full 1080p, 60fps digital video in a browser window using only web standards

[silicon_toad2000]

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/05/03/mozilla_otoy_announce_orbx/

Mozilla and Los Angeles, California–based graphics software company Otoy have jointly announced ORBX.js, a new JavaScript library which the companies say can deliver full 1080p, 60fps digital video in a browser window using only web standards–based technologies.

"It is a remarkable achievement to see a high performance video codec rivaling H.264 that runs entirely in the browser," Mozilla director of engineering Vlad Vukicevic said in a canned statement.

The library is said to work on any modern browser, including those running on mobile devices – provided, that is, they offer "fast JavaScript" and support WebGL. Those criteria are likely to exclude many built-in smartphone browsers, but recent builds of such downloadable mobile browsers as Google Chrome, Firefox, and Opera should fill the bill.

In addition to streaming video, Otoy says its codec can facilitate application virtualization, allowing Windows, Linux, or OS X applications to be virtualized in the cloud and have their UIs streamed to any HTML5-compatible browser, where they are decoded by the ORBX.js library.

As a result, users could potentially access such complex desktop applications as Adobe Photoshop or 3D games using a device as low-powered as a Chromebook or a Windows RT tablet. No additional client software is needed.

"We've found a way to provide a full native PC experience entirely through HTML5 and JavaScript, without having to touch H.264, Flash, Java, or Google Native Client," said Otoy founder and CEO Jules Urbach. "It's a huge win for the open Web and we expect HTML5 to replace legacy operating systems on desktops, TVs, consoles and mobile devices."