Editing VP6

{{Short description|Video codec by On2 Technologies}}
{{other uses}}
'''On2 TrueMotion VP6''' is a [[Proprietary software|proprietary]] [[Lossy compression|lossy]] [[video compression format]] and [[video codec]]. It is an incarnation of the [[TrueMotion]] video codec, a series of video codecs developed by [[On2 Technologies]]. This codec is commonly used by [[Adobe Flash]], [[Flash Video]], and [[JavaFX]] media files.

== Overview ==
The VP6 codec was introduced in May 2003.<ref>CNET News (2003-05-13) [http://news.cnet.com/On2-blows-trumpet-for-new-codec/2100-1032_3-1001331.html On2 blows trumpet for new codec], Retrieved on 2009-08-17</ref> In October 2003, On2 officially released its TrueMotion VP6 codec.<ref>On2 (2003-10-28) [http://www.on2.com/index.php?id=470&news_id=255 On2 Releases Next-Generation VP6 Codec] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071130070043/http://www.on2.com/index.php?id=470&news_id=255 |date=2007-11-30 }}, Retrieved on 2009-08-23</ref>

In November 2003, On2 announced that VP6 had been chosen as a codec for China's [[Enhanced Versatile Disc]] (EVD), a competitor format to [[DVD]]. [[Beijing]]-based company E-World was to be the exclusive reseller of the EVD VP6 technology in [[China]], with On2 Technologies earning royalty payments of about $2 USD per player. Then in April 2004 On2 announced that negotiations with E-World had broken down and that On2 would file multiple breach of contract claims against E-World in arbitration proceedings. In March 2005, On2 announced that the arbitrator had dismissed all of On2's claims and had decided that E-World owed nothing to On2. Although E-World included VP6 to its EVD standardization proposal to the Chinese government, it is not clear what, if any, action was then taken by the government. The EVD format initiative appears to be indefinitely stalled.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://wiki.hydrogenaud.io/index.php?title=VP6 | title=VP6 | publisher=Hydrogenaudio Knowledgebase | access-date=2009-10-31}}</ref>

In November 2003, On2 announced that the VP6 codec will be used in products for broadcasting in the field, such as with [[BBC]] reporters and [[QuickLink]] software.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/gi_0199-4017967/BBC-Television-Journalists-Being-Equipped.html | title=BBC Television Journalists Being Equipped with QuickLink Technology Powered by On2's VP6 Video Codec. | author=PR Newswire | date=2003-11-28}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.on2.com/index.php?id=470&news_id=252 |title=BBC Television Journalists Being Equipped with QuickLink Technology Powered by On2's VP6 Video Codec |author=On2 |publisher=On2 |date=2003-11-28 |access-date= December 1, 2017 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071130064504/http://www.on2.com/index.php?id=470&news_id=252 |archive-date=November 30, 2007 }}</ref>

In January 2005, On2 announced a new [[VP7]] codec with better compression capabilities than VP6.<ref>{{cite web|author=On2 Technologies |title=On2 Technologies Launches TrueMotion VP7 Preview |publisher=On2 Technologies |date=2005-01-10 |url=http://www.on2.com/index.php?id=470&news_id=214 |access-date=2009-09-11 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071129060815/http://www.on2.com/index.php?id=470&news_id=214 |archive-date=November 29, 2007 }}</ref>

