WebM is an open and royalty-free multimedia container format designed for the web. It commonly uses VP8 or VP9 codecs for video and Opus or Vorbis codecs for audio, providing efficient compression and high quality suitable for streaming and online video sharing.
History#
WebM, developed by Google, was officially released in May 2010. Designed specifically for the web, it aimed to provide a free alternative to proprietary formats like H.264. Utilizing VP8 or VP9 video codecs and Vorbis or Opus audio codecs, WebM quickly gained support from major web browsers such as Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Opera, as well as platforms like YouTube, which adopted it for web video streaming. Its integration with HTML5 ensured compatibility and performance across various devices and platforms, cementing its role in modern web development.