Google announces free WebM video codec as H.264 alternative

At its annual I/O conference, Google has unveiled its plan to release a video codec, 100% royalty-free alternative to the ISO MPEG's H.264. A new media format for the open web.

WebM is targeted at the web and not intended to replace H.264 across the board. It can be used to deliver web-based videos to any modern web browser, like Apple's Safari, Google's Chrome, and Microsoft's Internet Explorer.

WebM uses the VP8 video codec which is capable of adapting to the varying processing and bandwidth conditions of the Web. It also uses the Vorbis audio codec. The WebM file structure is based on the Matroska container. The developers said the relative simplicity of the codec will make it easy to integrate into video projects.