Why Google is acquiring On2? |QualityPoint Technologies (QPT)

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Why Google is acquiring On2?

Google has announced that it will acquire On2, a leading developer of video compression technology for $106 Million.

"Today video is an essential part of the web experience, and we believe high-quality video compression technology should be a part of the web platform" said Sundar Pichai, Vice President, Product Management, Google.

"We're thrilled that On2 is joining one of the world's most innovative companies" said Matt Frost, interim CEO of On2.

Google has decided to acquire On2 for improving performance, quality and effectiveness of YouTube in HTML5 capable browsers.

We know that HTML5 is supporting <video> tag which has the potential to liberate streaming Internet video from plugin prison.

There is an expectation that Google will decide to open-source On2’s VP7 and VP8 video codecs, and it will become an alternative to the proprietary and licenced H264 codecs.

Goolge may force its users to upgrade to HTML5-compliant browsers instead of using Flash formats.
So it will give double benefits for Google, one is improved YouTube performance, another is promoting Chrome which is already HTML5 compliant browser.

And,On2’s video compression technology also extends into the mobile electronics world of gadgets. So it will help Google to promote its Android against Apple iPhone.

YouTube is having test page for showing demo video in HTML5 capable browsers.