Next-gen high-res video faces new fees and uncertainty
Found on CNet News on Saturday, 28 March 2015
4K video needs more powerful compression technology. To that end, dozens of industry players created a new compression standard called the High Efficiency Video Coding, aka HEVC or H.265. A well established group called MPEG LA announced in 2014 a mechanism to license a pool of HEVC patents for use in products like Blu-ray players, video editing software and smartphones.
HEVC Advance promises a "transparent" licensing process, but so far it isn't sharing details except to say it's got 500 patents it describes as essential for using HEVC.
500 patents for a single video codec. That's why the current system causes so much headache for businesses and a playground for patent trolls.