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Dirac is a prototype algorithm for the encoding and decoding (see codec) of raw video and sound. It was presented by the BBC in January 2004 as the basis of a new file format for the transmission of video over the Internet.
The codec is still not finished as a product, and thus regarded as still being under development. "The immediate aim is to be able to decode standard digital TV definition (720 x 576 pixels at 25 frames per second) in real time; the current version can decode a quarter-standard resolution at 20fps (frames per second), which is enough for Internet streaming." [1]
Similar to Microsoft's WMV video-format codec it can compress any size of picture from low-resolution QCIF (176x144 pixels) to HDTV (1920x1080) and beyond, and a powerful compression-algorithm which "seems to give a two-fold reduction in bit rate over MPEG-2 for high definition video"[2].
Although the codec seems superficially similar to WMV it differs from Microsoft's in that it uses a compression method based on wavelets. Another notable difference is that the Dirac project is Open Source, potentially lowering entry costs into the emerging industry of Internet television.
While the BBC owns some patents on Dirac, they have irrevocably given royalty-free license of the Dirac related patents to all of humanity, enabling the public to utilize Dirac for any imaginable purpose. The BBC releases Dirac under the Mozilla Public License which also allows GPL and LGPL programs to use it.
The codec is named in honour of the British scientistA scientist is a person who is expert in an area of science and who uses scientific methods in research. Traditionally mathematics has been grouped with the sciences, but in modern times people tend not to regard mathematicians as scientists. Mathematical Paul Dirac.
The experimental, and unfinished codec written in the programming languageAn alternate rewrite has been has been. Please refer to it for large rewrites. A programming language or computer language is a standardized communication technique for expressing instructions to a computer. It is a set of syntactic and semantic rules use C++ was released under an Open Source licence at SourceForgeSourceForge is a collaborative software development management system. SourceForge software is sold by VA Software. It provides a front-end to a range of software development lifecycle services and integrates with a number of open source applications (suc on the 11th of March 20042004 : January February March April May June July August September October November December Deaths • 08 Abu Abbas • 20 Queen Juliana • 28 Peter Ustinov • 30 Alistair Cooke More March 2004 deaths Ongoing events EU Enlargement Exploration of Mars: Rovers H.
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