4 ms·
From the press release you linked; >> HEVC Advance will not seek a license or royalties on HEVC functionality implemented in application layer software downloa
by bruce511 4y ago
From the press release you linked;
>> HEVC Advance will not seek a license or royalties on HEVC functionality implemented in application layer software downloaded to mobile devices or personal computers after the initial sale of the device, where the HEVC encoding or decoding is fully executed in software on a general purpose CPU.
From the product description,
>> These extensions are designed to take advantage of hardware capabilities on some newer devices— including those with an Intel 7th Generation Core processor and newer GPU
So it would appear that the codec does not conform to the requirements of the free license.
Equally it implies that the codec cannot be bundled in Windows itself (license free) as that is not "application software".
I get that charging 99c seems petty for a company making billions, but it does have the effect of "counting" licensees. In other words it is not a hindrance to those who need it, but it stops ms from having to pay on the count of "every windows copy sold". I don't have any insight on the actual license cost - it may be pennies, or it may be substantially > $1 - but the 99c does make an accurate counter.