Last week, Google made waves on the Internet by announcing that future versions of its popular Chrome Web browser would no longer support the H.264 video codec via the HTML5 video tag. This week, the Free Software Foundation (FSF) came out in favor of Google’s position by strongly supporting the use of the WebM format.
“We applaud Google for this change,” FSF compliance engineer Brett Smith said. “It’s a positive step for free software, its users, and everyone who uses the Web.”
In addition to the WebM codec, which Google made free last May with the WebM project, Google also supports the Ogg Theora codec, another free and open favorite of the Free Software Foundation.
Smith said that FSF is “urging Web site operators to distribute videos in the WebM format, and abandon H.264.”