WebM is an audiovisual media file format.[5] It is primarily intended to offer aroyalty-free alternative to use in theHTML video and theHTML audio elements. It has a sister project,WebP, for images. The development of the format is sponsored byGoogle, and the corresponding software is distributed under aBSD license.
Native WebM support byMozilla Firefox,[10][11]Opera,[12][13] andGoogle Chrome[14] was announced at the 2010Google I/O conference.Internet Explorer 9 requires third-party WebM software.[15] In 2021,Apple releasedSafari 14.1 for macOS, which added native WebM support to the browser.[16] As of 2019[update], QuickTime does not natively support WebM,[17][18] but does with a suitable third-party plug-in.[19] In 2011, the Google WebM Project Team released plugins for Internet Explorer and Safari to allow playback of WebM files through the standard HTML5<video> tag.[20] As of 9 June 2012[update], Internet Explorer 9 and later supported the plugin for Windows Vista and later.[21]
VLC media player,[22]MPlayer,K-Multimedia Player andJRiver Media Center have native support for playing WebM files.[23]FFmpeg can encode and decode VP8 videos when built with support forlibvpx, the VP8/VP9 codec library of the WebM project, as well asmux/demux WebM-compliant files.[24] On July 23, 2010 Fiona Glaser, Ronald Bultje, and David Conrad of the FFmpeg team announced the ffvp8 decoder. Their testing found that ffvp8 was faster than Google's own libvpx decoder.[25][26]MKVToolNix, the popularMatroska creation tools, implemented support for multiplexing/demultiplexing WebM-compliant files out of the box.[27] Haali Media Splitter also announced support for muxing/demuxing of WebM.[27] Since version 1.4.9, theLiVES video editor has support for realtime decoding and for encoding to WebM format using ffmpeg libraries.
MPC-HC since build SVN 2071 supports WebM playback with internal VP8 decoder based onFFmpeg's code.[25][28] The full decoding support for WebM is available in MPC-HC since version 1.4.2499.0.[29]
WebM Project licenses VP8 hardware accelerators (RTL IP) to semiconductor companies for 1080p encoding and decoding at zero cost.[38]AMD,ARM andBroadcom have announced support forhardware acceleration of the WebM format.[39][40]Intel is also considering hardware-based acceleration for WebM in itsAtom-based TV chips if the format gains popularity.[41]Qualcomm andTexas Instruments have announced support,[42][43] with native support coming to the TIOMAP processor.[44]Chips&Media have announced a fully hardware decoder for VP8 that can decodefull HD resolution (1080p) VP8 streams at 60 frames per second.[45]
On January 7, 2011,Rockchip released the world's first chip to host a full hardware implementation of 1080p VP8 decoding. The video acceleration in the RK29xx chip is handled by the WebM Project's G-Series 1 hardware decoder IP.[50]
In June 2011,ZiiLABS demonstrated their 1080p VP8 decoder implementation running on the ZMS-20 processor. The chip's programmable media processing array is used to provide the VP8 acceleration.[51]
ST-Ericsson andHuawei also had hardware implementations in their computer chips.[52]
The original WebM license terminated both patent grants and copyright redistribution terms if a patent infringement lawsuit was filed, causing concerns around GPL compatibility.In response to those concerns, the WebM Project decoupled the patent grant from the copyright grant, offering the code under a standardBSD license and patents under a separate grant.[53] TheFree Software Foundation, which maintainsThe Free Software Definition, has given its endorsement for WebM and VP8[54] and considers the software's license to be compatible with theGNU General Public License.[55][56] On January 19, 2011, the Free Software Foundation announced its official support for the WebM project.[57] In February 2011,Microsoft's Vice President of Internet Explorer called upon Google to provide indemnification against patent suits.[58]
Although Google has irrevocably released all of its patents on VP8 as a royalty-free format,[59] theMPEG LA, licensors of theH.264 patent pool, have expressed interest in creating apatent pool for VP8.[60][61] Conversely, other researchers cite evidence thatOn2 made a particular effort to avoid any MPEG LA patents.[62] As a result of the threat, theUnited States Department of Justice (DOJ) started an investigation in March 2011 into the MPEG LA for its role in possibly attempting to stifle competition.[63][64] In March 2013, MPEG LA announced that it had reached an agreement with Google to license patents that "may be essential" for the implementation of the VP8 codec, and give Google the right to sub-license these patents to any third-party user of VP8 orVP9.[65][66]
In March 2013,Nokia filed an objection to theInternet Engineering Task Force concerning Google's proposal for the VP8 codec to be a core part of WebM, saying it holds essential patents to VP8's implementation.[67] Nokia listed 64 patents and 22 pending applications, adding it was not prepared to license any of them for VP8.[68] On August 5, 2013, a court in Mannheim, Germany, ruled that VP8 does not infringe a patent owned and asserted by Nokia.[69]
^ab"WebM FAQ". May 19, 2010.Archived from the original on September 22, 2021. RetrievedAugust 13, 2016.WebM is an open media file format designed for the web. WebM files consist of video streams compressed with the VP8 video codec and audio streams compressed with the Vorbis audio codec. The WebM file structure is based on the Matroska media container.
^WebM (Partial draft). Sustainability of Digital Formats. Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress. August 19, 2020.Archived from the original on December 14, 2021. RetrievedDecember 1, 2021.
^Mills, Chris (May 19, 2010)."Opera supports the WebM video format".Dev.Opera. Opera Software ASA.Archived from the original on April 5, 2011. RetrievedMarch 8, 2011.On the day of the announcement, Opera released an experimental WebM-enabled build. This feature is now part of the core functionality of Opera 10.60 and all of our future desktop browser releases.
^Hachamovitch, Dean (March 16, 2011)."HTML5 Video Update—WebM for IE9".IEBlog. Microsoft Corporation.Archived from the original on March 18, 2011. RetrievedMarch 16, 2011.IE9 supports HTML5 video using WebM for Windows customers who install third-party WebM support. As an industry, we still face many legitimate, unanswered questions about liability, risks, and support for WebM...
^Jazayeri, Mike (January 14, 2011)."More about the Chrome HTML Video Codec Change".The Chromium Blog. Google Inc.Archived from the original on February 15, 2011. RetrievedMarch 8, 2011.the WebM Project team will soon release plugins that enable WebM support in Safari and IE9 via the HTML standard <video> tag
