We should be more excited for WebCodecs!
Session Description
WebCodecs is a new, open specification by the W3C group. It has a game-changing API that allows a unified, platform-agnostic API to developers for extremele fine control over media: in particular video and audio encoding and decoding.
Traditionally this has always been a complex matter and typically required a server + tools like FFmpeg to start with. But soon we will have complete in-browser implementations: Chrome and Firefox are already implemented, Safari is soon to follow suit. This will unlock a completely new paradigm of working with media and for some workflows, can even replace FFmpeg altogether.
Since the tech is so new, the session can act as a gateway/entry-point for intermediate + advanced developers to learn about WebCodecs and explore it further for their own use-cases. We are one of the first companies to use WebCodecs (alongside WebGPU) in our production apps and can support our session with real-world examples.
A basic session outline could be:
Overview of the WebCodecs API
Differences from existing media technologies
Platform support: current and planned
Real-world examples of using it
A few jumping off points to start one's own exploration
Key Takeaways
Learn about a new, emerging media technology: WebCodecs
Understand some use-cases for which it can already start being used
Comparisons between FFmpeg and WebCodecs implementations to see the pros/cons of each
References
Session Categories
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Speakers
Siddharth Jha
Reviews
It's exciting to hear about new groundbreaking technologies. especially ones that will make web devs lives much easier.
This looks pretty good as a lightning talk. Browser based codec APIs provide a new way to tap into accelerated codecs for rich applications right inside the browser. It's not clear what applications are being proposed that replace FFmpeg.. but that's a nitpick that can easily be checked in the next level review. Extra points if the author can cover any impacts on devs related to API implementation differences.
Agreed with other reviewers, this is a new development in browsers and worth covering.
Webcodecs benefits FOSS with the most significant feature of platform-agnostic media processing and low latency. This helps reducing dependency on the proprietary tools, hence makes it relevant to this venue.