Videophiles, gamers and audiophiles are all too familiar with codec conflicts. What many people don't realize, however, is that not only can these issues prevent you from viewing, hearing or working with a file, they can also seriously impact system operation or performance. Fortunately, there are several freeware and/or shareware utilities to help identify and resolve codec related issues...even if you don't realize you have any.

Among the announcements made at today's Google I/O keynote is WebM, a new open-source, royalty-free video format based around the VP8 codec intended for use with HTML5 video. The WebM project's goal is to develop "a high-quality, open video format for the web that is freely available to everyone." The project has the backing of Google, Mozilla, Opera, and numerous other companies. If it catches, on, it could settle the rift that currently exists with HTML5 video support, thus speeding up HTML5 adoption.

Full Story