Decode H264 Natively with Javascript

Michael Bebenita, a developer over at Mozilla, just released 'Broadway' – a Javascript H264 decoder. It is currently capable of rendering HD video at 30fps in the latest developer build of Firefox.

"Broadway is based on the open source H.264 decoder that Google uses in Android. The Mozilla developers simplified the Android H.264 decoder—which is written in the C programming language—and converted it to JavaScript. They used Emscripten, a compiler that translates LLVM bitcode into JavaScript. In addition to theEmscripten-generated H.264 decoder, the Broadway developers are also working on a separate implementation that is coded by hand."  – Ars Technica

The code was released on GitHub as well as the Emscripten compiler.

Source:
http://arstechnica.com/open-source/news/2011/10/native-javascript-h264-decoder-offers-compelling-demo-of-js-performance.ars

Shane Paris

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