Why is there an OpenH264 plugin in Firefox?

Revision Information
  • Revision id: 93786
  • Created:
  • Creator: Joni
  • Comment: draft
  • Reviewed: Yes
  • Reviewed:
  • Reviewed by: heyjoni
  • Is approved? Yes
  • Is current revision? No
  • Ready for localization: No
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Revision Content

Many streaming videos rely on the H.264 codec in order to work. Because of licensing restrictions, H.264 is not available for open source software like Firefox. Instead, Firefox uses its open source alternative, OpenH264 , to support video calls.

OpenH264 is shipped by Cisco and automatically installed by Mozilla to enable video calls with devices that require the H.264 codec.

openh264 codec