Alliance for Open Media also includes Cisco, Intel, Microsoft and Mozilla
The way people consume video content is rapidly changing, as the cord-cutting movement gains momentum, cable subscriptions are declining while streaming platforms like Netflix, Hulu and others with massive libraries available on demand become the norm.
With Internet-based video delivery becoming ubiquitous, major players in the space are looking to ensure a good end-user experience by collaborating on the next generation of media formats, codecs and attendant technologies.
This week Amazon, Cisco, Google, Intel, Microsoft, Mozilla and Netflix announced that they have joined together to form The Alliance for Open Media.
According to the group’s website, the idea is for the companies to commit “collective technology and expertise to meet growing Internet demand for top-quality video, audio, imagery and streaming across devices of all kinds and for users worldwide. … The initial project will pursue a new, open royalty-free video codec specification and open-source implementation based on the contributions of members, along with binding specifications for media format, content encryption and adaptive streaming, thereby creating opportunities for next-generation media experiences.”
Specifically, The Alliance for Open Media wants to commercialize a new media format that’s interoperable and open; optimized for Web; scalable to any device at any bandwidth; designed with a low computational footprint; consistent in delivering top-quality video; and capable of handling commercial and noncommercial, including user-generated content.
The move to streaming, Web-based video is bolstered by the latest Ericsson ConsumerLab report on trends in the television and media space. Key findings from the report indicate that in the U.S., 35% of all TV and video viewing hours are spent viewing on-demand content.
The Ericsson report also found a 71% global increase in the number of people watching video on smartphones since 2012, with that increase being even more acute in the U.S. at 136% growth since 2012. Perhaps a harbinger of things to come, the Ericsson report found that 55% of viewing time among U.S. teenagers is on a mobile device.
