Opera Software's position paper for Video on the Web

Opera Software believes that video should be treated as a first-class citizen on the web, along with text and images. We have submitted a proposal for the <video> element in HTML5, and we have released experimental builds of Opera that support <video> natively in SVG and HTML5.

Further, we believe the following to be requisites for granting video citizenship on the web:

• The <video> element should be part of the HTML5 and SVG specifications. It must be specified so that it provides a range of functionality for video on the web. In HTML5, for example, it must be possible to add a video clip without having to make use of scripting. In the other end of the range, it should be possible to build a rich video player through DOM interfaces. In SVG, it must be possible to add filters and other graphic effects to video.
• A common baseline video format must be identified. Without a baseline format, interoperability will suffer and authors may be forced to continue using proprietary solutions for video content. The format should be RF to ensure that it can be freely used by software vendors and video content providers. Opera's experimental implementation uses the Ogg Theora format, as does Mozilla. We believe Ogg Theora to be a good technical solution that balances compression ratios with computational requirements.
• W3C should recommend a baseline video format for use in their specifications. This approach is necessary to ensure interoperability. Identifying a suitable baseline video format should be W3C's first goal in the field of video.
• Pragmatic solutions for improving accessibility of video should be developed.