In April 2005, On2 Technologies licensed On2 Video Codec (including VP6 and VP7) for [[Adobe Flash|Macromedia Flash]].<ref>{{cite web|author=On2 Technologies |title=On2 Technologies Licenses On2 Video Codec for Macromedia Flash |publisher=On2 Technologies |date=2005-04-05 |url=http://www.on2.com/index.php?id=470&news_id=204 |access-date=2009-09-17 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071130070650/http://www.on2.com/index.php?id=470&news_id=204 |archive-date=November 30, 2007 }}</ref> In August 2005, [[Macromedia]] announced they had selected VP6 as the flagship new codec for video playback in the new [[Flash Player]] 8.<ref name="vp6">Tinic Uro (2005-08-13) [http://www.kaourantin.net/2005/08/quest-for-new-video-codec-in-flash-8.html The quest for a new video codec in Flash 8] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090206142709/http://kaourantin.net/2005/08/quest-for-new-video-codec-in-flash-8.html |date=2009-02-06 }}, Kaourantin.net, Retrieved on 2009-08-10</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=On2 Technologies |title=On2 VP6 Compression Technology Optimizes Highly Anticipated Macromedia Flash Player 8 for Highest Image Quality on the Internet |publisher=On2 Technologies |date=2005-08-08 |url=http://www.on2.com/index.php?id=470&news_id=180 |access-date=2009-09-17 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071129055931/http://www.on2.com/index.php?id=470&news_id=180 |archive-date=November 29, 2007 }}</ref>

In March 2006, a VP6 decoder (libvp62) appeared as an [[open-source software|open-source]] project, but was driven underground by On2 on copyright infringement claims.<ref>Doom9's Forum (2006-03-20) [http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=108936 LGPL VP6 decoder released], Retrieved 2009-09-17</ref><ref>MultimediaWiki [http://wiki.multimedia.cx/index.php?title=On2_VP6 On2 VP6], Retrieved 2009-09-17</ref>

As of September 2006, an open-source implementation of the decoder is part of the [[libavcodec]] project. VP6 decoder is part of stable version [[FFmpeg]] 0.5, released in March 2009.<ref>FFmpeg (2009-03-10) [http://www.ffmpeg.org/ FFmpeg News], Retrieved 2009-09-17</ref> There are some claims that producing or dealing with VP6 video streams inside libavcodec/libavformat is discouraged and/or refused due to clashes between the FFmpeg's developers and On2 technologies by a claim of Intellectual Property and Trade Secrets Infringement made by the corporation itself.{{Citation needed|date=July 2009}}

In May 2008, [[Sun Microsystems]] announced it had licensed On2 TrueMotion codecs to add video capabilities to JavaFX, a family of products for creating Rich Internet Applications (RIAs) across Mobile, Desktop, TV and more.<ref>{{cite web |author=Sun Microsystems, Inc. |title=Sun Adds Comprehensive Video Capabilities to Ubiquitous Java Platform with On2 Technologies |publisher=Sun Microsystems, Inc. |date=2008-05-07 |url=http://www.sun.com/aboutsun/pr/2008-05/sunflash.20080507.3.xml |access-date=2009-09-17}}</ref> JavaFX uses On2 VP6.<ref>{{cite web|author=On2 Technologies |title=On2 Fast Facts - On2 VP6 Codec |publisher=On2 Technologies |year=2009 |url=http://www.on2.com/index.php?492 |access-date=2009-09-17 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090809071531/http://www.on2.com/index.php?492 |archive-date=August 9, 2009 }}</ref>

Later incarnations of this codec are [[VP7]], [[VP8]] and [[VP9]]. With the Google acquisition of On2, VP8 is licensed as open source. Earlier versions such as VP6 remain unsupported.

==See also==
* [[VP3]]
* [[VP9]]

== References ==
{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}

== External links ==
* {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090228040914/http://on2.com/index.php?565 |date=February 28, 2009 |title=On2 VP6 Website }}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090206142709/http://kaourantin.net/2005/08/quest-for-new-video-codec-in-flash-8.html Flash Player Principal Engineer Tinic Uro's thoughts on why VP6 was chosen over H.264]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20071018024905/http://www.ripcode.com/prodForm.php 2007 IDC Report on On-Demand Video Transcoding]
* [http://multimedia.cx/mirror/vp6-white-paper.pdf Whitepaper]
* [http://wiki.multimedia.cx/index.php?title=On2_VP6 Specification]

{{Compression formats}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vp6}}
[[Category:Video codecs]]