@xiph.org</a> general mailing<br>
list and <a href="mailto:theora-dev@xiph.org">theora-dev@xiph.org</a> developer mailing lists.<br>
<br>
Theora is mature software; do not be afraid to try it. This<br>
release reflects countless hours of debugging, manual code audits and<br>
fuzz testing. A scan by the Coverity static analysis tool revealed<br>
only two defects: one false alarm and the other now fixed. We would<br>
like to thank all the volunteers involved in this project throughout<br>
the years for their hard work. Your dedication helped improve Theora;<br>
this release is dedicated to you.<br>
<br>
The Xiph.Org Foundation is a not-for-profit corporation dedicated<br>
to open, unencumbered multimedia technology. Xiph's formats and<br>
software levels the playing field for digital media so that all<br>
producers and artists can distribute their work for minimal cost,<br>
without restriction, regardless of affiliation.<br>
<br>
Happy Hacking!<br>
<br>
Monty<br>
Director, Xiph.Org<br>
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</blockquote></div><br>