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Students are failing AP tests because the College Board can’t handle HEIC images

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669 points danso | 3 comments | 20 May 20 19:36 UTC | HN request time: 0.709s | source
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rock_artist ◴[21 May 20 18:23 UTC] No.23262632[source]▶
This might sounds trivial. But proprietary codecs are hard for commercial usage. They cost money. If it’s just uploading a file. Ok. But if the system designed to decode it in any way this might lead to more expensive system.

The codec “war” and Apple’s decision going with HEIC over opened source WebP is also to be questioned if portability of media is expected.

replies(1): >>23265071 #
gbear605 ◴[21 May 20 20:51 UTC] No.23265071[source]▶
HEIC isn’t a proprietary codec, it’s an ISO standard
replies(1): >>23265583 #
1. pornel ◴[21 May 20 21:25 UTC] No.23265583[source]▶
But it's built on patented codec (H.265). It's illegal to use it without a patent license, regardless whether it's a standard or not. Even if you wrote your own implementation, it would be illegal for you to use your own code.

Technically HEIF is a good format — it's half the size of WebP. WebP is based on a much weaker codec that is two generations older. AVIF is a freely-licensed HEIF alternative.

replies(1): >>23265809 #
2. gbear605 ◴[21 May 20 21:44 UTC] No.23265809[source]▶
My understanding (based on http://www.hackerfactor.com/blog/index.php?/archives/833-HEI... ) is that HEIC is not built on patents while HEVC is, so HEVC is problematic to use, but HEIC isn’t.
replies(1): >>23268548 #
3. kuyaz ◴[22 May 20 04:09 UTC] No.23268548[source]▶
As it states in your source

> The HEIC holds the HEIF data that is compressed using HEVC by MPEG

Wrapping a HEVC file in a container does not automatically void any patents of the contained file. Otherwise, anyone can shove any patent encumbered file format in a ".zip" container (or any container/wrapper) and avoid any patent or licensing issues.