Google, Vidyo Partner on WebRTC Video Enhancements

Vidyo is partnering with Google to improve the quality of video within browsers armed with WebRTC capabilities.

Per the agreement, Vidyo will create a Scalable Video Coding (SVC) extension for Google’s open-source VP9 codec, which will be used in the larger WebRTC project.

“We will now combine the power of WebRTC with the benefits of Vidyo’s technology to deliver the best possible experience for our users,” Chee Chew, vice president of engineering at Google, said in a statement. “Vidyo has been a great partner, working with Google to provide a high quality video solution for Hangouts.”

Google uses Vidyo’s technology for Google Hangouts on Google+.

The WebRTC protocol is designed to enable browser-to-browser video communications with the need for special plug-ins or clients, such as those required for other modes of video communications. The protocol leverages Javascript APIs and HTML5.

Google (with its Chrome browser), Mozilla (Firefox) and Opera are supporters of the WebRTC project, though Microsoft with Internet Explorer and Apple with Safari are going in another direction with H.264 and H.265.

Google and Vidyo will leverage Vidyo’s video conferencing technology in its VidyoWorks platform, which uses SVC-based compression technology to dynamically optimize video for the endpoint being used. A person using a smartphone will have different video needs than one using a desktop PC.

According to Vidyo officials, Google’s Chrome is expected to be the first browser to use a scalable version of WebRTC, which the two companies will promote with various standards bodies.

“This is great news for the WebRTC community and takes our relationship with Google to the next level,” Vidyo co-founder and CEO Ofer Shapiro said in a statement. “Google is known for its ability to embrace and promote technological innovations. WebRTC provides a vision of new communications possibilities for video-enabled Web applications and by leveraging Vidyo’s expertise in SVC, we will jointly create a path to accessible quality video.”