I can see the motivation to pay big bucks for video codecs. Using Mpeg4 can reduce your bandwidth costs and save real money. I can see why there was a big incentive to save money on audio codecs in the 1990s. At this point an audio codec is going to have to save a huge amount ot bandwidth to be worth the hassle, let alone the cost of using encumbered technology. A useful starting point would be to establish a safe fallback using technology such a mu-law or a-law that nobody can possibly claim they own without being referred to the reply given in the famous case of Arkel vs. Pressdram. The objective here is not necessarily to use mu-law as the default codec (but I really don't think that is unthinkable as some have suggested in the past), the objective is to reduce the bargaining leverage of any possible patent troll from being able to demand the economic value of the bandwideth saved by using their codec. 2010/1/4 Mans Nilsson <mansaxel@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>: > Subject: Re: WG Review: Internet Wideband Audio Codec (codec) Date: Mon, Jan 04, 2010 at 05:57:56PM +0100 Quoting Patrik Fältström (paf@xxxxxxxxx): >> We actually already have done work in this area, RFC 3951. >> >> What I think you say is that it in the IETF is hard to do work starting with a white sheet of paper. And I agree with that. I do though think that is not something special for IETF as an SDO, and I do specifically not think that is specific for this kind of work. > > (I'm answering both Patrik and Philip here) > > But we are not running out of proposals for codecs to adapt. Both CELT > and SILK seem reasonable. > > The patent troll threat is a more sinister one, since a lot of revenue > and lock-in is won by FUDing people into buying unfree codecs -- > giving a lot of companies ample reason to fight this. > > The users need CODEC. The industry maybe does not, at least not the > myopic parts of it. Do we build and document what the users need or > what the industry orders? > > -- > Måns Nilsson primary/secondary/besserwisser/machina > MN-1334-RIPE +46 705 989668 > Jesuit priests are DATING CAREER DIPLOMATS!! > -- -- New Website: http://hallambaker.com/ View Quantum of Stupid podcasts, Tuesday and Thursday each week, http://quantumofstupid.com/ _______________________________________________ Ietf mailing list Ietf@xxxxxxxx https://www.ietf.org/mailman/listinfo/ietf