Thanks Brion for the detailed breakdown re: video issues. Replying under the changed subject line :)
Re: transcoding video, Brion wrote: > Allowing *ingestion* of MP4 h.264/AAC would allow uploading camera > originals from most consumer gear -- a major democratizing feature. > Ingestion of MP4 HEVC/AAC would give more compatibility. > > In both cases we have all the software we need, we already use the > Debian ffmpeg package which includes code supporting both formats; > we just don't allow uploading the files, reading them to convert for playback, > or downloading the originals from our web site. > > Do we need a MPEG-LA patent license for that? Nobody seemed to think so > in 2014 but nobody could tell me for sure either, then or now. IMO it would be useful to commission a renewed legal/policy assessment of those questions. Similarly, it would be good to know if any expiring patents might soon expand the range of options Wikimedia projects could enable without a patent policy change. At least for H.264 it seems like a pile of patents are coming up for expiry in 2024 and 2025, but I don't know if they alone help us much. [1] Regardless of any changes to Wikimedia's hard line policy stance on patent-encumbered codecs, the industry trend towards more open formats does make me optimistic about video in the long run. Warmly, Erik [1] Per this community-maintained page: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Have_the_patents_for_H.264_MPEG-4_AVC_expired_yet%3F On Tue, Jan 30, 2024 at 11:59 AM Samuel Klein <[email protected]> wrote: > > [New thread for the discussions started by brion, Ivan, James and others on > becoming video-friendly and building a community of video editors and > curators. Was "Re: We need more interactive content."] > > James Heilman wrote: >> >> With VideoWiki we have been able to create some higher quality content with >> a partner at MyUpchar. The text was written by us, the individual short >> animations were done by them, and then the tool combines it all together >> with text to speech. Hope to get the tool working again soon: >> https://mdwiki.org/wiki/Video:Tuberculosis > > > A nice example of a) creating a space explicitly to develop new tools and > encourage one another in using them; b) trialing a workflow that can be > automated at need. > > Text-to-speech and animation tools have also advanced tremendously since that > was produced; this is also becoming an important channel for more mainstream > media (I see the spammers taking over mainstream social media with it as > well, in how-tos, education, news, sports, and leisure). > > SJ > > On Tue, Jan 30, 2024 at 2:25 AM Ivan Martínez <[email protected]> wrote: >> >> It is not difficult to do something that is already happening. By referring >> to encyclopedic videos I am talking about multimedia that can enrich >> existing content. I understand your point, it's a bit like what happened >> with the project of reading recorded Wikipedia articles that after years >> seem obsolete. >> >> What I am referring to is all that multimedia material that is visual, that >> can be made into video to complement articles. The process you mention is >> complicated, but not impossible, in fact, there are many of us editors who >> have all those skills already implemented in the projects. >>> >>> >>> > By not having a Youtube 2.0 we are avoiding a Wikipedia 2.0 with pure >>> > encyclopaedic videos. I see a false dilemma there. > > > > brion wrote: >> >> My recommendations for Wikimedia Foundation on this subject: >> 1) Overturn the requirement to avoid handling h.264 files on Wikimedia >> servers or accept them from users or serve them to users. Allow importing >> h.264 uploads and creating h.264 transcodes for playback compatibility. >> 2) Create an interactive media team with at least two engineers, a designer, >> and a project manager >> 3) Give this team a remit to rebuild *and maintain in an ongoing fashion* >> the existing TimedMediaHandler, Graphs, Score, 3D, etc extensions >> 4) Integrate those tools cleanly with mobile apps and social media embedding >> tools managed by other teams > > _______________________________________________ > Wikimedia-l mailing list -- [email protected], guidelines at: > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l > Public archives at > https://lists.wikimedia.org/hyperkitty/list/[email protected]/message/KOJJRSMU62AOHW23TWWRYUKSPQETDEFD/ > To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected] _______________________________________________ Wikimedia-l mailing list -- [email protected], guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l Public archives at https://lists.wikimedia.org/hyperkitty/list/[email protected]/message/CRBPTFP2XTGZPBYMEDABQSPXIGZPN5SN/ To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected]
