A key part of the HTML 5 specification is support for the new <video> tag. It’s a new tag that could potentially revolutionize the world of web view by enabling web browsers to directly load and control video.
The only issue — and it’s a big one in my view — is what video codec should be used?
Google Chrome, Apple Safari 4, and Firefox 3.5 all have some type of support for HTML 5 and the video tag, but not all of those browsers support the same video codec/formats for use with the tag.
Mozilla has chosen to use the Ogg format, which is an open format that will work for Windows, Mac and Linux users.
I recently visited the Mozilla Toronto office (that’s their door in the pic above) and sat down with Director of Firefox, Mike Beltzner.
In the video below, Beltzner explains to me why Ogg is the key to ending the codec wars and encourages other browser vendors to get on board too.