H.264 was (and remains) the industry standard for video compression. Hardware encoders and decoders in every smartphone, laptop, and tablet were optimized for it. However, H.264 was encumbered by patents. Browser vendors like Mozilla (Firefox) faced a crisis. They wanted to support WebRTC, but including a patented codec in an open-source browser was a legal minefield. The alternative, VP8, was open and royalty-free, but lacked the broad hardware support of H.264.
This article explores the "honeymoon phase" of OpenH264—the era where it solved the immediate, pressing needs of developers without the baggage of licensing fees, and how that relationship has evolved as the ecosystem matures. the honeymoon openh264