Quote:
Originally Posted by Sonist
Apple is one of the H.264 patent-holders.
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There is a lot more than H.264 going on here. It's just one facet of the MPEG-4 format.
One patent in a pool of 50+ (which I can't even confirm is accurate... I'm surprised Apple would have a patent over H.264 tech in the first place, but seems to be true) isn't gonna save Apple from paying license fees. In fact, Apple pays MPEG-4 licensing fees today (including fees for H.264). But with their sheer level of investment in the format across the board, they are basically just paying the license fee cap each year. At that point, extra investment into the format only comes out of the R&D budget and the BOM costs, and the license costs per unit go down as they ship more units.
Apple's real big investment in the MPEG-4 format is in the file format, as it is an updated version of the QT4 file format, and very similar/compatible through most of the structure.
However, since H.264 is licensed in addition to the MPEG-4 standard (of which it is a part of), it is entirely possible to back off H.264 if it comes under attack and still use MPEG-4 with the better licensing terms. It leaves it without a truly modern video codec, but free of the per-video royalties.
And again, even though Apple holds a patent or two on H.264, doesn't mean they are immune to this, or the fallout of such a decision.